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Desert Sands outlines recruitment push and teacher residency program after vacancy declines
Summary
Personnel staff told the board the district has reduced vacancies to single digits this school year, has hired about 101 people, and received a record 115 applications for a new teacher residency program that will begin its first cohort in June 2026.
District personnel staff presented the board with recruitment data and an update on a teacher residency program designed to grow local candidates into credentialed teachers.
Presenters summarized national and state-level shortages in certain credential areas and said Desert Sands has seen a steady pattern of roughly 100 combined resignations and retirements over the past four years but has reduced vacancies from the 'thirties' three years ago to single digits at the start of the current school year. Staff reported the district hired about 101 people this year; roughly half of hires were attributable to active recruitment and job‑fair efforts.
The district described targeted outreach including in‑district job fairs (certificated fairs scheduled Jan. 31 and May 30; classified fair Jan. 17), partnerships with Cal State San Bernardino Palm Desert campus and Hispanic‑serving institutions, high school outreach, and social media marketing. Personnel presenters reported robust attendance at recent career events and said 343 people attended one classified career fair.
On the residency program, personnel staff said the application period closed with 115 applications — a record for the program — and that interviews are scheduled to begin immediately with the first cohort to start classes in June 2026. Trustees asked whether current teachers could apply; presenters clarified the residency is an extended student‑teaching experience intended for candidates in credentialing programs, not for fully certificated current teachers. Staff said the first cohort could include up to 23 residents and that the program will provide about $42,000 for someone in a teacher credentialing year to support them during the residency.
Trustees and staff also discussed supports for classified employees who want to pursue teaching credentials: the board referenced C2T2 funds and other grants that can provide thousands of dollars per year while staff earn degrees. Board members praised efforts to “grow our own” workforce and emphasized outreach focused on local candidates as a retention strategy.
Next steps noted in the presentation included conducting the interview rounds for residency applicants and continuing local recruitment and outreach to reduce persistent hard‑to‑fill credential gaps.
