By Guy Page

Burlington School District has 153 job openings posted on Indeed.com. Some of the job titles and estimated salaries show how school staffing needs and priorities have changed since most Vermont adults attended school.

Among the first 45 job postings, only four are for teachers. Salary listings are estimates by Indeed.com, and are not provided by the employer. The first day of school for new teachers is August 24, the first day for students is August 31.

Many of the non-teaching positions appear traditional: food service, school nurse, custodians, assistant drama coach. But the state’s largest school district is also looking for:

Campus Safety and Student Engagement Support team member (est. $39-49K/year) at Burlington High School to “support students in getting to class on time, remaining in class for the duration of the period, and monitor hallways, bathrooms, and other gathering areas for students cutting class.”

On-call interpreter ($25/hour) for “one or more of the following languages: Kirundi, Swahili, Nepali, Somali, or Maay Maay.”

Elementary Behavior Specialist ($29-37K) “to provide support for students who have experienced trauma and ongoing behavioral challenges in the K-5 learning environment.”

Parent University Manager to “develop a curriculum that empowers multilingual parents in connecting with their childrens’ schools” and “register and communicate with multilingual families to do outreach and connect them with Parent University classes, resources, and support.”

Hazing, Harassment & Bullying (HHB) Coordinator ($47-59K) who “investigates and drafts reports regarding incidents of harassment, hazing, and bullying to determine whether the actions reported violate Policy F 29 R, Prevention of Harassment, Hazing & Bullying of Students and Procedures on the Prevention of Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying of Students.”

Hunt Middle School Family Ambassador Coordinator (Part-time, est. $33-42K) is “part of the Burlington School District’s commitment to Recognizing Injustice and seeking Equity. The Family Ambassador Coordinator would recruit family members representing each of the following groups of students that are historically underserved:

• students requiring special education
• students from lower socio-economic status
• students learning English
• students from the Global Majority
• students from the LGBTQ+ community

Native Language Instructional Assistant to support Pashto-speaking students (FT $34-44K). Pashto is a language spoken in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Executive Director of Schools, no salary estimate provided, whose duties include “Supervision of 12 Principals” and “Development and implementation of a principal professional learning program.” This does not appear to be the Superintendent of Schools position, but rather a senior position to support current principals and develop new ones. 

Among the smattering of teaching positions advertised on Indeed.com, is this posting for a full-time substitute teacher – kind of like a baseball team’s “supersub” who plays almost every day, but at a different position on any given day, filling in as needed:

Building Sub – (full-time, $34-44K). Full-time position described as “Building-Based Substitute to provide instructional coverage when teachers are not in attendance.” Licensing preferred but not required. 

Statewide, about 3000 educator positions are unfilled, Vermont school experts say. Some Vermont schools are offering hiring bonuses.