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Frederick County Schools report persistent elementary special-education vacancies, expands recruitment supports
Summary
Personnel Committee members were told June 8 that Frederick County Public Schools faces ongoing elementary special-education vacancies and is expanding recruitment and retention steps — including fully funding an iTeach pathway for candidates, mentoring revisions, supplemental pay, and targeted position reallocations.
Dr. Hummer, an agency official with Frederick County Public Schools, told the Personnel Committee on June 8 that the items presented were information-only and included a staffing update focused on recruitment and retention.
Rachel, who led the staffing presentation, said the district has fewer elementary vacancies overall and has cut support vacancies, but that elementary special education remains a persistent need. Committee member Mr. North asked how many of a previously referenced count were special-education positions; staff indicated the majority were special-education roles.
Ms. Ricker, from special education, described several steps the division is taking to recruit and retain staff in critical-shortage areas. "We are fully funding the iTeach program for folks as they finish it," she said, and staff noted the district is sponsoring multiple cohorts and reimbursing costs such as Praxis exams to ease the path from provisional to full licensure. The district is also revisiting mentoring for early-career special-education teachers and offering supplemental pay for certain level-2 positions.
Staff presented data showing the hires committed for the 2026–27 school year remain concentrated among less-experienced teachers (0–10 years) though there was some increase in hires with 11–15 years of experience. Resignations recorded as of May 28 show 2025 trending higher and close to 2024; presenters cautioned that the slide covered only end-of-year effective resignations as of that date and that a fuller turnover picture will be provided later this year.
Officials also described internal position reallocation work to meet compliance and staffing needs without adding FTEs: the district reassigned 10 staff to new roles, moved five staff to new locations, and shifted several special-instruction support positions from middle/secondary into elementary schools to increase elementary coverage.
The district said it will continue collecting data about why staff leave and aims to present a deeper analysis in August or September. Next steps include continuing the funded iTeach cohorts, mentoring revisions, ongoing recruitment via expanded job-posting efforts and job fairs, and monitoring the impact of reassignments on classroom support.
