LAUSD teacher shortage: How the district is filling vacancies

LOS ANGELES - The teaching shortage that impacted nationwide academic standards is really impacting California, and specifically the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

There have been more than 400 vacancies identified in the last couple of months left of the school year.

Most of those vacancies are in high-needs communities with vulnerable student populations. 

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The new superintendent is doing a stopgap measure - a temporary solution to put staff or credentialed staff administrators who may not be in the classroom now, back into the classrooms to fill this shortage for the time being. 

So far, about half of those more than 400 vacancies have been filled by those staff positions. 

"We don’t have a staff shortage, in fact we were able to identify credentialed individuals. Vast majority of teachers who were assigned to non-teaching responsibilities in the schools where they used to teach kids," said superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

The goal is to hire all necessary staff in time for fall 2022. He says finding quality staff will mean thinking beyond Los Angeles.

"There are areas of this country, I know first career teacher, second career, individuals leaving the colleges of education in certain states. It would be very attractive for them to consider Los Angeles," he added. 

More than 400 classrooms need a full time teacher.

The superintendent wants to make sure all of those vacancies are filled before the end of the school year to make sure that those vulnerable student populations do have the teaching they should be getting here in the district.

Enrollment is also down. 

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