According to the U.S. Department of Education, all 50 states reported teacher shortages in more than one area for the 2022–23 school year. To address the K12 sector’s workforce challenges, HR tech solution, PeopleBench, today announces momentum in the U.S. through their district partnerships. Together, they are working to modernize the teaching profession by focusing on strategies to improve retention, build resilience, and create strong, supportive workplaces.

PeopleBench offers districts tools that are grounded in evidence-based human resources research and best practices. Districts use these tools to gather data that helps them to better understand their staff and compare their schools’ workforce to others. Districts, then, use these essential insights to build an evidence-informed workforce strategy, increase retention rates, and monitor the impact on staff and student outcomes. When district leaders prioritize their staff, including how to increase the resiliency of their employees, they increase retention and enhance student learning experiences.

PeopleBench is working with hundreds of schools across the U.S. to help build resilient educators nationwide. Currently, PeopleBench works with districts spanning the nation from Arizona to California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Vermont, including Title 1 schools, inner-city schools, and rural schools.

“Thankfully we’re not struggling as mightily with staff shortages to the degree of many neighboring districts because we’ve had a strong culture for quite some time. Olmsted Falls is a desirable district and people want to work here,” said Dr. Jim Lloyd, Superintendent of Olmsted Falls School based in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. “We are new to taking a more formal approach to this work and PeopleBench’s Resilience Tracker and Workforce Strategy Builder have been the catalyst in helping to build an even stronger attractive environment that prioritizes the needs of ALL of our staff and what’s important to them as a workforce.”

“So often, we see schools and districts focused on increasing student achievement and making schools a place where students want to learn, which is necessary. However, foundational to ensuring all students thrive, is building schools as places where educators want to work,” said  Fleur Johnston, Founder and CEO of PeopleBench. “We know that educators are one of the most influential factors to support student achievement, and we must support them as such. That’s why we are bringing PeopleBench to U.S. districts – so leaders have the data and processes they need to create a workforce strategy that attracts and retains educators.”

There is a wealth of research-informed HR practices and innovations to help them create a comprehensive strategy toward a sustainable and resilient workforce. In addition to working with schools and districts across the U.S., PeopleBench is working to further its evidence-based impact by partnering with the Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development, which explores the relationship between mental health and optimal development among children, youth, and the adults who support them. 

“Every student deserves a high-quality teacher, and every teacher deserves to be well-supported by their district,” said Michael J. Nakkula, Co-Director of the Penn GSE Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development. “Our research with PeopleBench is showing that district leaders highly value educators’ well-being and crave the data to better understand their feelings and insights. When students have well-supported teachers, they are in a better position to thrive both in the classroom and beyond.”

PeopleBench is continuing to partner with districts across the U.S., helping them to slow turnover, improve retention, and attract the staff they need in a highly competitive market. Learn more about their work at www.peoplebench.com, or see them in action at the upcoming School Superintendents Association (AASA) National Conference.