Knox County Schools achieved a remarkable milestone this year by reducing its teacher vacancies to near-zero levels, with just a handful of full-time teaching positions open across the entire district at the start of the school year.
This accomplishment is the result of strategic and innovative hiring practices implemented by the district’s Talent Acquisition team, led by Executive Director Alex Moseman.
A cultural shift in the hiring process meant an intentional focus on simplifying the process for potential candidates.
“The most meaningful changes were made by thinking about how we can remove barriers for interested teachers to apply, and then how we could be more responsive to candidates and principal’s needs,” Moseman said.
One of the innovative tools designed to streamline the application process is the Teach Knox interest form which directly connects respondents to the right people.
“Tell us where you’re at, and we’ll tell you the right next steps,” Moseman said. “We created systems that present good choices to candidates, and it puts people where they best fit and connects them with the people who can help them get where they want to be.”
This efficient and simplified approach aided in the hiring of three teachers at Belle Morris Elementary this year.
Olivia Craig, a fourth grade teacher, said the new developments made it easier for her to get a job with KCS than any other hiring experience.
“It was really seamless and easy,” Craig said. “Someone reached out to me after I submitted my application and walked me through the whole process.”
She continued, “They did a good job of making sure they put great educators where they belong. It’s so nice to be with people who care about teaching.”
Further modern adaptations, like recorded interviews, also aided in expediting the hiring process by removing barriers to traditional interview practices.
“You can buy a home from your phone nowadays. You should be able to get a job at Knox County Schools from your phone,” Moseman said. “Life can get busy, so for the people that need some flexibility in their schedule to get a job with us, we’ve built systems to account for the fact that they don’t need to be in a specific place and time to interview with us.”
Another key component of this success was making the hiring process visible and accountable for principals.
The Talent Acquisition team shared a scoreboard every week with principals and gave shout-outs to schools who were 100% staffed to build momentum as the start of the school year drew near.
This transparency and recognition of progress motivated schools to strive for full staffing, creating a district-wide push toward the goal.
“We had to put ourselves in the mindset that we’re competing with everybody for great talent,” Moseman said. “We’re not just competing with other school districts, but also other organizations throughout the region. And with high competition, speed and efficiency is going to be the key component to being successful.”
The district’s success in reducing vacancies has even led to a new challenge—turning away candidates due to a full roster of teachers.
“There were teachers that we were not able to hire because we do not have a position for them,” Moseman said. “If you expressed an interest this year and you weren’t able to get a position in the district, we would encourage you to come back and apply again!”
For those who are still interested in joining KCS, the district will open early hiring for the 2025-26 school year in November.By building a culture of accountability and implementing innovative hiring tools, Knox County Schools has shown that with the right strategies, even ambitious goals–like reaching nearly zero teacher vacancies–are attainable.
Great Educators in Every School
Great educators are core to the mission of KCS. By investing in meaningful professional development and growth opportunities, and pursuing innovative strategies to retain and recruit high-quality educators, KCS is positioning great educators in every classroom.