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Chelsea outlines recruitment, retention work; HR cites nearly $1 million in DESE scholarships and rising teacher diversity
Summary
HR presented pipeline and licensure supports, called out policy changes and DESE scholarship funding to support educator certification; district said diverse teacher hires are approaching 30% versus a DESE average of about 10%.
Christine Lee, the district’s HR director, told the school committee the district’s recruitment and retention strategy combines pipeline programs, mentoring, MTEL supports and scholarship funding to diversify the educator workforce.
"The mission for the Department of Human Resources is to recruit, develop, and retain diverse educators that reflect our students and families," Lee said, summarizing the rationale for sustained investment in teacher pathways and licensure supports.
Lee detailed a multi‑pronged strategy launched in 2019 that includes a teacher‑pathway cohort, MTEL (licensure) supports and mentoring for new paraprofessionals and administrators. She said the Department has obtained "almost 1000000 dollars" in DESE scholarships so far to help candidates secure certification and enter classrooms.
The HR presentation referenced a policy adopted in 2020 requiring diverse candidate panels in school hiring, an initiative committee members credited for helping diversify applicant pools. Lee summarized that since 2019 the district has been "almost at 30% diverse teaching staff," a figure she contrasted with a reported DESE average of 10%.
Members praised the work and asked for future reporting that compares staff diversity trends to student demographic trends. The committee commended the HR recruitment and retention report to the record.
