Teacher shortage in Providence persists despite bonus spending but there are bright spots

The Providence Journal

An Annenberg Institute analysis shows PPSD has struggled to attract and retain teachers. Are bonuses helping?

The Providence Public School District is still struggling to attract enough applicants and retain them, with interest limited in jobs serving high-needs students, a new Brown University report shows.

The Annenberg Institute analysis, released Wednesday, states that while there hasn't been a mass exodus of teachers, the district is losing more teachers than it attracts. Prior to the pandemic, the opposite was true.

The institute reported that prior to the current school year, "40 teachers moved from PPSD to other districts (about 15 more than pre-pandemic levels), while 22 teachers entered PPSD from other RI districts (about 10 fewer than pre-pandemic levels)."

The district has already attempted to draw in new hires with thousands of dollars in bonuses as a teacher shortage persists, even looking in Puerto Rico for bilingual teachers, and advertising a $6,000 bonus for their relocation. It's tough to measure exactly how much that may have helped ease the crisis.

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