(AP) – The Hawaii Department of Education has the lowest number of teacher vacancies since 2019. Hawaii’s high cost of living and isolated location have made recruiting and retaining qualified teachers a long-term challenge for the state, but the Department of Education had just 166 unfilled teaching positions when students returned to classes last week. In comparison, DOE recorded over 1,000 vacancies in August 2022. A new contract from the teacher’s union is providing veterans with greater pay incentives to stay in the classroom and the state has increased international hires. Some principals are hopeful that the teacher workforce is beginning to stabilize and grow, but schools may experience a surge of retirements in the coming years.

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