By David Taylor / Managing Editor
Aldine Independent School District personnel spent their Saturday hosting an annual job fair at Davis High School drawing hundreds of job seekers eager to work in education and support services across the district. Representatives from every campus were on hand in the school cafeteria to interview candidates and collect résumés.
According to Marcy Herrera, the district’s chief human resources officer, Aldine ISD is concentrating its hiring efforts on areas facing the greatest need.
“What we’re looking for mainly are special education, bilingual and math teachers,” Herrera said, noting that shortages in those areas are being felt nationwide. “There’s a nationwide shortage for all three of those positions and competition to fill those slots is fierce.”
Herrera said Aldine ISD remains competitive by offering a starting salary of $64,000 for beginning teachers, along with several stipends.
“We also offer a $5,500 bilingual stipend and a $3,000 stipend for special education, ESL and other critical needs positions,” she said.
Teachers may also qualify for additional compensation through the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which Herrera said is available to all Aldine teachers based on campus needs and designation level.
“We’re one of the few districts in the state where all our teachers have a chance to qualify for the TIA stipend, versus other districts where only STAAR teachers have that opportunity,” Herrera said.
Despite recently closing six schools, Herrera said the district avoided layoffs by placing staff members at other campuses.
“We had no layoffs,” she said. “We were able to find most of them places within the district.”
The district is also proactively hiring for the upcoming school year, even though the exact number of resignations and retirements is not yet known.
“We are hiring for the next school year,” Herrera said. “It’s proactive that we build a bank of highly qualified applicants so when we get resignations, we can start filling those positions with great people we’ve already interviewed.”
Herrera said the job fair attracted candidates at all levels, from elementary through high school, as well as applicants for non-instructional roles.
“We have prospects here from elementary to high school, plus ancillary positions like the police department, transportation and more,” she said.
She added that Aldine ISD is also seeing interest from teachers in neighboring districts, like HISD, impacted by school closures.
“We’re not closing near the number of schools that they are, so that gives us an additional bank of good people to pull from if we do have openings next year,” Herrera said.
In addition to certified teachers, Aldine ISD continues to support future educators through partnerships with educator preparation and alternative certification programs, as well as its “Grow Your Own” initiative.
“Those are paraprofessionals already working in the district,” Herrera said. “We help them complete their degrees, provide grants to cover costs, and support them through certification while they work alongside certified teachers.”
Herrera said approximately 58 employees are currently enrolled in the Grow Your Own program.
“As far as law enforcement officers, we are full,” said Officer David Green. “However, we are looking to fill cadet and dispatch positions,” he said. Police officers, with no experience, have a starting pay of $55,000.
“You can be certified as a peace officer in Texas and come over or with the cadet program, you get sent to the academy and the district will pay for your education if you sign a contract stating you’ll stay with the district for a minimum of two years,” he said.
For those who missed the job fair, Herrera said it is not too late to apply.
“Please go to our website and look for human resources,” she said. “We’re always looking for great people to join Aldine ISD.”
Leave a Comment