January 30, 2010

The Salem-Keizer Educator Fair has been put to bed for another year. Well, almost. Many of us have a load of materials to unpack and put away. The event was held at the Salem Conference Center on Saturday, January 30. Event Coordinator Susana Ghio estimates that there were over 500 teacher candidates in attendance. Principals and assistant principals from every school, as well as administrators, including superintendent, Sandy Husk, were on hand to greet and interview prospective teachers.

Behind the scenes… That’s where we, classified staff, come in.

For months ahead of time, Sheryl Chance, Senior Secretary for Recruiting & Student Teacher Placement in Human Resources, was calling, printing, packaging, organizing, sorting, stuffing and scheduling others in her department to help before and during the fair. On the day of the fair, Sheryl was everywhere, making sure that everyone had what was needed for a successful day. There was about fifteen Human Resources classified staff on hand to greet administrators and teacher candidates. This staff made sure all were signed in, had a name badge, given interview packets, and that all candidates were given times for interviews. Staff mingled with candidates making sure they got to the right spot for their appointed time.

Instructional Services classified staff was on hand to help teacher candidates interested in teaching in bilingual classrooms get information and packets they needed. Tables with community partners were set up to introduce teacher candidates to local organizations, colleges and universities. Invitations were mailed out by the Community Relations and Communications department to ask these organizations to help showcase our community. Six colleges and universities attended as well as the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation. Participants were lined up at tables visiting with representatives and learning about opportunities available to them.

Did you notice the event listed, with photos, on the district home page of the Web site? For the Community Relations and Communications department, this was one of the first steps in getting the word out. Communications department staff was also on hand to take photos of the event. Watch for the next edition of Inside 24j and check the district Web site for photos of the event.

It was a great event. What helped make it that way was the teamwork demonstrated by classified staff to make sure the Educator Fair was a success. This truly demonstrates that we, as classified staff, have a hand in providing a pathway to success for every child, every day.