Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Hartford Public Schools

As schools nationwide are facing the reality of teacher shortages, SpEd educators in Hartford Public Schools (HPS) are experiencing an urgent crisis in our District, affecting students across the city.

As HPS works to develop its next strategic plan, a group of seven HPS teachers worked to identify the most impactful changes HPS could make to improve outcomes for students and teachers alike. Through a survey of 20% of HPS educators and qualitative in-person focus groups, they established clear priorities and actionable recommendations that are grounded in the collective wisdom of those who know schools best: educators.

Top 3 recommended policy shifts:

• Provide additional annual pay for teachers in hard-to-staff schools and subjects like special education to address vacancies
• Provide additional pay for highly effective teachers in order to retain them
• Better align Professional Learning to curriculum and teacher needs, potentially by improving implementation of PLCs

Teacher Team

• Caroline Dowd, Environmental Sciences Magnet 
• Susan Miano, Environmental Sciences Magnet 
• Kathleen Chao, Environmental Sciences Magnet 
• Richard de Meij, Global Communications Academy 
• Akeem White, Global Communications Academy 
• Jessie Rosario, Parkville Community School 
• Syeita Rhey-Fisher, Bulkeley High School