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District reports hiring gains and summer‑program successes; HR rolls out new applicant tools
Summary
Topeka Public Schools told the board it has hired more than 90 certified and more than 90 classified staff this year, reported a 39% increase in applicant volume compared with last June, and highlighted summer programs that served hundreds of students and recovered 349.5 course credits.
Topeka Public Schools staff told the board the district has strengthened recruitment and onboarding efforts and reported early results in hiring and summer programming.
An HR manager responsible for certified hiring said the district has now hired more than 90 certified employees and more than 90 classified employees this calendar year, and that applicant volume has increased roughly 39% compared with June of last year. HR credited a new, mobile‑friendly applicant‑tracking system and heightened recruitment activity — including job fairs and targeted outreach — with improving application flow and reducing candidate loss in the pipeline.
HR staff said the new platform offers a one‑page application, structured interview toolkits, candidate reviews within the system and a mobile hiring app that provides real‑time updates to applicants. Staff described plans to track retention with 30‑, 60‑ and 90‑day surveys via Qualtrics and to use mentoring, instructional coaches and regular professional‑learning touchpoints to support new teachers.
Board members raised retention questions; HR said it will include voluntary turnover and reasons for leaving in a dashboard and follow up with specific metrics in coming reports.
Separately, district staff presented summer‑program results: 623 students attended a mix of academic and enrichment camps; 22 seniors completed credit recovery through summer programs, producing 349.5 credits recovered districtwide. Program leads reported MAP percentile gains in math and reading at Ross for students who attended the summer bridge program compared with non‑attendees; staff said they will provide more detailed cohort data in future reports.
Staff also discussed funding models for summer camps, noting some camps were subsidized with Title funds and that a sliding scale or refundable fee model (for example, a $25 refundable fee upon course completion) helped increase completion rates.
Next steps: HR will continue to refine recruiting metrics and roll out retention dashboards; program staff will provide fuller outcome and cohort data to the board at a future meeting.
