Each spring, while students count down the days to summer break, Canyons District’s Human Resources team kicks into high gear. That’s because it’s hiring season, and the task of recruiting the best and brightest teachers for a school district the size and caliber of Canyons is nothing short of Herculean.

In the latest episode of Connect Canyons, we explore how school systems like ours manage to hire hundreds of educators each year while balancing student needs, budget realities, and the ever-changing job market. You’ll hear from CSD’s two crack recruiters, Lori Reynolds and Kelly Tauteoli, both former school principals. And we’ll talk to Canyons Human Resources Director Steve Dimond about all the data-crunching and detail-sweating that goes into calculating how many teachers are needed to staff each one of our 47 schools and programs each year. 

 “Our goal is to always hire the very best candidates that we can, because that's truly where the rubber hits the road is. If our students are going to make growth and be proficient, it starts with the teacher in the classroom,” Dimond said. “All of us have a teacher who made a difference in their life, and we want make certain that we find those teachers for all of our students.”

 1:54 — The Scale of Teacher Hiring
The hiring volume at CSD fluctuates significantly from year-to-year—from 300 teachers three years ago to about 100 projected for this year. The recruiting season begins in February with "crunch time" in March when schools receive their teacher allocations

5:35 — Hiring Challenges and Market Shifts

There are signs that the nationwide teacher shortage has abated. Special education, dual language immersion, math, science, and CTE positions remain the most challenging teaching jobs to fill. But local colleges and universities are starting to train more teacher candidates. CSD also has “grow your own” programs to prime the teacher pipeline.

 9:25 — Why Teachers Choose Canyons

Canyons has a reputation for supporting teachers with training and adequate resources. The District’s access to the great outdoors and proximity to the urban perks of Salt Lake City are also big draws. In addition, Canyons has invested heavily in growing teacher salaries; the starting teacher salary is currently $61,610.

14:59 — Forecasting Staffing Needs

Forecasting hiring needs from year-to-year is no small feat. It starts with demographic data and enrollment projections, while taking into consideration the unique programmatic needs of each school. Class size targets vary by grade level: K (22.15), grades 1-3 (22.3), grades 4-8 (26.3), and grades 9-12 (27).