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3 Creative Ways to Expand Teacher Capacity and Improve Outcomes

Jun 03, 2025
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Even as needs and expectations rise, teachers are spread thin. Just a few stats that highlight the current reality:

  • Teachers work a median of 54 hours per week
  • They spend over 180 hours grading and providing feedback over a school year
  • 79% of public schools have faced difficulty staffing positions with fully certified teachers

Meanwhile, more than 1 in 4 students nationwide were chronically absent (missed at least 10% of school days) in 2023. A shortage of faculty and staff available to develop strong relationships with students has been indicated as a factor contributing to absenteeism, and the learning gaps resulting from poor attendance cause additional strain on the remaining teachers. An Education Week survey of teachers found that extra time spent planning makeup work for students was a major cause of stress, and lacking bandwidth to build relationships is something that keeps teachers up at night. 

District leaders and school leaders alike are feeling the pain. Education Week surveys conducted at the same time found that school funding, resources, and staffing—including a lack of certified staff applying for jobs—is the number one issue that administrators are worried about.

Addressing teacher capacity concerns is an effective way to demonstrate tangible support for educators and enhance the instructional environment for students. Here are three ways administrators can begin:

1: Expand instructional capacity through virtual instruction

Are you experiencing any of these challenges?

  • Overcrowded classes
  • Increased overall student loads for individual teachers
  • The need to use temporary or emergency certifications
  • Lack of qualified applicants for open positions

Cost-effectively adding virtual instructional staff can be a game-changing solution for your schools, your teachers, and your students. 

For example, Edmentum recently helped one district offer Spanish across four different schools using one certified EdOptions Academy teacher. This helped fill the roles amid a shortage of teachers, gave the other teachers time back for planning periods, and ensured students has access to Spanish classes taught by a certified instructor, rather than four educators teaching out-of-area.

Dr. James Bevere is Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Hillside Public Schools in New Jersey, another district Edmentum has supported. He explains, “It put an actual [virtual] teacher in the classroom that was certified in the New Jersey content standards, that could deliver direct instruction to our kids five days a week within our bell schedule.” This helped Hillside improve its graduation rate, but more importantly, says Dr. Bevere, students’ test scores increased. 

Plus, recapture enrollment by providing educators and options

Your district may also be facing declining enrollment—and the associated loss of funding—which can limit the resources available to address staffing needs and other instructional goals, even as the existing enrollment outpaces teacher capacity. Virtual instruction is one way to address these competing challenges simultaneously by expanding course access and ensuring classes are taught by qualified educators. This makes it appealing for students to return to the district with confidence they’ll have the personalized options and quality, human-centered instruction they desire. 

2: Address individual educator needs through coaching

Every educator can improve through coaching. Some may feel overwhelmed, particularly in classroom management. They may be new teachers, new to their subject area, new to your district, or just facing a new set of challenges. Each of these needs can be supported through coaching.

When you coach your educators, you give them the space and time to improve their craft systematically. Even veteran teachers benefit from coaching, allowing them to explore new strategies and tools and avoid the yearly burnout that many educators face.

We offer a non-evaluative instructional coaching program built on mentorship. It’s an educator-first approach that increases: 

  • Morale
  • Retention
  • Effectiveness
  • Student performance 

Educators receive personalized coaching based on their content and systems, aligned to your standards and strategic plan, with engaging resources and networking opportunities.

3: High-impact tutoring to address individual student needs

High-dosage tutoring has been shown to make an impact in addressing the negative outcomes of chronic absenteeism, closing persistent skill gaps, and improving the intentional use of instructional time. Interestingly, students experiencing chronic absenteeism are more likely to attend school on the days they are scheduled to receive high-impact tutoring; this is consistent with students’ stated desire for relationships with instructors, which student-centered tutoring can provide. 

When implemented correctly, tutoring can help improve these challenges and add capacity to your educators. For example, being able to slide virtual tutoring into an elementary classroom in a station rotation model or in a secondary schedule through a study hall or even during self-directed time in the classroom means teachers can continue doing what they do best – leading a whole class’s instructional time - while their struggling students receive the help they need, without disrupting the classroom or sourcing more teachers.

These ideas are just a few of the ways Edmentum can support teachers. Check out our free Teacher Capacity Toolkit to learn more about these and other methods for extending teacher capacity.

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