Charter school network finds solution to teacher shortage — virtually

A San Jose-baed charter school network has found a unique solution to its staffing shortage: hiring teachers in other states and allowing them to work virtually, the Mercury News reported.

Alpha Public Schools, which operates four schools in San Jose, has hired 11 teachers from Alaska, Maryland and Texas to teach online.

“I know it’s not ideal for our students — we all know that,” Shara Hegde, chief executive officer of Alpha Public Schools, told the Mercury News. “But until we really, radically change the education profession here in the United States, we’re going to be looking at solutions like this.”

Staffing shortages are not unique to Alpha Public Schools. Eighty percent of California’s school districts are understaffed, according to the Learning Policy Institute.