18 Jan 2005
Local Efforts Include Job Fairs and Phone Bank on Local TV Station
DALLAS — The Dallas Independent School District, one of the 12 largest school districts in the nation—will kick off its teacher recruitment efforts with visits to San Antonio, Texas, San Juan, Puerto Rico and by officials making an appearance on an information segment and phone bank on a local television station.
The recruitment team will visit the National Association of Bilingual Educators convention in San Antonio, Jan. 19-22, followed by a visit to Puerto Rico, Jan. 27, to recruit bilingual certified teachers.
This year a phone bank where viewers can call and ask human resources' staff questions about employment with the district, will air on Univision-Ch. 23 on March 2 during the 5 p.m. newscast. Radio talk show appearances and participation in community fairs are other outreach efforts being considered.
"There is a great demand for teachers, but especially bilingual teachers, throughout the nation and we have to compete aggressively to attract the best candidates," said Hector Flores, director of recruitment for the district. "The more the word gets out that Dallas offers great benefits and is a great school district, the better our opportunity to bring quality educators to our schools."
A couple of years ago, the district placed billboards in highly populated Hispanic areas in Texas advertising the need for bilingual teachers in Dallas.
"When you have such a limited pool of applicants, sometimes you have to rely on untraditional methods to be a step ahead of the competition," Flores said. "We also rely on traditional efforts such as attending career day at colleges and universities throughout the nation and posting information on the district's Web site."
The district's starting salary for beginning teachers is $38,500—one of the area's highest annual compensations for teachers. Stipends according to specialization can add $3,000 for bilingual teachers and up to $1,000 for math and science teachers. Teachers who sign contracts by June receive a $1,500 bonus; if hired in July, the bonus is $1,000. Teachers hired in August receive a $500 bonus.
The DISD has more than 160,000 students in 219 schools. In a recent survey more than 77,000 students said that Spanish is the primary language spoken at their homes. According to DISD records, about 70 different languages are spoken in homes throughout the district.
This year's campaign theme is—"DISD, Where Great Teachers Can Make a Great Difference!"
For more information, about employment opportunities for teachers with the DISD, call the Recruitment Department at 972-925-4245 or visit the district's Web site at www.dallasisd.org.