Tens of thousands of federal workers across the nation suddenly found themselves laid off by the Trump administration and Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency. A similar plague the nation鈥檚 K-12 schools. Could districts recruit former federal employees to help fill their vacancies, creating a win-win situation for both unemployed skilled workers and understaffed schools?
At least one state, as well as officials at a large suburban school district, think so鈥攁nd they鈥檝e already begun recruitment efforts targeting newly unemployed government employees.
鈥淎re you a federal employee seeking a meaningful career change?鈥� a asks. 鈥淵our commitment to public service makes you an asset in shaping the future of education. Teaching offers the opportunity to inspire, lead, and make a lasting impact on the next generation.鈥�
Here鈥檚 what these recruiting strategies look like so far, how job seekers are responding to them, and why some education experts are advising caution.
A governor champions a campaign to recruit former federal workers to the classroom
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has said the statewide campaign initiative to recruit former federal workers into the teaching workforce aims to address 鈥渢he over 1,600 Maryland classrooms that remain unstaffed.鈥�
An estimated live in Maryland, comprising about 6 percent of the state鈥檚 workforce.
For now, the campaign is focused primarily on raising awareness among former federal workers of the potential career opportunities in teaching.
鈥淲e have a teaching shortage, so we鈥檙e using this [campaign] as an opportunity to potentially recruit some individuals who have the content and occupational expertise and may want to change their career and come into the profession,鈥� said Kelly Meadows, assistant state superintendent at the Maryland Department of Education.
Meadows said the current circumstances facing Maryland鈥檚 workforce have presented an opportunity for the state to examine more broadly how it trains future teachers. That could include former federal workers who may be interested in transferring their skills and experience to the teaching profession.
鈥淭his has allowed Maryland and its department of education to really look at our [teacher-preparation] programs and ask ourselves: Are we providing quality, rigorous teacher preparation in a way that the individuals we want to recruit into the profession can consume?鈥� Meadows said. 鈥淣ot everybody is interested in getting a master鈥檚 degree in teaching, and not as many people are going into bachelor degree programs to become teachers. So what do we need to do to change and become more flexible in an effort to recruit these individuals?鈥�
The state doesn鈥檛 yet have answers to these questions, but its has identified a subcommittee to examine them more closely, Meadows said.
In the meantime, early responses to the campaign suggest a high level of interest among potential job candidates. In the four weeks since Moore announced the campaign on social media channels, the state鈥檚 Teach Maryland has gotten over 10,000 views and 6,800 individual users, according to Meadows.
Prior to the campaign鈥檚 start, the site averaged 350 daily page views; that number has jumped to 1,000 views per day. Now, users see this message when they click on the website鈥檚 landing page: 鈥淐ontinue your Career in Public Service and Shape the Future as a Maryland Educator.鈥�
A fast track to a teaching career?
The pathway from a federal agency to the classroom can be brief.
Career changers in Maryland can enroll in alternative programs that offer some initial training before allowing them to serve as the teacher of record while they complete their preparation. are run by school districts, sometimes in connection with colleges and universities.
Alternatively, Maryland districts that can鈥檛 recruit a licensed teacher have the option to hire someone who has a bachelor鈥檚 degree but no teaching experience. That person is issued a conditional teaching license, which lasts for three to five years.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why it can鈥檛 be a fast process if the [teaching] vacancy is available,鈥� said Meadows, suggesting that viable candidates could be in the classroom as early as next fall.
An online recruitment campaign spearheaded by the Fairfax County public schools in Virginia, just 45 minutes from downtown Washington, sends a similar message to former government workers. The headline on the 鈥檚 landing page reads: 鈥淐ontinue Your Public Service Journey at FCPS.鈥�
Additional verbiage on the district鈥檚 website reads: 鈥淚f you hold a bachelor鈥檚 degree, you can become provisionally licensed to teach in just a few weeks through , a self-paced online teacher-preparation program.鈥�
The iteach program is entirely online, according to the website, which states that its curriculum 鈥渃overs essential aspects of teaching, including classroom management, instructional strategies, and student assessment, ensuring candidates are well-prepared for the classroom.鈥�
The 183,000-student district did not respond to requests for comment.
Experts advise caution against 鈥渇ast-track鈥� teacher prep programs
Teacher attrition rates, especially early in 糖心动漫vlog鈥� careers, have long been a cause for concern for the nation鈥檚 K-12 schools.
While several factors contribute to teachers leaving the profession, ranks high in studies that examine causes of attrition rates鈥攅specially among early-career teachers. And these feelings can be traced to inadequate teacher-training programs, said Ron Noble Jr., the chief of teacher preparation at the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based research and policy group that advocates for more rigorous teacher preparation.
鈥淔or us, critical to our mission is making sure that aspiring teachers have the time they need to acquire the really unique and nuanced content and skills that are necessary to be an effective teacher,鈥� said Noble. 鈥淚n our long history of looking at teacher-prep programs, we鈥檝e found that there鈥檚 a wide range of features and approaches to preparation within the label of alternative certification programs.鈥�
Alternative programs can be a cheaper, quicker pathway into the classroom and are more likely to allow candidates to serve as teachers of record before they are fully certified. But these programs vary significantly.
Some alternative programs offer comprehensive training that doesn鈥檛 look much different from traditional programs, while others have minimal standards and requirements. Colleges and universities, nonprofits, school districts, and for-profit companies all run alternative programs.
A recent NCTQ on online-only prep programs in Texas, which used federal Title II data from the 2021-22 school year, revealed that teachers who completed fully online programs in the state experienced much higher turnover rates and worse five-year retention rates compared to peers who completed traditional or in-person alternative programs. The report also showed that students taught by 糖心动漫vlog trained in these fully online programs experienced declines in reading and math achievement.
Other studies trying to compare in-person alternative teacher prep to traditional programs have not definitively concluded one is better than the other in terms of effectiveness.
Noble said he applauds creative thinking about how to bolster the teacher workforce right now, but he also expressed concern about 鈥渇ast-track鈥� teacher-prep programs that may leave new 糖心动漫vlog ill-prepared for their roles.
鈥淚t just creates this endless churn of supply and demand,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ecause the lack of quality preparation just doesn鈥檛 set up the teacher or the students for any degree of success.鈥�
