Secretary Cardona Urges Educational Leaders to Use ARP Funds to Address Teacher Shortages

On December 16, Secretary Cardona sent a Dear Colleague letter to educational leaders urging them to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to address the severe teacher and staff shortages that schools are facing. In the letter, Cardona outlined evidence-based strategies, highlighted resources and shared examples of how districts are already using ARP funds to attract and retain teachers and staff. 

The recommendations include: 

1. Increase Educator and Staff Compensation 

Many school leaders are increasing compensation by offering hiring and retention bonuses, working towards permanent salary increases, or providing premium pay to help keep educators in the profession. For other critical staff, like bus drivers, some districts have increased pay and covered the cost of required training. 

This section also highlighted the practice of hiring retired teachers, social workers and psychologists to help meet the needs of students. The IRS recently released FAQs clarifying that, in some instances, retirees can return to work and still receive their pensions. States can also provide temporary changes to their pension program to allow for this. 

2. Build and Maintain a Cadre of High-Quality Substitute Teachers 

Secretary Cardona also recommends using ARP funds to recruit and train high-quality substitute teachers. To create some stability and certainty, substitute teachers could be assigned to a school for an entire school year. This strategy would help substitute teachers be more prepared to step into the classroom and support continuity for students when educators need to take time off. These substitute teachers can also co-lead small group learning and provide support during release time for educators to allow for teacher professional development. 

3. Support Educator and Staff Well-Bring, Including Improved Working Conditions

Stress is the most common reason educators have cited for leaving. Surveys show educator well-being is tied to feeling supported, valued, and heard by school and district leaders, as well as peers. Key strategies include: 

• Building intentional systems that support educator and staff well-being. Prioritizing communication and collaboration between staff and leadership create a sense of connectedness that is crucial to supporting educators and keeping them in the profession.
• Increasing the availability of qualified adults and personnel to support educators, students and staff. Districts can partner with institutions of higher education, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and businesses to provide additional supports to educators and students through the use of teaching candidates and well-trained volunteers. 
• Implementing flexible and creative scheduling to support students for full-week in-person learning while providing planning and collaboration for teachers. Districts could hold entire days focused on a single core academic subject; offer all “special” subjects (e.g., music, art, physical education) on the same day so grade-level teams can plan together; and hold shorter learning cycles, with more frequent breaks, some of which educators can use for planning.

4. Make Investments in the Educator Pipeline

The final recommendation in the letter outlined strategies to support the preparation and development of new educators and encourage them to work in high-need schools, including: 

• Providing loan forgiveness, grants, or service scholarship programs that significantly underwrite the cost of postsecondary education in exchange for a commitment to teach in a high-need field or school for a minimum amount of time. 
• Developing and implementing high-quality comprehensive teacher residency programs that provide extensive clinical experience, which have been shown to increase teacher retention and effectiveness; and 
• Developing and implementing professional development programs and mentoring models, particularly for newer teachers, that emphasize building effective instructional strategies and provide time for ongoing collaboration.

Read the full letter here.