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Printer-Friendly ModeJasper County looks for teachers
South Carolina school district interviews students to fill vacancies
March 26, 2007 —
The Jasper Country School District of South Carolina held a string of interviews on campus last week as part of a tour of northern and midwestern universities. Jasper Country is looking to fill up to 30 teaching vacancies as part of a massive expansion program that includes the construction of two new K-12 buildings.
Currently, the area is suffering from a lack of college students graduating in areas of education due to the low quantity of jobs within the district. Jasper County officials recognized Michigan for producing quality graduates, and decided to include SVSU as part of their tour.
Education majors specializing in all fields were interviewed, as the school district seeks to fill a number of vacancies.
"We are looking to fill about 30 positions," said superintendent Bill Singleton. "We have immediate vacancies to fill in almost all subjects, including math, science, English, and special education."
With so many positions to fill and little time in which to fill them, Jasper Country officials devised incentive packages to lure prospective candidates to South Carolina. "We have two or three great incentive programs for teachers," Singleton said. "The two main packages are a $1500 signing bonus, or we pay for the first three months of teachers' housing."
The on-campus interviews are preliminary, however. Jasper County is looking to begin in-depth interviews by late April and continue through May. Such an interview would include a potential candidate traveling to South Carolina for a meeting with Singleton and the principal for the respective school at which the candidate might teach. While visiting, candidates will have the opportunity to tour the county with Singleton and see many of the new facilities being built in the area, including the two new K-12 schools, a hospital, and several new residences to house prospective employees.
According to Mike Simon, Director of the Career Planning and Placement Office, the Jasper County job interviews are a symptom of a larger problem.
"Sixty years ago, this area was called the 'Golden Triangle.' But industry changed, and the regions couldn't keep up," he said. "There has been negative growth in the Tri-Cities for 20 years - fewer people means fewer children, and that means fewer new job offerings in the educational system. Now there's a strong shift of people to the East and the South."
Simon said recruiters are targeting states with a surplus of available teachers, such as Michigan. SVSU is one of many universities of Jasper County's route through Michigan, where they are conducting interviews to compensate for the extreme shortages in South Carolina.
Simon sees these opportunities as good growing experiences for students, but also expresses concern.
"Look at all of your options - you might work out of state, then return home with experience in your pocket," he said. "But the sad reality is that a lot of people are leaving the state for jobs and not coming back."
Whether students in the College of Education want to move out of state or not, there are resources available to ease the transition from sitting in a classroom to running one.
Simon said all students currently student teaching are required to attend a series of workshops. These workshops cover a wide range of career-related topics, including effective resume and cover letter writing. Career Planning and Placement arranges one-on-one meetings with education students, maintains current job postings on the new Cardinal Job Database, and holds two annual job fairs for education majors and all SVSU students.
According to Nicole Arbury, the Assistant Dean of the College of Education, the COE plays a large role in helping graduates secure jobs.
"From our very first encounter with students in TE 100, we provide them with the most up-to-date information we have regarding the market, as well as the areas in greatest need, not only in Michigan, but around the country."
Vanguard Staff Writer Anthony Moore contributed to this article.
