How to hire a language arts teacher

How to hire a language arts teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step language arts 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 language arts teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new language arts teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a language arts teacher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your language arts teacher job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a language arts teacher for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A language arts teacher's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, language arts teachers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of language arts teachers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Language Arts Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Language Arts Teacher	Middle school teachers educate students, typically in sixth through eighth grades. Middle school teachers help students build on the fundamentals they learned in elementary school and prepare them for the more difficult curriculum they will face in high school.	$19-31
   Biology Teacher	A biology teacher specializes in teaching biology to students at learning institutions. Their duties consist of developing lesson and assessment plans, preparing teaching materials such as handouts and presentations, conducting tests and examinations, grading the students' papers and homework, and monitoring their academic progress and behavior... Show more	$17-35
   First Grade Teacher	First-grade teachers are the first instructors of children after they finished the kindergarten level. They play an essential role as children aged six to seven move to more structured learning... Show more	$17-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Classroom Management
   • Curriculum Development
   • Literature
   • Student Learning
   • Grammar
   • Public Schools
   • Language
   • Learning Styles
   • Instructional Materials
   • Instructional Strategies
   • Learning Process
   • Student Achievement
   • State Standards
   • IEP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead daily reading group of below-level, first-grade readers and teach mathematics to a small group of mentally gift first-graders.
   • Instruct through lectures, discussions and demonstrations in physics, chemistry and astronomy.
   • Conduct all assessments for grade level in language arts, and provide IEP specific instruction within mainstream classroom.
   • Instruct diverse student population, including ESL and special education students.
   • Design and teach integrated curriculum covering aspects of chemistry, earth science and life science.
   • Develop or participate in student IEP or 504 plans and meetings to ensure all student needs are met.

   More language arts teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your language arts teacher job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A language arts teacher salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, language arts teachers' average salary in louisiana is 55% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level language arts teachers earn 39% less than senior-level language arts teachers.
   • Certifications. A language arts teacher with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a language arts teacher's salary.

   Average language arts teacher salary

   $51,969yearly

   $24.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level language arts teacher salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average language arts teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$72,084	$35
   2	District of Columbia	$71,561	$34
   3	Maryland	$68,130	$33
   4	Connecticut	$64,960	$31
   5	California	$61,965	$30
   6	Oklahoma	$49,418	$24
   7	Florida	$47,596	$23
   8	Indiana	$46,149	$22
   9	New Mexico	$43,339	$21
   10	Colorado	$42,277	$20
   11	Wyoming	$41,866	$20
   12	Arizona	$38,993	$19

   Average language arts teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Boston Public Schools	$67,460	$32.43	33
   2	Baltimore City Public Schools	$65,862	$31.66	17
   3	DC International School	$64,928	$31.22
   4	Paramount High School	$63,352	$30.46	4
   5	Broward County Public Schools	$57,401	$27.60	1
   6	Educational	$55,881	$26.87
   7	Prince George's County Memorial Library System	$55,708	$26.78	3
   8	Maxim Healthcare Group	$55,156	$26.52	2
   9	Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy	$54,720	$26.31	2
   10	Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District	$54,524	$26.21	4
   11	Teaneck High School	$53,940	$25.93	4
   12	Centennial BOCES	$53,751	$25.84	4
   13	Hillsboro School District	$53,568	$25.75	3
   14	Summit Public Schools	$53,453	$25.70	53
   15	The Camphill School	$53,288	$25.62
   16	South Orange-Maplewood School District	$53,142	$25.55	9
   17	Temecula Valley Unified School District	$52,640	$25.31
   18	ACES	$52,033	$25.02	14
   19	Robbinsdale Area Schools	$51,950	$24.98	52
   20	Linden Public Schools	$51,823	$24.91	17

4. Writing a language arts teacher job description

   A good language arts teacher job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a language arts teacher job description:

   Language arts teacher job description example

   Interim Substitute Teachers maintain our students' academic progress by facilitating lesson plans during a teacher's short-term leave of absence. The interim substitute teacher assumes all of the responsibilities of the classroom teacher for the duration of the assignment. Interim Substitute Teachers must maintain a consistent volume of high quality instruction with accuracy and professionalism.
   Qualifications:
   
   Must be approved as a substitute teacher with Broward County Public Schools.
   
   Florida Educator Certification in the subject area of the vacancy is preferred.
   
   Hourly Rate: Bachelor's or higher = $32.31; 60 credit hours = $20.00
   
   Application Procedure:
   
   Complete the online application and upload all documents. If you submitted an online application through our current online process then you must sign into your application and choose "Edit" to select the "Interim Substitute" vacancy.
   
   Prior to submitting your application, you will be required to attach the documents listed below. Therefore, you will need to have the documents scanned and available for you to upload and attach them to your on-line application.
   
   * Transcript from an accredited college showing at least 60 semester hours of completed course work, and
   * Required letters of references, minimum of two. References must be signed and dated. One reference must be from the candidate's last employer or cooperating teacher (for education graduates). Each reference should be scanned separately and individually upload
   
   Substitute Teacher Training On-Boarding Course.
   
   * Upload Sub Diploma certificate for the STEDI SubSkills Online Training Course
   * The STEDI SubSkills Online Training Course - Option This course will provide you with valuable knowledge, skills, and materials that will empower you to be successful in the classroom. (ONLY exempt candidates: 2021-2022 cleared Broward Public Schools Substitute or a Transition Kelly Substitute.)
   * There is a cost associated with this training of $39.95 and will be the responsibility of the applicant. This cost will not be reimbursed by Broward County Public Schools.
   * This training will cover: Classroom management; teaching strategies; special education and other information you'll need to know to become a stellar substitute teacher, from legal aspects of the job to how to handle confrontational behavior from students.
   
   Application Procedure:
   
   * Transcript from an accredited college showing at least 60 semester hours of completed course work

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right language arts teacher for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with language arts teachers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit language arts teachers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find language arts 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 language arts 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 language arts teacher

   Once you've found the language arts 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.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new language arts 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 language arts teacher?