TPS going into new school year with fewer open positions than last year

Tulsa Public Schools said it is going into the new school year next week with fewer open positions than it did last year.

TPS said it is always hiring, and is already anticipating more openings, with some teachers set to retire in December. The district is confident it will have a teacher in every classroom for the first day of school.

Hiring More Teachers

Tulsa Public Schools is hoping to hire about 40 more teachers across the district.

At this same point last year, about a week before school started, TPS said it had 125 open teacher positions.

"I think what it means is that Tulsa has answered the call to come be an educator,” TPS Director of Recruitment Jen Sanders said.

She said part of the solution to the teacher shortage is being met with retired teachers stepping back into the classroom.

"If they have been out of the classroom for more than three years, they can come back and draw their full pension and receive all of their educator pay,” she said.

The district continues to recruit out of state, and is several years into its Tulsa Teacher Corps program, which helps people with a bachelor's degree become educators.

Sanders also points to the district’s Aspiring Educators Program to help fill the gap.

"We have about 45 aspiring educators,” Sanders said. “These are individuals that have worked in schools and classrooms but don't quite have their bachelor's degree yet. If they have their associate's degree or they're within 36 hours of their bachelor's degree, we can hire them and put them in the classroom."

The Need for Bus Drivers

The district is also looking to hire bus drivers.

Right now, there is a need for about a dozen drivers, compared to more than 30 needed at the beginning of the last school year.

"We're in a much better spot than we were last year,” Sanders said.

TPS has nearly 2700 teacher positions across the district. Sanders said the greatest needs are in special ed and early childhood.

News On 6 asked the district how many emergency certified teachers it has on the payroll this year, and is waiting to hear back.