Paterson has 152 teaching vacancies as school year looms

PATERSON — The school district has 152 vacant teaching jobs as the start of the new academic year approaches — openings that could undermine efforts to improve student test scores , which are among the lowest in New Jersey.

The vacant positions represent about 8% of the teaching slots in Paterson, based on state reports showing that the city school district has about 1,760 educators on its payroll.

Local education officials said Paterson’s difficulty in filling all its teaching slots mirrors a problem afflicting school across the country. In fact, to some degree, there has been progress in Paterson.

At the start of classes in 2023, the district had 166 teaching vacancies, and in 2022 there were 168 openings.

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But the decline in vacancy numbers doesn’t help the students who will be getting fill-in instruction for weeks, months or the entire school year, education advocates said.

“Many of our students, including those in low-performing schools, have been without a permanent teacher for over a year,” said Rosie Grant, executive director of the Paterson Education Fund advocacy group. “It is clear that the district must act quickly to address this.”

Grant said the vacancies exacerbate the district’s problems.

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“We will not improve attendance , test scores or overall student success without every child having access to skilled, dedicated teachers,” Grant added. “Let's come together as a community to support the efforts to recruit new teachers or to balance the existing staff in a way that is more equitable. Every Paterson child deserves a certified teacher and a stable and inspiring learning environment.”

In 2022, the district used some of its federal pandemic relief funding to pay $7,500 signing bonuses to teachers who took jobs in Paterson. Under that program, the district attracted more than 100 new teachers. But that didn’t solve the problem.

What will the district do for classes without teachers?

“We plan to cover the remaining vacancies with a combination of per diem substitutes, combining classes when possible, paying teachers to cover classes during their open periods, and utilizing Proximity, a virtual teaching platform,” said city schools spokesperson Aida Rosario.

The district advertises its openings in various ways and holds numerous in-person and virtual job fairs to fill the openings, Rosario said.

In the past, officials cited low pay as one of the reasons for the open teaching positions. The district in 2023 approved a new labor contract for its teachers that union leaders said would boost the starting salary for a Paterson teacher to $64,830 by 2027.

“We have to figure out a way to convince more teachers to come to Paterson,” said Board of Education Vice President Kenneth Simmons.

Simmons said the district was working on partnerships with Montclair State and Kean universities that would create student teaching opportunities in Paterson. He said he hoped that would create a pipeline with those prominent teaching schools.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson has 152 teaching vacancies as school year looms