A new Delaware Department of Education survey finds education workforce positions in the First State are in a better place after the 2024 hiring season.
The annual report looks at public and charter schools, and finds there was a 52% decrease of unfilled positions between the 2023 and 2024 hiring seasons.
The survey keeps track of recruitment and retention in the education field throughout Delaware.
DOE education associate Ann Hlabangana-Clay worked on the survey and said the change isn’t something that happened overnight.
The process included paid teacher residencies that were put in place in 2021, registered teacher apprenticeships and reimbursement programs for tuition payments.
“We can't just hire for the sake of hiring, right? We have to hire to retain. And so, what does that look like inside your district and building cultures, right? To make teachers or potential teachers, aspiring teachers want to stay new teachers?”
Part of the process of addressing workforce shortages is establishing a pool of home-grown candidates, added Hlabangana-Clay.
“We are doing a lot of work in Delaware on growing our own. So that means starting down in your high school area, your middle school potentially, sparking that interest… creating pathways such as a pre-apprenticeship opportunity, where it might be low cost or no cost.”
Hlabangana-Clay said accessibility is a difficult issue to address, and DOE is providing additional wraparound supports like tutoring to help people pass exams and get licensed.
Teacher salary is a nationwide problem that affects retention. Delaware ranks 16th in the country for average teacher salary and 20th for average starting teacher salary, according to the National Education Association.
But the current 2025 state budget increased pay for educators and the state is committed to raising base teacher salaries to $60,000 by 2028. Hlabangana-Clay says other retention strategies will also continue.
