Jennifer Bradley of Benton wants to be a teacher.
She’s got a journalism degree but doesn’t want to go back to college for four more years, so she’s working to get accepted to a nontraditional teachers’ certification program. There’s just one problem: She must first find a school that’s willing to hire her.
“I hope that someone will see me and remember me and give me a chance to show them what I can do,” she said Saturday while attending a Pulaski County Special School District job fair at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.
“I feel like going the nontraditional route may make some hesitant to hire me,” she said. “I just need a chance and sometimes, it’s better if they can put a face with your resume. I have to find a job before they let me into the program so the pressure is on.”
Shawn Burgess, director of human resources for the school district, said Saturday’s event was the fourth career fair in as many years for the district.
Twenty-four district schools plus the University ofArkansas at Little Rock were represented, Burgess said. The university provided information on its graduate and teaching programs, she said.
While there were no onthe-spot interviews Saturday, Burgess said, some attendees likely will be selected for prescreening in May as the district prepares for the next school year.
Nearly 200 job seekers attended the fair, with about 100 stopping by in the first hour, Burgess said. Meeting school district leaders, as opposed to relying on a resume, is important for potential job candidates, she said.
“We are first trying to give applicants some face time with the administrators,” Burgess said. “Secondly, we want to promote all of our schools and share general information on how to apply for everything from teachers and substitute teachers to bus drivers and custodians.”
Burgess said the district will be opening two new schools in the fall so there likely will be some hiring for those, but there are other positions she’s almost always looking to fill.
“What I’m always looking for is math, physical science and special education teachers,” she said. “Those arethe ones that are hard to fill. Counselors are also becoming a little scarce.”
Hearing about a need for math teachers made Cliff Anderson of Little Rock happy Saturday. Anderson said he’s finishing a master’s degree program at UALR after returning to his home state from New Orleans.
“I’m switching careers,” he said. “I used to be in healthclub management. My original plan was to teach, but I kind of got away from it [and] now I’m back. I guess I have ... a little bit of an advantage since I’m a math guy, so that’s good.”
Anderson said the career fair was “extremely helpful” for him after spending years away from the area.
“I don’t know all these schools, so having them here in one place and being able to meet the principals is great,” he said.
Candrice Jones, who has returned to Arkansas from California, said the career fair made one thing very clear to her: “The job search is going to be difficult,” she said.
“I think Little Rock has a really competitive teaching sector, especially on the secondary level,” she said. “I’m hoping to at least make some contacts.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 17 on 02/27/2011