Quiz Time: Potential Teachers Crowd Azusa Event for Job Interviews
Posted on: Monday, 12 May 2008, 21:00 CDT
By Evelyn Barge
AZUSA -- Tense and ready for action, they stood along the sidelines of the Felix Event Center. While some mentally rehearsed their game plans, others gripped the roster and awaited a turn on the floor.
It's a scene not unfamiliar in the Azusa Pacific University basketball arena, but on Thursday it was filled with players of a different kind -- teaching candidates, with just a handful of shots at winning a job.
"This is your chance," said Jenny Haaland of Lakewood as she waited for an 11:30 a.m. interview with Arcadia Christian School. "It's make or break."
Haaland, 24, was among the nearly 300 teacher candidates, almost all of them recent graduates of APU's School of Education, to participate in this year's Teacher Interview Day. The event connects candidates with more than 40 separate schools and districts, which set up information booths to accept resumes and conduct job interviews throughout the day.
Organizers expected about 430 interviews to take place Thursday on the floor of the Felix Event Center, where dozens of tables were set up in rows and marked for each district or school. Candidates, who were invited to participate, could interview with as many as six employers.
"It's the biggest (job) forum that we know of at any college statewide," said Holly Holloway-Friesen, associate director in the Office of Career Services, which co-sponsors the event.
At a time when teaching jobs are at a premium and many state school districts are facing severe budget cuts and layoffs, the candidates said the event was a welcome opportunity to see what's available in dozens of districts across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties. Representatives from charter and private Christian schools, some from as far away as Japan and South Korea, were also meeting candidates at Teacher Interview Day.
"I came here to give my resume out to as many districts as possible," said Miriam Ramirez, 40, who is completing her credentials at APU's High Desert Regional Center in Victorville.
Already under pressure to make a good impression, candidates said they were also feeling the weight of a sinking job market.
"A lot of teacher candidates are confused," said Chinaka DomNwachukwu, chair of the Department of Teacher Education. "They are in a panicky mode because teachers who are already practicing are being given pink slips."
The job market is especially sluggish for multiple-subject elementary school teachers, he said, as opposed to those who specialize in fields like high school math or science, a reality reflected by the openings available at Teacher Interview Day.
"There are not many positions that are advertised for them on this particular day," DomNwachukwu said. "For the pool of candidates who are supposed to be teaching in public elementary schools, the prospect of a job is quite bleak."
For now, he said, APU's teaching candidates are encouraged to look at alternatives -- private schools, charters and substituting - - as they enter the tightening job field.
"There's not a lot available right now, but I came in knowing that," said candidate Jacqui Puente, 23, of El Monte. "Keeping your options open is the key and not having your heart set on just one specific area."
Greg Kaiser, director of Multiple Subject Credential Programs in the Department of Teacher Education, said the job market for teachers should start to relax in the next year or two.
"Right now it's really tight for multi-subject teachers," he said, "but I think we will see an increase in openings due to retirements."
And, despite restricted financial resources, the state's expanding population means the demand for teachers will only grow with time, DomNwachukwu said.
"As much as the state is on shaky financial footing, we are confident they will ultimately get a job," DomNwachukwu said. "Because California needs teachers, our classrooms need teachers."
evelyn.barge@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2472
(c) 2008 San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune
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