Teacher job fair held in Arlington as North Texas school districts struggle to hire
ARLINGTON (CBSNewsTexas.com) – As school districts across North Texas continue to struggle to find teachers, the North Central Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators – one of the largest regional human resources organizations – hosted a teacher job fair in Arlington Saturday.
"In a way, I'm grateful to have such endless possibilities in my job search," said Olivia Martin, who is a student looking for a job.
The opportunities are endless at this year's teacher career fair.
"There a lot of challenges facing public education right now and recruiting people into public education," Terrell ISD Director of Recruiting and Retention Matt Warnock said. "We know that there is a teacher crisis."
Help is needed in the classroom. Organizers told CBS News Texas that over the last decade, there's been a 60% decrease in enrollment for educational programs. People like Warnock are hopeful to hire more.
"Times are a little difficult, but it's great having an event like this," Warnock said. "It's an opportunity to engage with veteran teachers or even induction year teachers that are looking to join the profession."
This is helpful for people like Martin.
"We're so needed everywhere, and I can really find the district that's right for me, I don't have to settle for something because I need a job that badly," Martin said. "I can meet the people, talk to all the districts and figure out where I'll fit, so I'm not doing a disservice to them."
Martin had a chance to speak with over 60 school districts from across North Texas who are all trying to do the same thing – hire good people to teach their students. Terrell ISD has taken steps to hopefully become more attractive for candidates.
"Our response to doing something different is a four-day workweek," Warnock said. "[As well as] investing in and responding to the mental health of our teachers."
"It's nice because two days over the weekend just aren't enough," Martin said.
Terrell ISD will start four-day work weeks next school year, meanwhile Martin said she's keeping all her options open.
"I think three-day weekends would be amazing but it's also not a non-negotiable because it's what I'm used to," Martin said. "I went to school for five days my whole life, so I think I could handle either way."
