CASE STUDY
Reducing Time-to-Fill
When time-to-fill is lengthy and critical educational positions remain unfilled, students suffer. Research shows that extended teacher vacancies force schools into difficult compromises, including hiring underprepared or under certified teachers, staffing classrooms with substitute teachers, increasing class sizes, canceling courses, and adding responsibilities to existing teachers; all of which negatively impact student achievement[1].
These compromises often harm staff as well, as factors like increased class sizes reduce an educator’s ability to meet individual student needs while cutting into their vital lesson planning time[2]. For one community charter school system in the Midwest, a managed service provider (MSP) partnership with Sunburst Workforce Advisors helped them overcome their time-to-fill related challenges.
1. IDENTYFING THE PROBLEM
Improving Time to First Submissions and Achieving Full Staffing
Before partnering with Sunburst, this public charter school system of 15 schools serving 4,300 students and employing over 500 staff faced hiring delays.
Operating under a community school model, they focus on building family and community partnerships to provide students with health, social, and enrichment services in addition to academics. Staffing for this model requires finding specialized staff with dual expertise in teaching and social services, while also balancing funding constraints and fierce competition for unique talent.
This made the process overwhelming and inefficient. The school had not been fully staffed for four years, and had these pain points:
Average time to first candidate submission from requisition opening was 10 days.
Time-to-fill across positions averaged 21-23 days.
Each opening created administrative burden of managing 4-6 different agency partners.
Process of vetting resumes and coordinating with individual schools in the system became too complex.
Leadership and staff were burnt out from constantly covering unfilled positions.
The school system needed a centralized staffing solution focused on speeding up hiring without compromising quality, especially for their hard-to-fill teacher positions.
2. THE SUNBURST SOLUTION
Solving for Success
Sunburst implemented a rapid-response staffing model designed for speed, quality, and partnership:
Dedicated Program Specialist
Sunburst provided the school system with a single point of contact through a dedicated program specialist who worked to fully understand their needs, culture, and hiring requirements.
Immediate Network Activation
Sunburst’s program specialist quickly distributed requisitions to relevant suppliers to eliminate the manual email process and ensure broad reach without additional administrative effort.
Extended Supplier Support
When needed, Sunburst engaged additional specialized suppliers to make sure hard-to-fill positions were always covered quickly.
Coordinated Administrative Support
Sunburst coordinated administrative tasks to reduce the burden on school leadership:
Vetting and pre-screening all candidates before submission
Managing all communication between suppliers and the school system
Providing customized data on staffing and conducting worker evaluations twice per year
Maintaining fast communications and easy accessibility for urgent needs
3. PROVING THE RESULTS
The school system grew to completely trust Sunburst as a collaborative strategic staffing partner who could successfully find exactly what they needed. This included utilizing Sunburst’s worker evaluations to convert temporary placements to permanent positions after a professional’s first year.
With the help of Sunburst’s suppliers, the school system’s contingent staffing levels nearly doubled in just one year:
Start of Partnership in Q3 2024
Week 1: 10 professionals
Week 2: 17 professionals
Start of School Year in Q3 2025
Week 1: 30 professionals
Week 2: 33 professionals
They saw a decrease in the average time to first submissions, showing Sunburst’s commitment to prompt position placement.
Time to first submission
decreased 63%
10 days to 3.68 days
Time-to-fill
decreased 35%
21-23 days to 14.1 days
100% staffed for the
first time in four years
Comprehensive Specialty Coverage
Our rapid growth in the education sector comes from one simple focus: helping K-12 institutions fill their most critical staffing gaps even for the hardest-to-fill positions.
Our ability to offer cost savings and staffing process optimizations is made possible by our diverse network of suppliers. Engaging various qualified staffing vendors allows us to source candidates from trusted suppliers who can provide high quality professionals at affordable rates.
Gain access to a wide range of professionals including:
Therapeutic Services
- Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)
- Occupational Therapists (OTs)
- Physical Therapists (PTs)
- School Psychologists
Specialized Programs
- Early Childhood Education
- Exceptional Student Education (ESE)
- Department Specialists
Educational
- General Education Teachers
- Special Education Teachers
- Paraprofessionals
Support Services
- School Nurses
- Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)
- Counselors
Behavioral Support
- Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs)
- Behavior Technicians (BTs)
- Behavior Consultant Associates (BCAs)
- Intervention Specialists
About Sunburst Workforce Advisors
School districts across the country are struggling to find qualified staff, and it’s affecting classrooms every day. As an MSP, Sunburst Workforce Advisors partners with districts and schools to solve their staffing challenges and connect them with vetted education professionals when they’re needed most.
References
[1] learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/overview-teacher-shortages-2025-factsheet
[2] nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/class-sizes-growing-issue-among-educators