School district uses students and personal touch in teacher recruitment

The annual Washington School Personnel Association's Educator Career Fair is when school districts strut their stuff in an effort to recruit teachers.

For the 2017-18 school year, the fair held March 29 at the Tacoma Dome prompted the Eatonville School District to choose "a very simple concept" for its recruitment effort, said Denise Walters, the district's human resources director.

"How do you draw candidates in to talk and learn about the opportunities at Eatonville? Teachers go into teaching because they love working with kids. Let’s take students to the fair," Walters said.

Students Gavin Cole, Briana Foxworth, Destiny Martinez, Janice Tuskey, Trent Wohlgemuth and Lukas Wolfe helped man the district's booth. Among other things, Wohlgemuth and Wolfe demonstrated "rocket races" as an example of the district's emphasis on STEM (engineering, technology, engineering and math) education.

The students also wrote personal thank you cards for each candidate that stopped at the booth for a visit.

Other recruitment efforts included School Board member Ronda Litzenberger and the students "hitting the floor from the start and working the crowd, handing out flyers with job openings, candy and our giveaway bag," Walters said.

"Over the course of the day, we collected 75 resumes and conducted four interviews," she reported. "Without a doubt, this was the most successful recruiting event in the last six years. Candidates stood in line as they waited to talk with administrators."

The annual Washington School Personnel Association (WSPA) held career fairs this year on both sides of the Cascades. Two weeks before the event at the Tacoma Dome, a fair was staged March 15 in Spokane at the city's convention center.

WSPA officials said the fairs are an "excellent opportunity" for any educator, new or experienced, to familiarize themselves with the job market and get acquainted with what the school districts and other agencies are offering.

Teachers can make personal contact with district representatives and "move beyond the digital recruiting world," officials said.

WSPA gives school districts a database of prospective teachers, administrators and counselors who attend the Educator Career Fairs. The association also offers an online job board on its website where openings are posted.