Published: September 4, 1996

Help Wanted

California school districts have embarked on a massive teacher-hiring spree sparked by a nearly $1 billion state initiative to reduce class sizes in the primary grades.

The overheated market for elementary teachers is expected to have wide-ranging consequences for the entire state education system. State universities will be pressured to turn out more teachers. Districts will have to recruit more aggressively. Schools will have to find space to house additional classes. And private schools may feel the pinch if demand drives up public school salaries, making jobs in those schools more attractive.

The hiring binge also raises questions about teacher quality. Some Californians who have long complained about the size of elementary classes--the largest in the nation--now worry that quick hiring could create new problems if untrained teachers...