How to hire a physical education teacher

How to hire a physical education teacher, step by step

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

What does a physical education teacher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the physical education teacher you need to hire. Certain 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

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a physical education teacher to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a physical education teacher that fits the bill.

   This list presents physical education teacher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Physical Education Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   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.	$16-32
   Academic Tutor	An academic tutor is responsible for assisting the students' learning goals and development by helping them with school work and related academic tasks. Academic tutors implement effective learning strategies to improve the student's academic standing, such as identifying areas of improvement and addressing those difficulties by administering learning activities to evaluate the student's progress and adjust the learning approach as needed... Show more	$10-24
   Spanish Teacher	A Spanish teacher is responsible for teaching the Spanish language, including its history and culture, both written and conversational. Spanish teachers follow the curriculum, depending on the students' expertise level and evaluate their progress through oral and written assessments... Show more	$18-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Classroom Management
   • Professional Development
   • Student Learning
   • Public Schools
   • K-12
   • Physical Education Curriculum
   • Learning Process
   • State Standards
   • K-5
   • Kindergarten
   • Health Education
   • Physical Education
   • Student Performance
   • Volleyball

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Prepare and maintain an adaptive physical education program for students with I.E.P.
   • Full time physical education teacher (grades k-12) in charge of students with a wide range of disabilities.
   • Set up community inter school/divisional sports tournaments including basketball, volleyball and softball events.
   • Design and implement developmentally appropriate, motivating lessons as warranted through IEP goals for adaptive physical education class.
   • Maintain NYS OASAS records weekly.
   • Maintain control of children from Pre-K through 5th grade.

   More physical education teacher duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, physical education teachers' average salary in kentucky is 47% less than in maryland.
   • Seniority. Entry-level physical education teachers earn 49% less than senior-level physical education teachers.
   • Certifications. A physical education 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 physical education teacher's salary.

   Average physical education teacher salary

   $49,652yearly

   $23.87 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level physical education teacher salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 7, 2026

   Average physical education teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Maryland	$61,743	$30
   2	Illinois	$57,769	$28
   3	District of Columbia	$57,635	$28
   4	New York	$57,571	$28
   5	California	$57,197	$28
   6	Virginia	$55,456	$27
   7	Connecticut	$53,323	$26
   8	New Jersey	$53,319	$26
   9	Louisiana	$52,878	$25
   10	Nevada	$50,806	$24
   11	Massachusetts	$49,240	$24
   12	Wisconsin	$48,249	$23
   13	Ohio	$47,832	$23
   14	Oregon	$46,636	$22
   15	Pennsylvania	$45,851	$22
   16	Arizona	$44,718	$22
   17	Texas	$44,515	$21
   18	Florida	$43,988	$21
   19	Michigan	$43,743	$21
   20	Missouri	$42,335	$20

   Average physical education teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	California State University	$74,160	$35.65	96
   2	Boston Public Schools	$74,160	$35.65	3
   3	Whitby School	$69,777	$33.55
   4	MassBay Community College	$66,927	$32.18
   5	Lycée Français de Chicago	$66,134	$31.80
   6	Chicago Math and Science Academy	$65,896	$31.68
   7	Mastery Charter Schools	$62,595	$30.09	2
   8	The Waldorf School of Garden City	$62,284	$29.94
   9	Inner City Education Foundation	$62,217	$29.91
   10	Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles	$60,857	$29.26
   11	The Principia	$60,477	$29.08
   12	The City University of New York	$60,064	$28.88	15
   13	Islamic Saudi Academy	$59,844	$28.77
   14	Newton Public Schools	$59,562	$28.64	11
   15	Bolton High School	$59,244	$28.48
   16	Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation	$59,036	$28.38
   17	Gompers Preparatory Academy	$59,012	$28.37	4
   18	Union County Public Schools	$58,623	$28.18	8
   19	Berkeley High School	$58,206	$27.98	25
   20	Summit Public Schools	$58,181	$27.97	66

4. Writing a physical education teacher job description

   A good physical education 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 physical education teacher job description:

   Physical education teacher job description example

   Earn a $125,000 salary and join a team of master teachers at featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and on 60 minutes for its revolutionary teacher salaries and its outstanding results.
   
   At most middle schools, students take Physical Education class twice per week (if they're lucky!). At The Equity Project, students get a full period of Physical Education every day because physical education is one of the three pillars of our program: Academics, Arts, and Athletics. Each Physical Education teacher teaches all of the students on one grade level in classes that emphasize physical activity through skill instruction, structured sports, and cooperative games. Physical Education teachers also incorporate health content, emphasizing nutrition and fitness concepts. Finally, Physical Education teachers coach a number of TEP competitive sports teams, which include boys and girls basketball teams, a co-ed track team, a co-ed soccer team, a girls' volleyball team (3-time defending champions), a boys baseball team, a girls softball team, a co-ed tennis team and more!
   Join us for an in-person info session!
   
   If you or a friend is interested in applying for a teaching position at TEP, join us for an in-person information session with TEP's Principal Zeke Vanderhoek. Take a tour of the school and learn more about the teacher application process and what it's like to teach at TEP.
   
   Please RSVP here!
   
   Requirements
   
   Each position requires a minimum of 3 years of lead teaching experience, at least 2 of which must have been in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th grade classrooms. Each The Equity Project middle school teacher teaches one subject to one grade level in any given year (e.g. 6th grade Science). However, The Equity Project Charter School teachers may switch grade levels and/or subjects from one year to the next.
   
   Benefits
   
   Master teachers earn an annual salary of $125,000 with the opportunity to earn an annual bonus . Benefits include medical, dental, vision insurance, 403b retirement plan, STD, LTD and Life Insurance. Individuals in the position also receive all school vacations - approximately 10 weeks per year.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find physical education teachers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find 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 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.

   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 physical education teacher

   Once you've decided on a perfect physical education teacher candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   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 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 physical education teacher?