The Hidden Workforce That Could Solve America’s School Staffing Crisis

Kevin Eberly | Aug 1, 2025

Across the country, school districts are facing a full-blown crisis in special education staffing. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists, paraeducators, school psychologists, and special education teachers are all in critically short supply. The caseloads are overwhelming. The burnout is real. And the pipeline of new professionals simply isn’t keeping up.

Yet here’s what’s strange: thousands of qualified specialists are already working in schools. They’re trained. They’re experienced. And many of them have extra hours they’re willing to give—if only there were a way to match them with the schools that need them.

That’s exactly what FillerB is doing.

The Problem Is Bigger Than Anyone Expected

It’s not just a “teacher shortage” anymore. It’s a system-wide gap in specialized student services. Some quick numbers:

Over 50% of U.S. school districts report a shortage of special education teachers.
SLPs and school psychologists are managing caseloads far beyond recommended levels.
Paraeducator turnover in some districts exceeds 40% annually
Even when districts do find candidates, it can take months to fill a vacancy—or they end up relying on expensive contractors.

Meanwhile, more students than ever before need support. Rising diagnoses of autism, speech and language delays, and mental health challenges are pushing demand through the roof. COVID made everything worse.

But the talent is out there. It’s just locked up in traditional staffing models that are too rigid, too slow, and too disconnected from the realities on the ground.

A Smarter, Faster, More Human Approach

FillerB flips the script by unlocking an invisible workforce—specialized providers who already work in education and are open to taking on extra hours. Think of it like an Uber-style model, but instead of drivers, it’s credentialed professionals ready to pick up a few hours a week in a neighboring district, a nearby school, or remotely through teletherapy.

Here’s how it works:

Providers (SLPs, OTs, paras, etc.) create a profile and set their preferences for location, availability, and types of students they support.
Schools post openings—short-term coverage, IEP assessments, part-time caseloads, whatever’s needed.
FillerB matches them instantly, based on real-time availability and fit.

No more months-long hiring processes. No more leaving students unsupported while HR scrambles to post jobs on half a dozen websites. FillerB creates on-demand access to a pool of reliable, vetted professionals who want to help—and already know how to work in schools.

Why This Works

Traditional staffing assumes a binary: you’re either full-time or not at all. But that’s not how people work anymore. FillerB is built for the in-between—for the therapist who wants to pick up a couple hours on Friday, for the paraeducator who’s free in the afternoons, for the school psychologist with mornings open twice a week.

By embracing this flexibility, we’re not just filling gaps—we’re building capacity.

And here’s the kicker: these micro-shifts don’t require big budget approvals, long-term contracts, or full FTE commitments. They’re nimble. Affordable. Targeted. And immediate.

A Real Solution for a Real Crisis

This isn’t a stopgap—it’s a new workforce model.

FillerB is reimagining how schools staff their most critical student support roles by making it easy for talented people to give just a little more—without burning out or leaving the field altogether.

Because the truth is, we do have the people. We just haven’t been connecting the dots.

Now we are.

If your district is struggling to fill roles—or if you’re a provider with time and talent to share—come see what’s possible when we stop working harder and start working smarter.

👉 Learn more at www.FillerB.com

Let’s fix this. Together.

Sources

Chad Aldeman, Where Are All the Special Educators?, Education Next (Jul. 30, 2024), https://www.educationnext.org/where-are-all-the-special-educators-teacher-shortage.
A. Gilmour, Special Education Personnel Attrition in Pennsylvania (2024), https://caldercenter.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/CALDER%20WP%20305-0724.pdf.
A Descriptive Portrait of the Paraeducator Workforce in… (2024), https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029241300518.