Scaling Quality Instruction Across K-12 Districts

Education can serve as an incredible equalizer, providing opportunities for growth and success to individuals in a variety of circumstances. This, however, requires that education is, itself, equally available. In many ways, this is one of the limitations of previous iterations of education. Now, with the use of appropriate technologies, education can be accessible to more individuals and the quality of that instruction can be maintained like never before.

For school districts, there are numerous obstacles that have made it exceedingly difficult to provide quality education to all students in the necessary subjects (let alone the more “unique” areas of study). With the attitude that learning opportunities should not be limited by circumstances like location or travel ability, technology becomes the medium through which every student can be entitled to an impactful education from quality instructors who engage them intellectually. In this article, we’ll explore three of the main challenges that school districts face in providing quality education across classrooms, as well as discuss how virtual classroom platforms can operate as a solution.

Challenges school districts face

Many school districts in the United States struggle to provide the consistency and quality of education they seek because circumstances feel, in many ways, outside their control. Here, we’ll explore three of the top obstacles straining school districts in the U.S.

Teacher shortages

Perhaps the best known issue facing education, specifically K-12 education, is a trending teacher shortage. This shows up both from a reduction of graduates entering the workforce seeking teaching positions, as well as the length with which educators remain in the classroom—which has been steadily declining. In fact, according to a 2023 McKinsey study, “of the teachers ages 25 to 34 surveyed, 38 percent say they plan to leave.”

The pandemic caused a sharp spike in burnout and attrition; however, in the years since, this trend hasn’t found a precipitous decline to pre-pandemic levels. With fewer teachers entering the field and fewer teachers remaining in the profession long-term, districts struggle to fill the positions open that are necessary to offer certain subjects to students, while other necessary areas of study are understaffed and negatively impact the quality of instruction.

Budget constraints

While filling empty teacher positions is a deeply impactful issue school districts are facing, many school districts are struggling to even fund the positions they need to fill. While the demand to deliver the same (or even better) outcomes remains for districts each year, many are attempting to do so with the charge of accomplishing this with a reduced budget from previous years.

ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) has played a vital role for many districts post-pandemic; however, with that funding expiring, budgets have become an immediate issue for many. In a 2024 McKinsey study, this was highlighted as one of the top issues facing school districts, noting “When the [ESSER] funding stops, school district leaders can expect average budget declines of 5 to 8 percent, assuming no compensatory increase in state or local funding. Therefore, experts have been sounding the alarm for a ‘fiscal cliff’—a sharp reduction in spending—when ESSER ends. Our survey suggests that more than half (53 percent) of decision makers expect a fiscal cliff in their district’s spending when ESSER concludes.”

Learner engagement decline

While lesser cited outside the education community, learner engagement has been on the decline. This means that the reduced number of educators in underfunded classrooms is having a more difficult time engaging the students in those subject areas. Whether from an increase in student-teacher ratios, reduction of top-caliber educators, or other factors, student engagement is on the decline.

A 2024 Gallup poll crystalizes the ubiquitous nature of this issue, stating, “Nearly every educational engagement metric declined among middle and high school students. The largest drops were in students being interested in and challenged by what they are learning. This trend is in line with multiple iterations of Gallup research, which have repeatedly demonstrated that from fifth grade to 12th grade—and often, even from year to year—students’ engagement with their schoolwork drops precipitously.”

Virtual classroom platforms as a solution

Online classroom platforms can solve all three of the issues above from the perspectives of the student, the instructor, and the district.

Student solutions

Students, many of whom are geographically limited in their educational opportunities, can expand their horizons by accessing education virtually that may not be available in person in their living area. Additionally, virtual classroom platforms can also help tackle another growing concern in education of chronic absenteeism, which also positively impacts educational engagement and success.

Educator solutions

With the right tools, online classroom platforms provide increased levels of engagement, allowing educators to connect with students more capably. From breakout rooms to in-browser polls, educators can engage students like never before. Additionally, with the deep analytics top-end virtual classroom platforms provide, teachers can identify successful curriculum exercises or flag students in need of intervention even sooner.

District solutions

With the use of virtual classroom platforms, districts are no longer constrained to hiring instructors with geographic proximity. Districts can hire the best individual for the position and, in many instances, offer competitive salaries based on the cost of living for those individuals residing outside the district area. Additionally, with top-notch online classroom platforms, the scalability of coursework delivered by these instructions can be vast, ensuring quality education to an even broader number of learners.

Technology interventions

As evident from the examples above, there are a number of challenges facing school districts in their attempts to deliver quality education to all students. However, with the intentional use of top-end technology such as best-in-class virtual classroom platforms, districts can provide high-quality courses to their entire student population via qualified instructors even while operating on reduced budgets.

Interested in learning how a virtual classroom platform can serve as a solution to your school district’s challenges? Talk with a Class team member today, and let’s open up an even more accessible world of quality education to your students.