Strategic Staffing Models Can Increase Instructional Supports

Implementing a strategic staffing model that embeds collaboration might be one of the best ways to use the talents of teachers while providing valuable instructional supports for inexperienced educators, such as uncertified teachers, beginning teachers, resident teachers in grow your own programs, and student teachers.

Districts are hiring an unprecedented number of uncertified teachers, as illustrated on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Newly Certified and New Teacher Hires Dashboard. Expecting inexperienced and often untrained educators to fulfill the role of teaching successfully is not practical. TEA’s Employed Teacher Attrition and New Hires 2014-15 through 2023-24 data shows traditional teaching assignments might not be working. Strategically implementing collaborative staffing models can provide opportunities for educators to learn from each other while sharing the many daunting tasks of teaching.   

Benefits

A nationwide policy analysis released by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) found that strategic staffing models incorporating collaboration such as more team teaching or offering different instructional roles for educators have become more popular across the country. The NCTQ council found benefits for teachers and students.

Benefits for teachers include:

• Ensures more time for collaboration
• Provides “on-the-job” mentoring and professional development
• Fosters better career pathways for teachers and an opportunity for increased compensation in some districts
• Grows strong instructional teams

Benefits for students include:

• Responds to the needs of all learners
• Gives students access to a variety of teachers
• Creates conditions for teachers to be the most effective in classrooms using their strengths   
• Focuses on student outcomes by ensuring students receive robust learning experiences and exceptional instruction

Strategic Staffing

Strategic staffing differs from traditional teaming of teachers and professional learning communities (PLCs). In these teaming models, teachers work together planning lessons, analyzing data, and managing a shared group of students. After planning, each teacher typically returns to their classroom, closes the door, and teaches their own lessons. This model works well when all the team members perform at a moderate to high professional level.

In a strategic staffing model, teachers work in groups and share the duties and responsibilities of teaching based on the expertise of each educator. This collaborative model moves away from teachers isolated in classrooms having to do it all themselves. An experienced teacher might teach the lesson to a large group of students in a shared space or through video if a common space is unavailable. Meanwhile, the more inexperienced educators take on other classroom responsibilities such as managing the technology or assisting students individually — all while having the opportunity to observe and learn from the skilled teacher.

Teachers can develop more specialized responsibilities within the team while honing their skills from observing experienced teachers deliver lessons and manage students in efficient, effective ways. This staffing model uses the talents of the available personnel to provide the best possible instruction for students and to strengthen student learning outcomes while improving teachers' skills.

Of course, teachers must be part of the process when creating collaborative teams. Experienced teachers might not feel comfortable in this group setting, but when they’re presented with the opportunity to showcase their strengths and mentor other educators, typically, they will buy in.

Additionally, the workload and accountability for student learning must be shared and not piled on one or a few teachers. Teachers might still be accountable for a certain group of students, but the day-to-day responsibilities are shared.

Strategic Staffing Models

An example of a strategic, collaborative staffing model is one implemented by Ector County ISD (ECISD). In 2019, the district struggled to fill over 350 teacher vacancies districtwide. Since implementing a strategic staffing model that created teams consisting of teachers, paraprofessionals, and teacher residents led by a “multi-classroom leader” in 13 schools, the district has reduced its teaching vacancies by 90 percent.

Using their District of Innovation (DOI) status, ECISD exempted portions of state requirements, like class size restrictions, and have been able to focus its human capital pipeline away from an annual traditional hiring practice to one centered on talent acquisition and development for collaborative instructional settings.

Other common strategic staffing model configurations districts are implementing include:

• Teams of four to five teachers collectively teach groups of 50 to 150 students, dividing duties based on skill and expertise.  Teams can be created by content or by grade levels.
• Content area specialists provide the initial, direct teach while the other educators on the team monitor students and take care of other duties.
• Identified, highly effective teachers co-teach and mentor other teachers with the co-teachers taking on more instructional responsibilities as the school year progresses.
• Student or resident teachers work directly under a supervising teacher, taking on different classroom instructional responsibilities as they become more skilled.
• Identified lead educators teach students half of the day and then provide intensive support and professional development to other team educators the other half of the day (instructional coach model).

Increased Retention Benefits

Uncertified teachers and teachers entering through non-traditional routes are generally less prepared and more likely to leave the profession after their first year. Strategic, collaborative staffing can provide the needed instructional supports and potentially improve retention and morale.

While there is still limited evidence on the most effective models for collaborative teaching, the flexible strategic staffing approach can provide valuable instructional support to inexperienced educators while lightening the workload for experienced teachers.

The benefits of retaining teachers in the teaching profession can decrease staff mobility issues and, ultimately, provide more stability and success for students and the school community.

More Information

Additional information on supporting teachers can be found in the HRX articles Supporting Non-traditional Route Teachers and Hiring Uncertified Teachers.