Oak Creek Schools Partner with Edustaff to Combat Staff Shortages

OAK CREEK, WI – May 04, 2026 – The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District (OCF) has announced a strategic partnership with Edustaff, a national educational staffing firm, in a decisive move to address the persistent and deepening crisis of educator shortages. The collaboration outsources the recruitment, management, and placement of substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, and other support staff to the specialized company, aiming to ensure every classroom remains staffed and functional throughout the school year.

The partnership arrives as school districts across Wisconsin and the nation grapple with an unprecedented staffing crunch. With a dwindling pipeline of new teachers and high attrition rates, the ability to find qualified substitutes has become a daily challenge for school administrators. This new model allows OCF leadership to offload complex staffing logistics and refocus on their primary mission: student education.

A Response to a Statewide Crisis

The decision by the Oak Creek-Franklin district is not made in a vacuum. It reflects a stark reality facing Wisconsin's public education system. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has described the state's education workforce as being in crisis, with educators leaving the profession at an alarming rate. In the 2022-23 school year alone, the state issued 3,338 emergency one-year teaching licenses—a 24% increase since 2019—to fill classroom vacancies, often with individuals who are not fully certified.

Data reveals the severity of the problem. In Wisconsin, only about 56% of first-year teachers remain in public schools by their seventh year. The shortage, once most acute in specialized areas like special education, has now expanded to impact regular elementary and middle school classrooms. A fall 2023 survey of Wisconsin districts pointed to low compensation, poor work-life balance, and overwhelming workloads as primary drivers of the exodus.

This crisis extends dramatically to substitute staffing. Before the pandemic, national substitute fill rates hovered around 80%; they have since plummeted to between 50-60%. In Wisconsin, some districts have seen their substitute pools halved, with fill rates on good days struggling to reach 80%. When a substitute cannot be found, the ripple effect is significant: classes may be combined, forcing overcrowding, or other teachers and administrators are pulled from their own duties to cover the absence, disrupting school-wide educational planning and support.

The Business of Staffing: A Model of Efficiency

By partnering with Edustaff, OCF is adopting a model increasingly used by districts to gain operational efficiency. Edustaff will manage the entire employment lifecycle for substitute and support staff, leveraging what it calls a “proprietary technology platform.” This system handles everything from recruitment, credential verification, and background checks to scheduling, payroll, and compliance with complex employment laws.

This comprehensive outsourcing is designed to significantly reduce the administrative burden on OCF's human resources department and building principals. Instead of spending hours each day trying to fill absences, district leaders can concentrate on instructional leadership, teacher development, and student outcomes. Edustaff’s model benefits from economies of scale, maintaining a large, pre-vetted pool of candidates that can be deployed across its partner districts.

“Partnering with Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District is an exciting opportunity for Edustaff,” said Derek Vogel, Chief Executive Officer of Edustaff, in the original announcement. “Together, we will work to ensure every classroom has a qualified professional ready to step in and make a difference each and every day.”

The financial calculus for the district involves trading the direct, and often unpredictable, costs of internal recruitment and management for a contractual fee. While the specific terms of the OCF agreement are not public, the value proposition for districts generally lies in cost predictability and the mitigation of hidden costs associated with unfilled positions, such as lost instructional time and burnout among permanent staff.

A New Reality for Substitute Staff

The transition has a direct impact on the individuals who work in these crucial roles. Current OCF substitutes will now need to apply and onboard with Edustaff to continue working in the district. This means they will become employees of the staffing agency, not the school district itself. Edustaff will manage their pay, offer benefits, and serve as their formal employer.

While the district and Edustaff promise a “seamless transition,” the shift changes the employment landscape for these educators. For many, the flexibility of choosing their own assignments and workdays is a major draw. Edustaff's technology, which integrates with popular absence management systems, facilitates this flexibility.

However, the employment model is not without its critics. An analysis of employee reviews for Edustaff and similar agencies reveals a recurring theme: while districts praise the efficiency and high fill rates, some substitute employees express concerns over compensation and benefits. Pay and benefits consistently rank as the lowest-rated category in employee satisfaction surveys, with many substitutes reporting that wages are low and affordable health insurance is difficult to access. For certified teachers working as substitutes, employment through an agency often means they are not contributing to the state's teacher pension system.

A Proven Model for Filling Classrooms

For school districts, the results of partnering with a firm like Edustaff can be compelling. The company, which operates in over 600 districts across more than a dozen states, has a track record of improving staffing metrics. For example, after partnering with Edustaff, the Calhoun County School District in Alabama reported its average substitute fill rate exceeded 95%. Similarly, the Corvallis School District in Oregon saw its substitute pool grow by 54% in its first year with the agency.

This focus on core staffing has allowed Edustaff to expand its footprint and its services. The company recently acquired E-Therapy, a provider of virtual therapy services, signaling a move to offer a more integrated suite of solutions to address the diverse needs of modern school districts, particularly in special education.

For the Oak Creek-Franklin community, this partnership represents a pragmatic approach to a vexing problem. It aims to bring stability to classrooms and provide relief for overworked administrators. The success of the initiative will be measured not only in fill rates and financial efficiencies but also in the continued ability of the district to provide a consistent, high-quality learning environment for every student, every day.