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San Bernardino City Unified details hiring gains, $2.8 million teacher-residency grant and plans to recruit local graduates
Summary
District HR leaders told the school board they recruited 313 new certificated educators for 2025–26 (including a sizable share of SBCUSD alumni), reported nearly 17,000 classified applications, and outlined a teacher‑residency partnership with UC Riverside supported by a $2.8 million state grant.
San Bernardino City Unified School District human-resources officials on June 16 told the board they are expanding hiring pipelines and boosting programs to retain and develop local educators.
In a presentation led by Dr. Dwisan and HR directors, the district said it welcomed 313 new certificated educators for the 2025–26 year, 24% of whom graduated from SBCUSD high schools. The personnel commission reported receiving roughly 16,895–17,860 classified applications this cycle and certifying 115 eligibility lists that led to 747 classified employment offers accepted.
The nut graf: HR leaders framed the hiring results as part of a broader “grow-your-own” strategy that pairs local recruitment with targeted training and a new teacher residency program. The residency, run in partnership with the University of California, Riverside, is supported by a reported $2.8 million grant from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and offers residents an approximate $32,000 stipend to complete student‑teaching and credential requirements, with priority pathways for special education, dual-language/multiple-subjects and math.
"We recruit, hire, develop, support and retain the talented individuals who make student success possible," said Alexis Jinx, identified in the presentation as the classified-HR director. Dr. Robert Morales, director of certificated human resources, said the residency program produced nine graduates in its first cohort and is expanding to 25 student teachers for 2026–27.
Board members asked HR for more detail about how many residency recruits are former SBCUSD students; HR agreed to supply that breakdown. Trustees pressed about hard-to-fill credential areas such as visually impaired (VI) and deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) specialties; HR acknowledged scarcity statewide and said the residency is one strategy to grow local candidates for those credentials.
The presentation also addressed candidate screening methods. "My process is actually me," an HR presenter said in response to questions about artificial intelligence use in screening, adding that recruitment staff and on‑site interviews remain central to selection. For classified positions, the personnel commission reported reviewing each application and placing qualified candidates on eligibility lists after examinations.
The district said it will expand customer-service training across schools, reintroduce a "secret-shopper" feedback mechanism and increase opportunities for student and community input in HR performance measures.
What happens next: HR will return to the board with requested breakdowns (including how many residency participants are district alumni) and further details on recruitment tactics for hard-to-fill credentials.
