6 Jun 2002
DISD Recruiting In Six States, More Than 20 Cities
DALLAS—The Dallas Independent School District, one of the nation's largest school districts, has launched an aggressive six-state, 20-plus city media effort for the month of June to invite certified K-3 teachers, including bilingual teachers and those in other teaching areas, to come to north Texas and teach.
Using Where Great Teachers Can Make a Great Difference as the theme, the district is spending funds from a federal grant to air commercials on cable television in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas, in the cities of Jackson, Little Rock, Wichita, Shreveport, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and throughout Texas. Advertisements also are running in nine Sunday daily newspapers throughout the region.
During a news conference Thursday, DISD officials unveiled a new CD-ROM that the human resources department is using at job fairs and as a promotional tool to inform interested teachers about the school district. DISD becomes one of the largest school districts in the nation to use this new form of advertising and high-tech informational tool. Prospective teachers who would like to have a copy mailed to them can visit dallasisd.org/k3 and provide their name and address.
The district, which employs almost 10,000 teachers for about 164,000 students, is getting more aggressive in seeking the best teachers it can attract, said Mary Roberts, Dallas ISD Deputy Superintendent for Human Resource and Security Services.
"We want to spread the message throughout the region that if you are a certified K-3 teacher, you can make a tremendous difference in the lives of children in the Dallas Independent School District," Roberts said. "We are striving to become a great school district and that starts with having great teachers."
The recruitment program, complemented by the CD-ROM, is part of an overall improvement plan in the district. Test scores rose for the second consecutive year and the passage of the largest education bond election in the history of Texas ensures that $1.37 billion will be spent over the next five to eight years to build 16 elementary schools, three middle schools and another high school. Renovations also will be made to the district's existing 218 schools.
Roberts said the Human Resources Department will be able to cut the cost of collateral recruitment materials and mailing costs significantly through the use of the CD-ROM. In addition, the CD-ROM sets a tone that the district is seeking computer-literate teachers.
DISD has set a goal to begin the school year with no vacancies. Last August, there were only 98 vacancies on the first day of school—the lowest in nearly a decade.
"We were proud of our efforts to recruit full-time teachers for last year but 98 vacancies is too many," said Human Resources Associate Superintendent Willie Crowder.
"Every child in the DISD is important so it is vital that we have the best qualified teachers possible in every classroom," she said. "With this recruitment program, our concentration is on K-3 certified teachers. These teachers truly are professionals who can change the world, and that's who we're looking for as a high priority."
As an extra incentive to sign a contract with DISD, the district is offering signing bonuses to teachers who come to the district. In the month of June, a teacher who signs will be awarded a $1,500 bonus. In July, the amount drops to $1,000 and in August will be $500. In addition, certified K-3 teachers who sign on by the end of July will receive $200 to be used for classroom supplies. Beginning salaries in Dallas ISD are $34,100 per school year and could be increasing this fall. Additional stipends are also available:
$3,000 for bilingual teachers
$1,000 for secondary math and science teachers
$500 for special education teachers
$500 for secondary Spanish teachers
"DISD has recognized the need to become more competitive in salaries and benefits for beginning teachers and under the leadership of Dr. Mike Moses we are working aggressively to address this issue," said DISD communications director Donald J. Claxton.
"This aggressive recruiting campaign is designed to give those who might be interested in teaching in Dallas a high-tech invitation to learn more about DISD. It is a goal of this administration to ensure that Dallas becomes known as an outstanding school district where teachers are appreciated and fairly compensated for their services."
Claxton said the 30-second advertisements, which were produced in-house by the district's Broadcast Services division, began running on Monday and will continue throughout the month of June. The district produced two versions of the spot to run in the Metroplex (one in English and in Spanish) and a third version for out-of-state markets. The newspaper ads were developed in-house and will begin throughout most of the state on Sunday.
Claxton said part of the communication strategy in using cable networks was the significant difference in cost over broadcast advertising. Claxton said the average cost of a spot is about $25 per rotation on cable, verses prices as high as $6,500 per rotation on some broadcast stations. "Through this grant the district has paid for more than 4,000 rotations of the spots—more than 33 hours worth of programming—and will reach more than seven million households in six states," Claxton said.
Newspaper advertisements will run in the employment sections of regional dailies on Sundays throughout most of the month as well.