POLK COUNTY, Fla. — As the school year comes to a close, districts are already preparing for next year. Polk County Public Schools has an ambitious goal when it comes to teachers.
- Polk County Public Schools career fair happened Saturday
- According to district, 150 teachers were hired
- District says it's goal is to have zero teacher vacancies
“The goal is to have zero vacancies when teachers return on August 5,” said Teddra Porteous, the district’s Associate Superintendent of Human Resource Services.
It’s the reason the school district hosted a teacher career fair Saturday. A spokesperson for the district said 150 teachers were hired.
“The turnout was fantastic. So far, we think we had about 320 people turn out. That’s really good for our job fair. It has never been this high before,” Porteous said.
Some people, like Delacie Allison, got hired on the spot.
“I’m very excited. This will be my first teaching position and I couldn’t be happier,” said Delacie Allison.
She was working as a medical claims processor but said biology has always been her first love, so she decided to give teaching biology a try.
“I’ve always had a zest for learning. I wanted to share that with students so they could reach their full potential,” Allison said.
The school district has also been holding virtual job fairs.
“It’s our first time doing it but so far, we have about 25 applicants that are now employees ready to come to the district for the 2019-2020 school year,” Porteous said.
As of Saturday, there were 263 instructional positions listed on the district’s website but as teachers retire or find different over the summer, Porteous anticipates they’ll end up hiring around 500 to 600 teachers total before the beginning of next school year.
