The Hidden Half: School Employees Who Don't Teach

FORDHAM IN ST ITUTE ADVANCING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE DO YOU KNOW WHO WORKS IN OUR NATION'S SCHOOLS? NON-TEACHING STAFF COMPRISE, ON AVERAGE, 50% OF ALL STAFF IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS 50.02% 30.83% 11.81% 2.66% 2.16% 1.7% 0.81% Teachers Support Staff Aides Principals District Staff Guidance Staff Librarians 3.1 mil 1.9 mil 732 k 165 k 134 k 105 k 50 k Out of 6,195,207 Total Staff (2010-2011) OF THE 50% OF STAFF WHO DON'T TEACH, FOR EVERY 1,000 STUDENTS, SCHOOLS AVERAGE: Student Support Services Staff Guidance Staff Librarians Administrative Sta 19 29 2010 TOTAL Non Teachers 68/1000 TOTAL Teachers 74/1000 |10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 I 60 |70 1993 TOTAL Teachers 69/1000 Non Teachers TOTAL 57/1000 4 2 31 27 Other Staff 13 Guidance Staff Student Support Services Staff Instructional Coordinator Other Staff Who Are They? "Other staff" is the largest category of I Custodians I Security non-teachers, by far. At well over 1 I Food Service Staff I Mechanics million positions nationwide, it accounts for all personnel that do not I Bus Drivers I Electricians fit into another defined group. Yet the I Bus Attendants I And so on... breadth of the category makes it a I Information Technology Staff virtually meaningless measure. Non-teaching staff grew by 130% between 1970 and 2010. Student enrollment grew by 8.6%. In 1970 teacher aides accounted for 1.7% of all staff. By 2010 they accounted for 11.8%. Rural areas have many more non-teaching staff per student. The farther a school is from a city, the higher its staff ratio: Rural areas Towns Suburbs Cities 73.8/1000 65.9/1000 61.3/1000 56.6/1000 Students Students Students Students 73.8 60 - 65.9 50 - 59.6 61.3 50.4 51.6 51.7 56.6 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 - 1993 2010 1993 2010 1993 2010 1993 2010 Over the years, schools have quietly evolved into complex institutions-with staff to match. But is that growth necessary and sustainable? To learn more, read The Hidden Half: School Employees Who Don't Teach at www.edexcellence.net eStaff Teacher Aides Instructional Coordinator Other Staff Teacher Aides Administrative Staff Librarians