Charles County outlines multi‑pronged teacher‑recruitment strategy: international hires, ‘Grow Your Own,’ mentoring and substitutes

Charles County Public Schools’ human‑resources and professional‑learning teams presented a comprehensive update on staffing efforts Oct. 14, describing a multi‑part strategy to recruit new teachers, support candidates through licensure and certify existing staff through “grow‑your‑own” pathways.

Nikki Majors, chief human resources officer, said CCPS faces recruitment challenges common to many districts — shortages in special education, science and mathematics and a national decline in teacher preparation programs — but reported progress in multiple fronts.

Key elements presented:

- Diversity and hiring trends: HR managers reported the district’s teacher workforce is more diverse than state and national averages and that the number of Black/African‑American teachers among new hires has been rising. Across unit staffing categories (teachers, administrators and support staff) the district said diversity improved between 2023 and 2025.

- International teacher pilot: CCPS is in its third class of international recruits on J‑1 visas, primarily secondary math candidates from countries in Africa and elsewhere; the vendor has offered to renew the program. The district said it will analyze student‑outcome data for international teachers to determine long‑term value and cost effectiveness.

- Grow‑your‑own initiatives: The Instructional Assistant Academy and other partnerships have helped paraprofessionals earn teacher credentials. The district reported about 200 instructional assistants have participated since 2022 and a number are converting to teacher roles; retention for academy participants was cited at roughly 75 percent.

- Expanded mentoring and National Board supports: The Office of Professional Learning said centralized induction, anchor mentoring, school‑based cohorts and a National Board Academy have increased candidate support. CCPS reported growth in National Board candidates (61 NBCTs now; growing candidate numbers) and MSDE grant funds near $50,000 to support candidates.

- Substitute program redesign: Officials described a hybrid substitute model featuring dedicated building subs, daily substitutes and long‑term substitutes; the overall substitute‑fill rate improved to 76.9 percent in September (from about 60.8 percent last year). The district emphasized using recruitment advertising, targeted job fairs and a new Radancy marketing platform to reach potential hires who live in the county but work elsewhere.

- Military spouse and workforce initiatives: CCPS highlighted partnerships to recruit military spouses, telephone outreach in the wake of federal workforce changes, targeted marketing for district job fairs and strengthened ties with higher‑education partners, including HBCUs and Hispanic‑serving institutions.

Board discussion and questions covered the scale and sustainability of the National Board program, the fiscal and logistical implications of the international teacher program, pathways for industry professionals and spouses to teach in CCPS, and whether the district can scale grow‑your‑own programs into a regular pipeline.

Why it matters: CCPS said the mixed strategy — short‑term substitutions and international hires to fill immediate vacancies plus long‑term grow‑your‑own, mentoring, and National Board investments — seeks to address both urgent openings and structural pipeline weaknesses.

What’s next: Staff will return with more data on outcomes for international teachers and continued reporting on mentor program funding as Title II grant structures evolve. HR said it will also continue job‑fair outreach, evaluate recruiting vendors, and pilot pathways such as apprenticeship and resident teacher programs.