New hires bring Sioux Falls School District staff diversity to 6.5%

The Sioux Falls School District has hired several hundred new employees to get ready for this school year, which begins Aug. 22.

The new hires include 148 new teachers, 70 of whom are first-year teachers, 55 of whom served in the district in a different job last school year, 38 who are alternatively-certified, and 14 of whom are former Sioux Falls School District teachers who came back to the district.

Human Resources Director Becky Dorman also said 18 of the new teachers come from schools within an hour of the district. Thirty-four of the new teachers came from out-of-state, including eight from outside the U.S., including three from Colombia, one from El Salvador, one from Qatar and three from Spain.

This fall, 23 of the new teachers are “ethnically diverse,” Dorman said, increasing the district-wide diversity of teaching staff to 6.5%. Dorman said the district prioritizes a work environment and organizational culture that fosters employee motivation, engagement and belonging, “with a focus on hiring staff who reflect the diversity of the Sioux Falls community.”

That’s compared with the 43% of students last school year who were considered ethnically diverse.

Nine teaching positions remain open, including two in special education, two at the elementary level, two in middle school, one in high school and one full-time and one part-time school specialist job.

More than 1,140 people applied for teaching positions this year, including 477 South Dakotans and 482 people from outside the U.S. The average applicant to teach in the district has nine years teaching experience. Half of the applicant pool includes candidates requiring employment visas, and non-certified applicants pursuing a career through alternative certification.

Eighty-six teachers resigned from the district last school year, including 18 who went to teach in a nearby district, two who left to teach in a distant South Dakota district, five who left to teach out-of-state, 22 who left the profession altogether, 28 who moved, six who left for children or family reasons, and five for other reasons like graduate school, returning to healthcare or for a health-related reason.

By late fall, Dorman said the HR department must recruit and hire a minimum of 250 substitute staff to replenish the substitute staff pool and meet schools’ needs.

Recruitment and retention efforts

During the spring and summer, the district hired 131 education assistants, specialists, child nutrition staff, clerical, coaches and administrative staff, yet 75 support staff vacancies remain on the district’s website including 50 education assistant vacancies and 19 coaching positions. Job postings for support staff typically climb in August.

Current recruitment and retention efforts in the district include teacher apprenticeship programs, teacher pathway programs, billboards, job fairs and interview nights, walk-in interviews, breakfast with the boss, virtual interviewing, hiring bonuses, tuition assistance, transfer and retention bonuses and assistance with certification and praxis tests.

Dorman said the district is also starting a new a “learn and earn” program this fall for student teachers who may choose to substitute teach for pay once a week, allowing student teachers to meet more principals, to experience new grade levels and subject areas and to earn income “at a time when it is very difficult for student teachers to have jobs outside of their formal training.”

The district also recruits student teachers for shortage areas by offering financial incentives, and fast-tracking the hiring process of successful student teachers.

The HR department budgets $40,000 each year for recruitment costs, and its Recruit & Hire applicant tracking system costs $35,000 annually.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New hires bring Sioux Falls School District staff diversity to 6.5%