Public School Staffing Outlook Positive Ahead Of 2025-26 Academic Year

The Nantucket Public Schools (NPS) look likely to be fully or nearly fully staffed on opening day next fall, continuing a trend that has emerged in recent years after a period of significant staff shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report from Superintendent Elizabeth Hallett at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, the district has already filled 16 of 24 teaching vacancies with nearly three months to go before the first day of classes in the fall.

“We are in a pretty good place,” Hallett said. “We will continue working very hard at hiring and hopefully assisting with housing for the folks that are in need.”

“Off-island, there's a lot of budget cuts, there's a lot of issues in terms of federal funding, etc. I think we are benefiting from that. There's just not as many opportunities,” Nantucket Teachers Association President Page Martineau said.

The majority of the open positions are in special services areas, including social workers, special educators, psychologists, and speech therapists.

“It is very hard across the country to find people for these positions. We will do everything we can to advertise and promote these positions,” Hallett said.

There are also still seven to 10 vacant teaching assistant (TA) positions.

“It’s always kind of a moving number, but that’s currently where we’re at,” Hallett said.

Teaching assistant positions have historically been some of the hardest positions for NPS to fill. They provide learning assistance in the classroom and are critical for students with special needs and learning disabilities. TAs are paid less than teachers, making it harder to attract people to fill those roles, an issue NPS has struggled with for years.

“The reality is that TA salaries are pretty low,” Martineau said. “It's hard to make a living off a TA salary.”

Martineau stressed the importance of TA positions, suggesting that, if necessary, NPS could look to fill TA roles with teachers, potentially combining multiple TA roles into one. This could be necessary to comply with certain students’ Individualised Education Plans, or IEPs.

“TAs fill a really important role in the education of our kids. They are absolutely necessary to the functioning of the school system,” she said.

TA positions are difficult to fill across the country, but the problem is exacerbated on Nantucket by the island’s housing crisis. The high cost of housing is particularly difficult for TAs, as they make less money than teachers. Martineau said that some TAs have to work second jobs to afford life on Nantucket.

Despite these remaining challenges, the staffing outlook for next year remains broadly positive. After a series of difficult years in the aftermath of COVID-19, culminating in severe shortages in 2022-23, NPS has successfully filled its vacancies in recent years, a trend that looks likely to continue.