Join Delaware Schools kicks off teacher, staff recruitment efforts earlier than usual

The Delaware Department of Education is accelerating its efforts to help school districts and charter schools fill open teaching and staff slots, starting its 2025 Join Delaware Schools recruitment initiative earlier in the year than 2023 and 2024.

More than 175 people registered for the recruitment fairs in 2024—resulting in approximately 220 visits to virtual booths set up by Delaware schools, 29 job applications, and 84 resume submissions. She did not have data on how many got jobs.

Many of the state’s 44 districts and charter schools conduct their own individual recruitment efforts, but as of a week ago, participants in Wednesday’s fair – which will run from 4:30-7:30 pm – had a distinctly Northern New Castle flavor:

• Christina School District
• Colonial School District
• Brandywine School District
• Red Clay School District
• New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District
• Las Americas ASPIRA Academy (charter school)
• Capitol School District
• Caesar Rodney SD

“This is a one-stop, on-demand program that we’re doing earlier in the hiring system to capture December graduates and students who will graduate this May,” said Ann Hlabangana-Clay, Education Associate, Educator Equity and Recruitment for the Delaware Department of Education

Hlabangana-Clay says she’s hoping 175+ people will register for Wednesday’s program. She said participants tend to include student teachers and participants in the state’s paid student residency program, career changers, and applicants from outside the state. She does expect more people to participate in March as students get closer to graduation.

In addition, many students are coming to the end of the state’s two-year teacher apprenticeship programs.

In addition, some local colleges will participate to answer questions about their Alternate Route to Certification (ARTC) curriculum and shortcuts to earning master’s degrees, and out-of-state students will be asking about state requirements.

The state had 259 open staffing positions, but Hlabangana-Clay said she did not have an updated number beyond saying the open positions were down 52% over 2023. A look at the website indicates the most popular open positions are in the areas of Student Support Services (97), Elementary School (72), Middle School (62), Athletics/Extracurriculars (58), and Substitutes (49).

“We’re a local state, and actual recruiting happens at the local level, but this is a great way to find people who may have slipped through the cracks,” she said.

For more information about the Join Delaware School initiative, to see open positions, and to register for either virtual recruitment fair, go here.