With the first week of classes nearly in the books, Fulton County Schools is still trying to hire teachers.
Gonzalo La Cava, head of human resources for the state’s fourth-largest school system, said Thursday that the district has filled about 97% of its teacher vacancies.
That leaves roughly 176 teacher openings, including 26 in special education, though the number changes daily. Fulton schools started Monday.
La Cava told school board members Thursday there are openings across the district, from bus drivers to teachers.
“We started with a lot, and now we are getting closer and closer to our goal,” he said. “But this work is not going to stop. This work has to continue.”
Fulton officials have said they cannot track how hiring this year compares to previous years because the district has implemented a new data system that prevents a point-to-point comparison.
Many metro Atlanta districts reported staffing challenges this summer amid a nationwide teacher shortage.
Fulton is continuing to recruit new teachers at colleges and through virtual job fairs.
School leaders are using long-term substitutes and will make other adjustments as they determine their needs based on student numbers, La Cava said later in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Some are still onboarding new hires.
In addition to the openings, the district has placed roughly 80 virtual teachers in middle and high school classrooms through a contract with ESS, an educational staffing company. Those teachers work remotely and provide live, online instruction to students while a paraprofessional is present in the classroom to assist.
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