Kent School District staff on Jan. 8 presented a package of recruiting and retention initiatives aimed at addressing ongoing staffing shortages in certificated and classified roles.

The presentation to the Kent School District Board summarized actions already under way — workforce wellness programming tied to Board Policy 5515, new recruiting channels and virtual fairs, use of the Frontline applicant platform and a planned apprenticeship pipeline — and asked the board to continue supporting targeted outreach to hard‑to‑fill positions.

The workforce wellness committee, which Bre Adams identified as a direct implementation vehicle for board policy 5515 (workforce secondary traumatic stress), secured a $20,000 grant from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to fund staff mental‑health learning. “We were awarded a $20,000 grant from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation,” said Bre Adams, Director of Employment Support. Adams described a series of 10 micro‑learning sessions delivered this year through First Choice Health (the district’s employee assistance vendor) and the Alliance; topics included emotional intelligence, gratitude and self‑care.

Human resources staff provided data the board requested about hires and vacancies. Irene Aguilar said Frontline (implemented February 2024) had collected 2,756 applications to date, with most applicants listing Washington addresses. She reported 306 certificated hires in 2023–24 (new hires, rehires and transfers) and 190 certificated hires to date for 2024–25. Aguilar noted a recent vacancy fill rate of 89.24 percent for certificated positions and said the district is actively recruiting virtually to broaden the applicant pool.

Staff also summarized changes in workforce composition and retention: certificated staff of color rose from 17.8 percent in 2020 to 20.8 percent in 2023; overall staff of color rose from 23 percent to 25.9 percent in the same period. The district’s average staff age is 47 and women make up 74.4 percent of employees. The overall retention rate for 2023–24 was reported at 86.9 percent, up 0.73 percentage points from the prior year.

Board members pressed staff for more granular trend data and for evidence that recruitment tactics were working in specific hard‑to‑fill areas such as inclusive (special education) placements. Staff described targeted tactics used this year: university and career‑fair recruiting (including trips to Spokane and outreach to specific programs such as multilingual teacher programs), attendance at community events (Kent Cornucopia Days), in‑district “grow your own” pipelines, cold‑calling qualified substitutes, and posting classified positions in spring and summer to reach community applicants.

Staff described several retention and pathway initiatives under development or already in pilot form. Those include:
- An apprenticeship partnership being developed with KEA and regional partners to identify substitutes and paraeducators who want to become special‑education certificated staff and provide funded training and support; staff described the work as “more to come.”
- A job‑sharing option, already in the collective bargaining agreement with KEA, that allows two teachers to split a full‑time classroom when both the principal and teachers agree.
- Continued use of in‑person new‑employee orientation, mentor programs and employee recognition events to support belonging and long‑term retention.

On benefits and wellness, Adams said EAP utilization rose from roughly 3 percent when the wellness committee formed to “almost 5 percent” after the micro‑learning and outreach campaign. Adams also noted the committee’s monthly “Wellness Wednesday” email to staff as one tactic to increase awareness of existing resources.

Board members asked staff to return with longer trend windows where possible (beyond the four years presented) and with disaggregated vacancy and retention figures for the highest‑need roles and specific schools. Staff committed to follow up with additional data and to continue piloting the apprenticeship and targeted outreach efforts.

The work session portion of the Jan. 8 meeting concluded with the board adjourning to executive session; the public meeting resumed later the same evening.