SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)- The Syracuse City School District recently held a hiring event as the city sees another year of teacher shortages. The shortage issue has been a persistent problem for Syracuse for about five years now. Some subject departments in the district schools have it rougher than others such as special education, math and sciences.
The hiring event hosted 14 schools in the district, including the Westside Academy at Blodgett who handed out five job offers on the spot, according to the director of recruitment and retention for the district, Jeannie Aversa. She added that almost all schools walked out with one or two people that they offered positions to.
The hiring event was successful. “The vacancy number is fluid, we are confident that we will have a teacher in front of all of our students coming September when they begin school” said Aversa
The district has been actively trying to help people with their journeys to become teachers. The district provides teachers, who want to be certified special education teachers, with necessary training and provide them with aid for getting their New York State certifications.
They have partnered with many local universities for the same such as- Le Moyne college, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Cortland Empire State College and Syracuse University. The district is also waiting on a grant through the US Department of Special Ed which will help even more local teachers with their certifications.
Not only that there’s another program called “Peer Assistance and Review person” or PAR where new teachers can receive help with student engagement, behavioral management and to come up with strategies to cater the needs of the students better.
