DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Classes will be back in session in less than a month for students and local districts are ramping up their efforts to fill hundreds of openings.
“We’re looking for anyone who is interested in becoming a teacher,” said Tasha Davis-Mills, the DeKalb County School District HR director.
Davis-Mills said they are working extremely hard to ensure they are fully staffed on the first day of school.
“We’re trying to fill the position for teachers. We have about 250 positions we’re trying to fill, to make sure that we start the school year off strong,” Davis-Mills said.
This time last year, DeKalb Schools had about 600 teacher openings. The district credits their new teacher residency program -- which recruits graduates directly from selected area colleges -- as well as a new financial benefits package for the change.
“We’re offering hiring incentives for teachers, including $2,000 for anybody who signs on to be a teacher, which would put us right in line with Atlanta, Gwinnett, and other surrounding school districts,” Davis-Mills said.
However, DeKalb isn’t the only district still looking to hire educators. Clayton County Schools has more than 260 teacher openings. That’s about 100 less openings than this time last year and they are celebrating an even bigger milestone.
“We’re very excited that we have filled all of our bus driver vacancies,” said Alisha Albritten of Clayton County Schools.
Clayton County Schools said for the first time in years, it already has enough drivers to cover all its routes. It's credited to an effort taken to ensure as many employees return as possible.
“Retention is actually what where we want to be able to put our greatest effort because the more team members we retain, the less heavy the recruitment lift is annually,” added Albritten.
Back in DeKalb, the district held its new teacher orientation Monday, and one of DeKalb's newest hires offered advice for those on the fence about getting into the industry.
“Think about your community, think about what your child, if you have children, have family, what that looks like for your family and know that you can be that person to bring that to other families," newly-hired teacher Antrovise Lemon said.
And to help fill its remaining teacher positions, DeKalb County school will host its last job fair at Ronald E. McNair Middle School on Tuesday, July 16. It will run from 9 a.m. to noon.
As for other districts Cobb County Schools said it has 20 open teaching positions, APS said it had 3.5 teacher openings while Gwinnett has 75.
Most of the area school districts 11Alive talked to said they are still in need of additional support staff, such as custodians and cafeteria workers. With the exception of Clayton County, the districts are also still looking for bus drivers.