South Carolina Teacher Expo Draws 1,200 for 300 Jobs

South Carolina’s annual Teacher Expo to match teachers with school districts that have job openings looked a lot different this year. There were a lot more out-of-work teachers and a lot fewer school districts with job openings.

Last year, the state had about 900 vacant teacher positions. This year it has about 300. There were about 1,200 teachers at the Expo looking for jobs.

The expo is sponsored by CERRA, the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. Spokesman Mychal Frost says, “This year, we’ve got 35 school districts of the 85 in the state. Last year we had 65. So look at half as many districts are here; a third of the jobs are available. Obviously, there are still some districts that have a need to fill and they’re here.“

One of those was Greenville County, but recruiter Lillian Flemming says the district has only about 7 openings for speech therapists and media specialists. There was a line of teachers waiting to talk to her and her colleague only to find out the positions were limited.  “People understand,“ Flemming says. “They’re watching the news as well, so they are really nice. They’re giving us information, their résumés, in the event something does come available. So they’re very understanding and, for us, it’s a lot of, ‘We thank you for your interest but there’s nothing available at this time.‘“ 

One of the would-be teachers has already felt the sting of the current economy. Wendy Plessinger just lost her job as a chemist when the company she worked for shut down. Now, she’s trying to become a teacher, using her chemistry degree, through an alternative certification program.

“I think in my area, math and science, is actually needed and it’s always needed, so I’ve been encouraged to continue forward,“ she says, but admits, “It’s a little bit scary to be out there looking for something else and trying to do something totally new. Definitely.“

You can learn more about the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement at its website here.