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Ext. PublicationWho’s Got Talent? Assessing Recruitment and Retention in Texas School Districts
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Effective employee recruitment and retention is the lifeblood of any organization, but in public education the stakes are particularly high. Over the past decade, the Texas educator labor market has become incredibly challenging, in part because District of Innovation waivers have reduced incentives for teacher certification.
How can district HR professionals chart a successful path?
By performing a recruitment and retention assessment of a major suburban district, we gained insights that highlight the importance of central office and campus communication, taking an objective look at a district’s brand awareness, ensuring process and policy are aligned for results and determining the truth behind teacher departures. We accomplished most of these goals using readily available data from the Texas Education Agency, State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and other sources.
A Structured Approach to Recruitment and Retention
Effective recruitment and retention assessments are collaborative, independent evaluations of district-level and campus-level processes. The goal is to understand current challenges and successes, evaluate consistency across campuses and identify practices that can be replicated districtwide.
The scope
These assessments should evaluate the full lifecycle of employment, including recruitment platforms and sourcing strategies, employer branding and online presence, screening and interview processes, onboarding and mentorship programs, retention initiatives and engagement surveys, as well as compliance procedures, diversity efforts and HR performance metrics.
Technology also plays a critical role. If systems cannot produce meaningful and reliable data, leadership is operating with limited visibility. This is an increasingly significant risk in a competitive labor market.
Assessment strategy: a two-phased approach
To understand how recruitment and retention processes function in practice, we conducted interviews and walkthroughs with HR leadership, district administration and campus personnel. These discussions were designed to move beyond documented procedures and capture how hiring decisions are made, communicated and executed across campuses.
From there, the assessment focused on two key areas: the design of the district’s processes and their overall effectiveness. We evaluated whether policies, procedures and internal controls were appropriately structured, including how recruitment, onboarding, performance monitoring and reporting functions were intended to operate. This included a review of documentation, communication channels and the alignment between district-level expectations and campus-level execution.
We then analyzed performance data and benchmarked results against peer districts using publicly available sources such as TEA performance reports (Texas Performance Reporting System and Texas Academic Performance Reports), Texas Association of School Boards salary surveys and SBEC retention data. This allowed us to evaluate not only internal performance, but also to compare the district’s outcomes within its competitive labor market. This approach provided a structured view of both how processes were designed and how they performed in practice.
What did the data tell us?
In our assessment of a large suburban district, we evaluated the effectiveness of its recruitment and retention strategies within a highly competitive regional labor market and found strong foundational processes at both the district and campus levels, with deeper analysis revealing several important patterns.
Recruitment
We reviewed new hire survey responses over a three-year period from 2022 to 2025, with 1,695 new hires participating during the audit period. Respondents were asked to rank the factors that influenced their decision to accept a position with the district.
The results provided a clear picture of what is driving recruitment success. Reputation emerged as the most influential factor, with more than 80% of respondents identifying it as highly important. Location and opportunities for professional growth were also consistently ranked as key drivers, reflecting both the district’s proximity to desirable living areas and its emphasis on career development.
The data also showed that the district’s website and professional job fair accounted for more than 60% of hires, while former affiliation and employee referrals contributed another 27%, reinforcing the importance of both external visibility and internal networks.
Salary competitiveness
These insights highlight what is attracting candidates, but not necessarily what is keeping them.
Salary benchmarking revealed a nuanced but important pattern. The district’s starting salary ranked 8th among 14 peer districts, slightly above the 25th percentile but below the median, suggesting moderate competitiveness for entry-level recruitment. However, when compensation was evaluated at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of experience, salaries consistently fell below peer medians. This gap was further compounded by a zero percent salary increase in the prior year, weakening the district’s position in an inflationary environment. While the district appeared competitive in attracting early-career educators, the data suggested increased vulnerability in retaining mid-career staff, highlighting the importance of salary trajectory, not just starting pay, in workforce stability.
Hiring process monitoring
Compensation trends provided important context for retention challenges, but they do not fully explain how candidates move through the hiring process. Data showed 62% of candidates received a recommendation to hire within 30 days of application. However, the system did not track campus interview dates, limiting leadership’s ability to establish clear expectations or identify bottlenecks. In a competitive hiring environment, speed and visibility matter.
Attrition patterns
While process efficiency is important, it represents only one part of the broader retention picture. Attrition analysis provided some of the most meaningful insights. By grouping departing employees based on years of service, we found that 64% of those who left had been with the district for five years or less. This pattern indicates a persistent early-career attrition trend, which remained consistent across multiple years of data.
When combined with exit survey information, the data revealed that educators were most commonly leaving for opportunities in other districts, relocation, retirement or other personal factors. Presenting this information to district leadership and the board provides a clearer understanding of the underlying drivers of turnover and creates an opportunity to align retention strategies with actual workforce behavior rather than assumptions about why educators leave.
Looking Ahead: Workforce Strategy in the HB 2 Environment
Recent legislative changes under HB 2 further elevate the importance of workforce strategy. Districts may no longer rely on uncertified teachers for foundation curriculum courses, regardless of District of Innovation status, and while these requirements will phase in through the 2029-30 academic year, the implications are already shaping recruitment and retention decisions.
At the same time, HB 2 introduces new certification pathways and incentives intended to strengthen the educator pipeline. These include financial incentives for teacher certification as well as expanded pathways through SBEC’s PREP programs, which offer multiple entry points into the profession, including residency, traditional pre-service, alternative certification and “grow your own” models. In addition, the creation of a flexible two-year internship certificate provides another route toward standard certification.
Together, these changes shift certification from a compliance consideration to a central component of workforce planning. Districts must now evaluate not only how they recruit and retain educators, but also how certification pathways, compensation structures and long-term staffing strategies align within a more regulated and competitive environment. These changes reinforce the need for a more integrated and forward-looking approach to workforce strategy.
The Strategic Imperative
Assessing recruitment and retention strategies should be viewed as an ongoing, collaborative effort between district leadership and campus administrators. Regular evaluation helps sustain effective practices while identifying where adjustments are needed to remain competitive in a changing labor market.
The findings from this assessment highlight a broader reality: Workforce challenges are rarely driven by a single issue. Instead, they reflect how compensation structures, hiring processes, certification requirements and market dynamics interact over time.
As legislative changes such as HB 2 reshape certification pathways and hiring flexibility, districts will need to take a more integrated approach to workforce planning. This includes understanding their position relative to peer districts, aligning compensation, retention strategies and hiring processes with long-term workforce goals.
Ultimately, the question is not whether talent exists. It is whether districts have built the systems and strategies necessary to compete for and retain that talent in an increasingly constrained and competitive environment.
To find out more about recruitment and retention assessments, contact us.
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