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Mid-Hudson Public School Educator Recruitment Job Fair Announced
The Dutchess BOCES Seventh Annual Mid-Hudson Cooperative Recruitment Public School Educator Job Fair will be held Saturday, March 1, 2008 at Arlington High School. For registration and information, go to the Dutchess BOCES Web site at www.dcboces.org.
Anthony DelGreco says his job teaching social studies in the special education department at John Jay High School in the Wappingers Central School District is not something that he can leave at his doorstep. In fact he calls it a "Cheers" job- where everybody knows his name. He can be at the movies, in a supermarket or just hanging out and he'll hear, "Hey, Mr. DelGreco!"
Though he started out studying law enforcement and planned a career in law, DelGreco switched career paths and became an educator. Does he regret his loss of anonymity and lower pay? Not for a minute! He feels he is definitely in the right place- and credits the Dutchess BOCES Mid- Hudson Cooperative Recruitment Public School Educator Job Fair for getting him there.
Says DelGreco, "I knew I wanted to help people. I thought a career in law might be the way to do that, but then I thought, 'Why not influence kids before they reach the point where they may get into trouble?' I went to two job fairs. At the first, I was more formal and nervous. I rehearsed all my answers. At the second, I let my personality come through and I was much more successful."
Bonnie Hart, WCSD's Assistant Coordinator for Special Education and DelGreco's supervisor, also believes in the importance of the BOCES Job Fair. "I often need to find teachers with specific sets of skills. I look for a pool of candidates, as I may have openings at the time of the Fair and then more through the summer right up to the start of school. The district may get over 500 applicants. It's hard to tell from a paper résumé the qualities I need, but at the Job Fair I am meeting candidates face-to-face and getting a snapshot of the candidate's personality, which makes a big difference. In fact, Anthony was hired right at the start of the school year. I didn't have a social studies opening at the time of the Job Fair but I had tagged his résumé. He was able to start that September."
DelGreco has these tips for those coming to the Job Fair:
Dress the part and be professional. Be organized. Have multiple copies of your résumé, portfolio, sample lessons, photos of bulletin boards you created, functional behavioral assessments you may have done, references, evaluations- anything that makes you stand out. Be confident. Follow up with a handwritten or emailed thank you.
He also has this advice for those pursuing a career in education: "If you are teaching for the summers off, don't bother. If you want to be a part of something, create change and do something more than collect a paycheck, then teaching may be for you. It's not a job; it's a life choice."
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