Dozens of school districts banded together on Monday to hold one giant job fair amidst a tight education labor market that is leaving many Texas classrooms without a certified full-time teacher at the helm.
“It makes sense to work smart and not against each other. “There’s no way one employee can look around to all these jobs fairs, let’s make it easy,” said Garland ISD Superintendent Ricardo Lopez, NBC 5 reported.
The event was held at the Esports Stadium & Expo Center in Arlington and was organized by the North Central Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators (NCTASPA). As many as 60 different school districts reportedly participated, some even coming from as far away as Austin.
“There’s been a shortage all across the state, so we are really branching out to different locations to see the candidates and engage with them,” said Austin ISD Coordinator of Diversity, Engagement, and Inclusiveness Kayren Gray, speaking with KRLD.
The shortage has also pushed districts to lean more on shepherding its hires through alternative certification programs since fewer and fewer tend to have education degrees.
“If they don’t have a degree in education, we want them to connect with alternative certification so they can identify some areas where they want to teach and then they will help them with the process of obtaining that certification,” said Marcy Hambrick, human resources director for Lovejoy ISD, per KRLD.
While it is unclear whether Dallas ISD participated in the event, it has been struggling in recent years to manage its own teacher shortage. As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the district had to pull dozens of central office staff to fill teacher vacancies last October.
Some Dallas ISD teachers pointed the finger at district leaders in January, claiming that the district exhibited a culture of disrespect towards its educators.
“It is reflected in policy, in the inequitable, unethical compensation system, in the absence of teacher’s voices and policy-making within the district. We have teachers who are routinely facing classroom disruption, aggression, and violence without appropriate supportive solutions, which has led to teachers and students experiencing serious injury,” said Dallas ISD educator Elizabeth Farris back in January.
The Dallas Express reached out to Dallas ISD for comment on the event and what its classroom staffing levels are looking like for the next school year but did not receive a response by press time.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, a teacher survey last year found that roughly 93% of employed teachers had taken at least one step towards acting on their consideration of leaving the profession, like drafting a resume or seeking employment outside of education.