If you’re anything from a first-year teacher to a tire and lube person, Ector County Independent School District probably has an opening for you.
The district is hosting a job fair from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at George H.W. Bush New Tech Odessa, 300 E. 29th St.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Gregory Nelson said in a text message that there are 250 teacher openings and 150 other positions available.
Counselors, teachers, special education teachers, aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, people that can do oil changes also are needed, along with many other positions, Sandra Banda, director of recruitment, Title IX and substitute services said.
The district also offers Odessa Pathway to Teaching where people with four-year degrees can go through an alternative certification program to become a teacher in a short time, Banda said.
While in the program, prospective teachers work with master teachers and with students. Banda said they also can work on strategies, try out their lesson plans and follow or practice discipline procedures.
“There are a lot of alternative certification programs out there,” she said, “but I love our program because it really gives the professional an opportunity to be in the classroom as a teacher before they step in there into their own classroom. That’s very valuable because when you’re coming into the classroom for the first time as an alt cert person and you’ve never actually been the teacher, it’s a challenging environment.”
“I also like that our applicants that are in the program are going to have support beyond the summer program, or the five-week program they’re doing that’s very intensive. Our instructional coaches are going to continue to support them throughout their first year of internship,” Banda added.
This gives the teacher someone to call when they hit a challenge.
Test preparation for the certification exam also is provided, she said.
“… A lot of times teachers go through this alt cert program, or even regular programs, and they have a hard time passing those certification tests so therefore they can’t become a certified teacher. So our program offers test prep to help them through that, face-to-face test prep, if they need that, peer tutoring, and so it offers a lot of support,” Banda said.
One of the goals of the Odessa Pathway to Teaching is to have each cohort become like family so they can support each other through the program and hopefully beyond it, she said.
Currently, there are 32 candidates poised to graduate.
The fair will feature representatives from all the campuses and the substitute department.
“We’ll be there offering information about Odessa Pathway program for people that might be interested in that, so we’re going to have lots of different representatives there to interview if there’s a possibility, or to take some resumes to call the next day,” Banda said.
“I have interviewed at the job fairs before and offered letters of intent, so it’s going to be the same set up,” she added.
The district uses TalentEd for applications and Banda said it has worked well. If you have applied for a job in another district and you put in your name and password, it will populate the application with all your information.
Banda and Nelson both said they are looking forward to the fair.
“I’m hoping that the public will be aware of it and be willing to come out and see what opportunities there are because we do have a variance in the things that we’re hiring,” Banda said.
Starting salary for teachers is now $50,000, she added. Banda said being able to say that to applicants has made a difference.
“I can tell you from going to job fairs where you’re meeting people that are right out of college and are looking for a first-time job, when you’re able to say your starting salary is $50,000, they really do light up. … I’m looking forward to going up a little bit more. That way we can continue to provide as much as we can for our teachers that are making the move over here, or changing careers through our Pathway program,” Banda said.
The advertising for job openings has been split up and it has been effective because teachers automatically think of applying to a school district, but others may not realize there are opportunities for maintenance, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, electricians, plumbers and mechanics.
“… We have kind of like our own little city that we run here, and so I think it’s important to put everything out there as clear as we can have it because you may not think of the district as your first choice, but eventually for some person, the district is going to be the right choice of job. That’s why we want to let them know that we are hiring for different jobs, not just teaching,” Banda said.
