There are staff shortages in nearly every industry, and one area where workers are urgently needed is in schools.

Districts across New York are brainstorming, working to bring people back to the education profession to keep schools staffed. But what caused the staff shortages to begin with?

Experts say there are multiple reasons: Baby boomers are aging out and retiring; working virtually during the pandemic presented unique challenges; and low starting salaries and massive student debt coupled with New York state’s arduous teaching certification requirements.

Administrators say many leave to teach in other states that have fewer hoops to jump through.


What You Need To Know

  • Buffalo public schools have 148 open positions; Rochester city schools, 113

  • The greater Capital Region has 621 openings, including numerous instructional and non-instructional jobs

  • The greater Central New York region, excluding Syracuse schools, has 375 vacancies

  • Syracuse city schools has 220 openings

The New York State Department of Education said it's working to enhance the talent pipeline and remove barriers that impede candidates from teaching.

Boards of education statewide are looking at signing bonuses and incentives they can offer to get New York state to the head of the class.

Syracuse city schools are closing the gap in vacancies.

“We started the summer with a decent number of positions, about 300 or so teaching positions, 500 positions overall. At this point, we are sitting at about 220 or 230 teaching positions as we continue to hire every day,” said Scott Persampieri, director of recruitment and selection for the Syracuse Central School District (SCSD).

Education experts say this isn't a short-term challenge.

“The research is pretty clear that over the next five to 10 years, we're going to continue to see this kind of a challenge, especially for teachers,” Persampieri said.

The staffing shortage has created opportunities for those that aren't certified to become a substitute teacher or teaching assistant, and for those that may want to switch careers to education.

Jason Armstrong, principal of Montessori at Lemoyne Elementary, said, “Folks that come from different walks of life, to be here with our students so that they can add to whatever we're giving to the students, because we're not just about education, we're about building relationships.”

“One of the beauties of becoming a teaching assistant in the Syracuse City School District is we have a career ladder so that we support those teaching assistants with 12 credits per year,” Persampieri said.

SCSD helps teacher assistants earn that degree and become certified while employed by the district.

Armstrong said the district has classes covered.

“We’ll find capable substitutes," he said. "Our school community has a network of people who have a history of working with us, and so they're dedicated to supporting our staffing needs and they’re daily substitutes, and if they're available, they'll be long-term substitutes."

He said a career in education is rewarding on many levels, and contributes to something larger.

“Seeing the smiles on kids’ faces when they have accomplishments, when they find success, feedback from the families about, you know, what the school has done for them or for the students, that's very rewarding. And that can drive anybody to do, you know, to do this job. It's like routine. They get off the bus to come by, they get their hug and they go to class and then they hug three people before they even sit down for breakfast. So I love it,” he said.

Syracuse city schools now offers a $3,000 incentive for new teachers, and different incentives for other positions. In total, they are looking to fill more than 400 jobs districtwide.

Across the state, there are more than 6,200 vacancies in New York's public schools.

Buffalo schools has 148 open positions; Syracuse schools, 220 openings; Rochester schools, 113 openings; greater Capital Region schools, 621 openings. This includes numerous school districts and instructional and non-instructional positions.

The greater Central New York region, not including Syracuse schools, has 375 vacancies.