If you’re looking for a teaching job, Pasco County Schools would love to hear from you.
The district has teacher openings in language arts, math, science, social studies and special education areas. It also needs school psychologists, school social workers, and school counselors.
The district expects to fill more than 400 vacancies for the 2016-2017 school year, including some positions that will be filled immediately, said Christine Pejot, human resources director for Pasco County Schools.
“We’re really excited because this is the earliest we’ve started recruitment for the following school year in quite awhile,” Pejot said.
The job fair will be on Feb. 25 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the gymnasium at Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.
The district plans to advertise its openings Feb. 19 through Feb. 23, so that will give people a specific idea of what’s out there and available, and what principals are going to be looking for at the fair, Pejot said.
Potential applicants have the opportunity to register early, and some interviews will be conducted during the fair, Pejot said.
“We also expect a lot of students who are in their final internships at the colleges of education, that are looking for an appointment that would begin in August,” she said.
Having the job fair early puts the district in a better position to compete for available candidates, she said.
“Our certification people are going to be on hand in order to vet people in terms of certification,” Pejot said.
Pejot said the district is able to hold the job fair earlier this year than it has in recent years, because it instituted an Intent to Return process very early this year, helping the district to have a better picture of its staffing needs. It also has been able to take a look at how retirements will affect openings.
“It’s just more strategic planning on our part, and knowing that the staffing and recruitment needed to be prioritized and talked about at the same time that we were doing things like budget and allocations this year,” Pejot said.
“We are always looking for employees in the critical shortage areas, like math and secondary science.
“In fact, for those particular areas, you don’t already have to be a teacher. We are looking for people who already hold degrees in those special areas. We also have a district sponsored PDPC program. It stands for Professional Development Certification Program, where folks who hold bachelor’s degrees in those target areas can do a cross walk into teaching.”
“We have a very robust PDPC program,” she said. “It is actually the model for several other programs throughout the state.”
Thirty-six schools are planning to attend, at all levels, including Pasco e-school and adult programs, with schools from throughout the district represented.
The schools will have tables situated throughout Sunlake’s gymnasium, and applicants will be able to head to schools they are interested in.
While the job fair is scheduled for two hours, it could go longer, if organizers sense there’s a need to extend the time.
People who are interested in becoming substitutes can also get more information at a table designated for substitute teachers.
The district’s salaries are competitive and it offers a generous benefits package, Pejot said.
For more information, visit PascoSchools.org, and click on the job fair banner at the top of the page.
To register, visit PascoSchools.org\HR.
Published February 10, 2016
