Why Public Schools Are Losing Candidates Before They Even Apply

There’s a quiet problem in K-12 hiring that rarely makes it into board presentations or HR dashboards. It’s not about pay scales, or certification bottlenecks, or even the well-documented teacher shortage.

It’s about visibility.

Or more accurately, invisibility—the way many public school jobs go unnoticed, buried in outdated systems and disconnected from the places where educators are actually looking.

The Application That No One Sees

Most school districts still rely on legacy systems like AppliTrack or PowerSchool to post job openings. These platforms were built for internal record-keeping and compliance, not for attracting talent in a digital-first world.

So while a district may believe its open roles are “out there,” the reality is often very different.

Jobs don’t syndicate reliably to platforms like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. When they do, they’re often missing key information or formatted in ways that confuse job seekers. In some cases, the jobs never appear on the external boards at all.

I’ve spoken with experienced educators who are actively looking for new roles—but had no idea that a nearby district had openings. Not because they weren’t searching. But because those roles simply weren’t showing up. And yes…teachers use job boards too. 

The Friction of the Full Application

Even when a job does surface, the application process can become another barrier. Candidates are often asked to create accounts, upload the same information multiple times, and complete lengthy forms before they’ve had a single conversation with a human being.

This is especially discouraging for mid-career educators who already have a job. They may be curious about new opportunities—but they’re not going to spend an hour filling out paperwork just to express interest.

In many other industries, the early stages of hiring have become more conversational, more accessible. In education, we still tend to start with bureaucracy.

And that’s costing us talent.

Reimagining the First Step

Imagine if the first interaction with a district didn’t require a full application.

What if a teacher could raise their hand with a simple form: name, email, phone number, and resume? In return, they’d get a message confirming receipt—and a note that someone will reach out if their background aligns.

It’s not just about making things easier. It’s about creating a moment of mutual interest—where both candidate and district agree: “Let’s keep talking.”

Districts could view those submissions in real-time, through a dashboard or app, with the ability to text, call, or email directly. Not through some clunky interface, but in a way that feels responsive and human.

That initial interaction doesn’t replace a formal application or vetting process—but it respects the reality that every hire begins with attention and interest.

The Bigger Picture

At its core, this isn’t just a tech problem—it’s a mindset shift. We need to stop thinking of job postings as static announcements and start treating them as the beginning of a conversation.

Public education is filled with mission-driven people who want to do meaningful work. But when our systems are hard to navigate, when our jobs are hard to find, we unintentionally send the message: “Don’t bother.”

We have an opportunity to change that. To make discovery easier. To lower the threshold for connection. To build hiring systems that reflect the values we hold in our classrooms—accessibility, empathy, responsiveness.

It starts by acknowledging the gap between how we post jobs and how people actually find them.

And then, doing the quiet, unglamorous work of fixing it.