PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — School may be out for the summer, but the School District of Palm Beach County needs teachers before students return in August.
There are more than 100 teacher openings in the county right now.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Education
The school district is hosting its Grand Hiring Event on June 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and you need to register ahead of time by clicking this link.
District leaders said they have a lot of jobs to fill and hope this event makes a dent in the vacancies.
"We know for a fact students leaving colleges with education degrees is a lot smaller than in the past. So our pool of new graduates is a lot smaller," said Cathy Reynolds, a human resources partner for the School District of Palm Beach County. "Our number of retirees has increased. So that bucket is not getting filled with our incoming students."
Reynolds said the number of openings in the school district is higher.
Teachers are dealing with a challenging time in education, from COVID-19 burnout to culture wars. The district also has a big need for bus drivers, food service workers, and substitute teachers.
Reynolds said the shrinking workforce is the biggest challenge the district is facing. She hopes a recent pay raise for district employees across the board will help.
"It used to be that you had four or five applicants that you had to choose from," Reynolds said. "Now it's sort of the other way around and the applicants have four or five schools to choose from."
Because the Grand Hiring Event is a candidate-driven atmosphere, that's how the school district is running this job fair.
When you create an account through Career Fair Plus to participate, you can actually see all of the schools and departments that are hiring and have open interview times.
You can click on the one you are interested in and see whether the interview is virtual or in-person.
"Our biggest needs instructionally are special ed teachers, guidance counselors, reading teachers, math teachers," Reynolds said. "Our non-instructional vacancies are substitute teachers, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers."
St. Lucie Public Schools is also hosting a teacher and paraprofessional career fair on June 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Baron Real Estate, located at 8555 Commerce Centre Drive in Port St. Lucie. You can learn more by clicking here.
On June 14 and 15, the School District of Indian River County will hold a food service job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Support Services Complex behind Storm Grove Middle School, located at 6055 62nd Avenue in Vero Beach. Applicants are asked to bring your resume and list of references.
