Bus drivers, bilingual and special education teachers are among the people Ector County ISD will be seeking in a district-wide job fair set for 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. June 4 in the Permian High School field house.
Human Resources Director Natalie Fitzgerald said representatives from all campuses and departments will be on hand.
The district has about 4,200 employees and typically looks for an average of 350 teachers.
Executive Director of Human Resources Matthew Spivy said they had 120 people turn out last year and he’s hoping for more.
“We’re excited to be able to welcome potential new ECISD faces and we have many opportunities to serve kids,” Spivy said.
Fitzgerald said all campuses will have a representative on-site.
“They will be able to conduct on-site interviews, as well as departments that are looking for employees will be there. Just like transportation will be there with a table for drivers. Our substitute department for substitute teachers; school nutrition for school nutrition employees; custodial for custodial employees,” Fitzgerald said.
They had another career fair in the same location last year. Executive Director of Human Resources Matt Spivy said they have had a few smaller fairs this year.
“A couple of them focused on some of our auxiliary (positions); our bus drivers and transportation staffing. But each year we have one large annual job fair and that’s what this one’s going to be,” Spivy said.
He added that from an auxiliary employee standpoint, they need bus drivers the most.
“From a classroom teacher side, we as almost every other district in the state of Texas, are struggling to have enough bilingual teachers and special education teachers and honestly just certified teachers in general is what we’re really looking for,” Spivy said.
He added that different parts of the state have different needs. ECISD’s location has prompted the district to be innovative in its approach of finding employees.
ECISD partners with its Talent Development Department so once employees arrive they can grow from a paraprofessional to professional staff to teachers, assistant principals and principals, Spivy said.
ECISD has many pipelines to grow their own teachers, for example. The district is one of three in the state that has its own educator preparation program.
This makes it more convenient than having to send a prospective teacher somewhere else for training or having them come from somewhere else.
“It’s convenient for the participants because we have staff here on site. They don’t have to worry about reaching out to someone who lives in another town or another region to come check in on them. We have ECISD district staff members that can go and support (them) almost at a moment’s notice … whether that be questions about procedural pieces of how do I take attendance and grades, but can also come in and sit down and observe the classroom and offer pointers, offer tips and professional development opportunities for them to hone their craft. It’s a much more hands-on approach since it’s in-house. Plus, they get the same training processes as the rest of our district, so it’s not having to worry about them learning from a different group. They’re learning from our current ECISD staff members,” Spivy said.
He noted that the number of traditionally certified teachers is shifting more toward alternatively certified instructors.
For bus drivers, Spivy said there is a district employee who is a certified driver/trainer.
“Giving them that training and ability in-house is, again, another one of those pieces that we’re very proud of so we can train our ECISD employees up,” he added.
Fitzgerald said they have six openings on the custodial side.
“That department, they stay staffed. They work 247 days a year,” she added.
“They work all year long, so you know they’re not off in the summer. They do come in and out sometimes, but that one’s pretty quick to fill as well as maintenance. Those are pretty quick. It’s usually transportation where we need employees,” Fitzgerald said.
Spivy said there is competition from the oilfield for transportation.
“It’s across the state when I go to job fairs, the same issues with transportation that we have bus drivers,” Fitzgerald said.
Hard to fill spots are bus drivers, special education and bilingual teachers.
“I think if you asked 99 out of 100 districts across the state of Texas, they would probably give those same three,” Spivy said.
He added hat it’s not just an ECISD problem.
“Sadly it’s across the state of Texas problem … finding the highly qualified, certified special ed teachers and bilingual teachers and then the certified CDL bus drivers,” Spivy said.
Fitzgerald said some drivers will get a summer job and wind up staying.
Starting pay for a bus driver is $21.25 per hour.
Fitzgerald said she hires all year long, but January is usually a peak time.
Substitutes are also hired all year long.
“We have a very valuable group of guest instructors that come in daily and serve students in ECISD. They do play a very vital role,” Spivy said.
Fitzgerald said substitutes fill in for teachers on maternity leave and for daily absences.
Substitutes are provided with training such as classroom management. In June, they will be doing updates for all subs, making sure they have the most current training so when they go into the classroom, they’re ready, she said.
During the fair, they will have computers available and they will assist with applications.
“But then they can visit at the tables for the campuses, what openings they have and they’ll have the opportunity to visit with principals and go ahead and interview, as well as departments,” Fitzgerald said.
Training is available and background checks are conducted.
“It’s one of the big pieces of the onboarding. Even those that have worked in other school districts, another district might use a different technology application or program. It may have the same basic function and concept, but it’s different buttons, different procedures. We use that onboarding time and some of those in-service days to make sure and familiarize everyone. That way they understand and are able to adapt to whatever program it is that we’re using,” Spivy said.
Teachers have the new teacher orientation if they’re new to the district, as well as Teacher University. All departments also have training at the beginning of the year, Fitzgerald said.
New Teacher University three-day orientation is July 29-31 at Crossroads Fellowship.
The New Teacher Welcome will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. July 29 at the MCM Grande Hotel and FunDome.
Teacher University for elementary is Aug. 7, and for secondary, Aug. 8.
ECISD Convocation is the afternoon of Aug. 6 at the Ector County Coliseum. A definite time has not been determined yet, Fitzgerald said.
Campuses also have training specific to their schools.
“Everybody goes to Convocation. All of our departments; everybody does,” Fitzgerald said.
