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But a month into the new school year, Philadelphia's public schools had 144 unfilled teaching jobs - down from a seven-year high a few weeks ago - and officials warn that about 70 positions will go unfilled all year, with those classrooms staffed by substitute teachers.
Officials say the current spike in vacancies is due to turnover in district brass and a resulting slowdown in this year's hiring process. They also blame national shortages in some subjects.
But teacher-recruitment experts point to other, systemic problems, saying Philadelphia's hiring process is outdated and overly complex.
The 144 vacancies represent a little more than 1 percent of the district's 10,000 teaching jobs. But the impact is significant, said Sheila Simmons, education director for Public Citizens for Children and Youth, a nonprofit advocacy group.
"One percent may not look bad at an administrative level, but if you're a parent or a child and the vacancy is at your school, it's huge," Simmons said. "I think 1 percent is still too much."
The 70 permanent vacancies would mean that at a minimum, 2,300 students would spend the year without a permanent teacher.
That other districts have fixed the problem and Philadelphia has not is particularly frustrating, advocates say.
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is not pleased, either, but she said the problem was not entirely district-made.
"We're handicapped in our ability to hire teachers," Ackerman said. The current teacher contract, she said, sets up a system where some teaching candidates cannot be interviewed until two weeks before school starts.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, rejected the notion that the contract hurts hiring.
"After all these years, the district should be able to project the number of teachers they're going to need," Jordan said. "There's no reason they can't pre-hire teachers. I don't see the contract as prohibiting them from hiring."
Michael Masch, the district's chief business officer and temporary head of human resources, and Dina Hollingsworth, the new head of recruitment and retention, said the district was improving its hiring practices.
Officials have begun a campaign to recruit more aggressively, including internationally; hire earlier; and reach out to more partners.
Historically, the number of city classrooms without a permanent teacher in September has fluctuated, from a low of 62 two years ago to 169 a month ago, the highest in seven years. The vacancies are concentrated in hard-to-staff subjects like math, science and vocal music, and at the city's neighborhood high schools.
Cecilia Cummings, a district spokeswoman, said that the 70 unfilled jobs were typical for the district and that she could not say when they would be filled.
"In a workforce so large, you're always going to have vacancies," Cummings said. "In most cases, we have qualified, long-term subs who are certified to teach the courses."
Substitute teachers are not all state-certified, though 37 percent of Philadelphia's do have state credentials, officials say. In many cases, though, their areas of certification do not match those needed for open jobs.
The teacher shortage really hits home for Candace Carter and Isiah Enoch, both 17.
Carter and Enoch, seniors at Sayre High in West Philadelphia, spent the first three weeks of school without a permanent English teacher. Last week, their third teacher arrived.
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