As Durham Public Schools prepares for the upcoming school year, the district is launching a Recruitment Incentive Bonus Program with the hopes of attracting skilled educators to fill critical classroom positions in areas like math, science, and exceptional children.
Sign-on bonuses up to $3,500 are available to new hires. Additional bonuses are offered based on the school, grade level, and field of study, and are cumulative up to $8,000. Funding for incentives will come from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund as part of the Education Stabilization Fund in the CARES Act.
“As we continue to strive to fully highlight all that Durham has to offer for potential candidates across all of our positions, we also recognize there is great competition both inside and outside the educational ranks,” said Dr. Alvera Lesane, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. “Additionally, DPS along with our competitors are trying to secure additional talent to catch up on COVID losses. The recruitment bonuses will entice those who have perhaps been contemplating Durham as a destination to come join us to serve our students in various capacities.”
The bonus structure is designed to attract and retain external candidates to fill more than 300 vacancies in DPS during the 2021-2022 hiring season. The addition of more than 100 positions to accelerate student achievement in response to the impact of COVID-19 coupled with an insufficient pipeline of available candidates in identified areas yields a need to exhaust all measures to draw talent to Durham to serve our 32,000 students.
Based on a review and an assessment of vacancies, DPS recruitment bonuses are based on two factors:
- Hard to Recruit Areas
- NC Low-Performing Schools Status
The recruitment bonus will be paid overtime with an initial payment upon hire to encourage the retention of new hires long enough to adapt to Durham culture.
The bonus will be given over a three-year period with the first bonus installment being given in September 2021 and the remaining amount is split between September 2022 and 2023. Teachers must agree to serve the district for three full years.
To see all available jobs at DPS, click here.
