How to hire a health and physical education teacher

How to hire a health and physical education teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step health and physical education teacher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a health and physical education teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new health and physical education teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a health and physical education teacher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the health and physical education teacher you need to hire. Certain health and physical education teacher roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect health and physical education teacher also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of health and physical education teachers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Health And Physical Education Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Health And Physical Education Teacher	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$15-31
   Adjunct Professor	Adjunct professors are instructors who are employed on a contractual basis, commonly in part-time positions. They teach courses in the same manner as full-time professors do, but they are free from some of the duties of those fully employed university instructors or in tenure-track positions... Show more	$21-105
   Adjunct Faculty Member	An adjunct faculty member teaches part-time at learning institutions, usually on a contractual basis. Although their duties depend on their position or area of expertise, it usually includes preparing lessons and coursework plans, administering examinations, producing learning materials, grading tests and quizzes, and assisting students as necessary... Show more	$17-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Classroom Management
   • Physical Education Curriculum
   • K-12
   • School Health
   • Volleyball
   • Classroom Environment
   • Student Performance
   • Softball
   • Public Schools
   • Soccer
   • Student Learning
   • Learning Styles
   • Physical Education Classes
   • CPR

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead the girls' volleyball team to a district championship and coach the state winner in high jump.
   • Take part in IEP meeting to discuss the progress of the student.
   • Support classroom teacher by preparing and distributing unit notes to students as outlined by their IEP
   • Instruct and educates elementary grades, k-5, about the importance and significance of life-long physical activity
   • Lead three basketball teams to the state final four and one team to a state championship.
   • Design lesson plans for specific unit (indoor activities, soccer, weight room, etc . )

   More health and physical education teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your health and physical education teacher job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A health and physical education teacher salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a health and physical education teacher in South Dakota may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level health and physical education teacher usually earns less than a senior-level health and physical education teacher. Additionally, a health and physical education teacher with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average health and physical education teacher salary

   $47,140yearly

   $22.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level health and physical education teacher salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average health and physical education teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$53,643	$26
   2	California	$53,635	$26
   3	New Hampshire	$50,844	$24
   4	Missouri	$47,723	$23
   5	Connecticut	$46,449	$22
   6	Florida	$44,986	$22
   7	Virginia	$43,039	$21

   Average health and physical education teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Broward County Public Schools	$52,087	$25.04
   2	North Arlington School District Nj	$51,299	$24.66	3
   3	Hilton CSD	$47,951	$23.05
   4	Manassas City Public Schools Education Foundation	$45,664	$21.95	6
   5	New Brunswick Public Schools	$41,740	$20.07	29
   6	Waterville Valley New Hampshire	$38,283	$18.41
   7	Devereux Arizona	$36,393	$17.50	21

4. Writing a health and physical education teacher job description

   A job description for a health and physical education teacher role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a health and physical education teacher job description:

   Health and physical education teacher job description example

   *Job Summary*
   
   Milwaukee Public Schools is looking for qualified teachers with the certification and ability to teach physical education in the elementary, middle, and high school setting for the 2022-23 school year. Openings include full-time placements on both the early start and traditional school year calendars. Teachers with an additional certification in Health and Adaptive PE are highly sought after for high school positions.
   
   MPS Physical Education and Health teachers develop unit and physical education lesson plans to develop motor skills, strategies and tactics, understanding of fitness concepts, respect, sportsmanship and a value of lifelong physical activity and wellness. The teacher will develop unit and health education lesson plans that will help students to develop the skills to make healthy decisions for a lifetime. The teacher must assess student progress and provide differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students. Having certification as a Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor is not required but is recommended.
   
   *How To Apply: Mpsmke.com/careers*
   
   Interested applicants should complete all sections of the application including the online submission of a current resume.
   
   At the time of hire, the selected candidate will need to submit three (3) letters of recommendation dated within the last year and signed by the author and official paper transcripts conferring their undergraduate degree.
   
   *Qualifications*
   
   This general position requires a Physical Education (1530) license. Additional licenses in Health or Adaptive Phy Ed may be required for specific school placements. High School placements require a Health (1910) license.
   
   Job Type: Full-time
   
   Pay: $46,979.00 - $90,000.00 per year
   
   Benefits:
   * Employee assistance program
   * Flexible spending account
   * Health insurance
   * Life insurance
   * Paid time off
   * Professional development assistance
   * Relocation assistance
   * Retirement plan
   * Tuition reimbursement
   * Vision insurance
   Schedule:
   * 8 hour shift
   * No nights
   * No weekends
   
   COVID-19 considerations:
   MPS employees are required to be fully vaccinated. Individuals with medical issues or sincerely held religious beliefs that prevent them from getting the vaccine may request an accommodation.
   
   Ability to commute/relocate:
   * Milwaukee, WI 53208: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)
   
   Experience:
   * Teaching: 1 year (Preferred)
   
   License/Certification:
   * Teaching Certification (Preferred)
   
   Work Location: One location

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find health and physical education teachers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any health and physical education teachers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level health and physical education teachers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find health and physical education teacher candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting health and physical education teachers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new health and physical education teacher

   Once you've found the health and physical education teacher candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new health and physical education teacher. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a health and physical education teacher?