OKC School District To Host Job Fair

For years, Oklahoma City Public Schools has struggled to find enough teachers to fill its classrooms.

Friday, February 27th 2015, 7:02 pm

By: News 9


For years, Oklahoma City Public Schools has struggled to find enough teachers to fill its classrooms.

So to meet the need for next school year, the district is holding its annual career fair.

Faced with unforeseen odds, Lee Elementary School suffered a severe teacher shortage.

"There were so many vacancies that the principals were searching too, I went on Craigslist, I started contacting colleges,” said Principal Shelly Deas.

Deas hired teachers out of state while the school district recruited internationally in Spain and Puerto Rico.

Lee Elementary, located at S.W. 29th Street and Walker Avenue, hired 14 first-year teachers. Lorely Gomez was one of them.

Gomez worked for Oklahoma City Public Schools for several years as a para-professional while in school before she got a kindergarten class to call her own. She loves the job but said like anything, it definitely has its days.

"You see a lot of the kids who are struggling, and you want to do so much, but you can only help out so far," Gomez said.

“You want to reach every single one of your students, and it's impossible to do that on a daily basis, so if we had even more, that would mean more kids who could be helped individually.”

The district is constantly hiring. It currently has 70 positions open and will hold a career fair on March 3 to secure positions for the next school year.

"Right now, we are willing to offer contracts on the spot, so we're looking for all kinds of positions, teachers, support staff, bus drivers, administrators and food services," said Bianca Rose, part of the OKC Public Schools HR team.

The career fair will be on Tuesday at U.S. Grant High School located at 5016 S. Pennsylvania Avenue from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

All candidates were asked to bring their resumes.

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