Nicola Soares | Teacher Shortage, Staffing, & Talent Supply Chain

This podcast episode features a conversation between Hayley Spira-Bauer and Nicola "Nikki" Soares, president of Kelly Education. Nikki, who began her career as a social studies teacher before moving into academic publishing and eventually leading Kelly Education, discusses the challenges facing education staffing today. She highlights the teacher shortage crisis, declining enthusiasm for the profession, inadequate compensation, and increasing demands on educators. Nikki advocates for reimagining education systems by making schools community cornerstones, better aligning curriculum with workforce needs, improving teacher compensation, and embracing alternative certification pathways. She explains that Kelly Education supports educators through professional development, mentoring, and recognition programs while using technology to efficiently match qualified teachers with schools. Nikki emphasizes the importance of measuring impact through classroom observations, teacher performance metrics, and fill rates. Despite current challenges, she remains excited about the renewed focus on educational excellence and advises new teachers to be purpose-driven in pursuing this essential profession.