2:13 p.m., April 19, 2007--By 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, education students and recent alumni numbered around 200 at UD's Teaching Job Fair, held at the Bob Carpenter Center. By the end of the day, according to Cindy Holland, associate director of UD's Bank of America Career Services Center, one of the two co-sponsors of the event, overall applicant turnout was expected to reach more than 750.

“This is our 29th year of co-sponsoring this event with the University Council on Teacher Education,” Holland said, “and this is a banner recruitment year for school systems across the country, so turnout has been very good.”

The two-day fair, which began at noon on Tuesday, featured 325 recruiters representing more than 150 school districts and charter schools nationwide. Tuesday featured recruiters from Delaware schools and Wednesday focused on school districts hiring in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, Arizona, Delaware and several other states.

Katherine Morton, a senior early education major from Newark, who also will hold special education certification upon graduation, said that she is open to any position in early childhood education, but hopes to re-locate from Delaware. “I'd love to teach kindergarten in Hawaii, or North Carolina,” she said.

Many students, like Marissa Kursh, a senior early childhood education major from Wilmington, were trying to set up several interviews and were back at the fair for their second day.

“My family is in Delaware, and I did my student teaching at Brandywood Elementary and Brandywine Springs, so I've been interviewing for positions in the Brandywine and Red Clay districts,” Kursh said.

Caitlin Jackson, a senior elementary education major from Abingdon, Md., said she wanted to cast a wide net by lining up several interviews to broaden her employment options. “I think you have a better chance of being successful if you make appointments,” she said.

The fair drew education students from other universities in the region, as well, including students from Wesley University and West Chester University.

“I'm hoping to find a job teaching middle schoolers in one of the districts in Chester County,” Chris Podsobinski, a senior majoring in health and physical education at West Chester University, said. “I'm not typical with my favorite age group, but I really like the energy and enthusiasm of middle-school students.”

Recruiters, many of whom conducted impromptu interviews with students directly at the kiosks, seemed equally enthusiastic about the educational opportunities that lay ahead.

“I'm taking résumés from everyone who stops by,” Groome Mears, director of fine arts and human resources at Providence Creek Academy Charter School, in Clayton, said. A UD graduate himself, Mears added that UD graduates are well-prepared educators.

“I'm especially impressed with the locally grown and nurtured talent,” Mears said. “I also find that the job fairs at UD are very well-run and that students are very prepared for the interview process.”

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photos by Sarah Simon, AS '06