Until recently, Eden Lam was an up-and-coming lawyer, working in general practice with a focus on Family Law.

Her career was flourishing, but something was missing from her life.

“I just didn’t feel like I was fulfilling my purpose,” she said.

While she was studying to become a lawyer, she did some tutoring to help her get through university.

When, years later, she bumped into one of her former students, she suddenly realised she needed to make a change.

“They were so happy to see me and actually thanked me for changing their life,” she recalled.

“That made me realise how much I missed teaching and wanted to be in the classroom.”

Now Ms Lam is an English and Legal Studies teacher at Chester Hill High School, in Sydney’s west.

“I think it’s the best decision I’ve made in my life,” she said.

“When I teach it gives me that joy, because I’m giving the opportunities for the next generation and that makes all the difference to me.”

“I believe it’s one of the most rewarding careers you can go in to. It’s not without its difficulties, like any job, but if you persevere, you will find massive enjoyment and satisfaction in the job.”

From 22 vacancies to just one

Chester Hill High desperately needed new teachers like Ms Lam.

Just three years ago the school had 22 permanent teacher vacancies, a crisis reflected across much of NSW.

Principal Maria O’Harae said it was a challenging time.

“It was extremely difficult for everyone – it affected every corner of the school,” Ms O’Harae said.

Fast forward to today, and there’s just one vacancy, which Maria O’Harae expects to fill shortly.

Across NSW, teacher vacancies are down 40% compared to early 2023.

Vacancies for the start of the school year are at their lowest level since 2021.

Of the 2200 public schools in NSW, more than 1500 schools will return without a single teacher vacancy.

There are 86,095 active public school teachers in NSW, 1,993 more than two years ago.

Everyone feels connected

Alexandria Park Community School in inner-Sydney has experienced a similar turnaround.

Principal Debra Lade has seen vacancies fall from 14 in 2022 to two for the start of this school year.

Teachers of STEM subjects account for much of that.

As a result, the school can offer a new HSC subject this year – Earth and Environmental Science.

“There’s now a working environment for teachers that allows for collaboration,” Ms Lade said

“But vitally, it means students have consistency in the teachers they see from day to day, and that lets them develop more substantial relationships.

“It’s just a more enriched school community where everybody feels connected.”

The new recruits appointed last year include Head of Science, Rita Khalil, maths and physics teacher Emil Andonov, an engineer of 34 years who retrained to be a teacher, and science teacher Sheralyn Franks.

Student improvement and wider curriculum

Chester Hill’s Ms O’Harae said it’s like being in a different school now that the teacher vacancy issue has been resolved.

“The positive impact has been simply astounding,” she said.

“Our HSC results are already improving, staff morale is much higher, class sizes are down, and, with more specialised teachers, we can offer a much wider curriculum.”

Thanks to the influx of expert teachers, the school now offers classes in hospitality, business services, retail, sport fitness and Korean, all previously unavailable to students.

Chester Hill High was part of the Priority Recruitment Support program, which offered tailored support to schools with stubborn teacher shortages.

The school also developed strong links to universities, offering early employment opportunities to teaching undergraduates.

Principal Ms O’Harae said the school has a renewed focus on workplace flexibility, making it an attractive place to work.

“It’s taken a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves,” she said.