LPS expands interview fair to those outside the district, amid nationwide teacher shortage

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - In the past, LPS hiring fairs usually cater to those already involved in the district, like those who student teach at LPS schools.

A hiring event scheduled for Friday will be the first time candidates outside of the pipeline can interview for jobs on the spot.

Amid a nationwide teaching shortage, LPS is trying to stay ahead of the curve. While the district said they have all their classrooms covered, they want to expand their hiring pool and make sure people know their job opportunities become available throughout the school year.

“This, again, is that hiring day that we haven’t necessarily done before,” said Erik Witt, LPS director of recruitment and hiring supervisor. “To let the community and our region know we’re looking for great educators to join Lincoln Public Schools.”

Previously, those already involved in the district would be notified of job opportunities as they pop up throughout the school year.

Morgan Finley, a special education teacher at Belmont Elementary, was a student teacher for LPS last year. She said she was able to land a job thanks to a hiring fair, before graduation.

“It made the student teaching experience even more exciting as well because I was at the school that I was going to be working at,” Finley said. “So it made the transition then into my first year of teaching this fall so much easier.”

LPS said the expansion of the hiring fairs was made to inform people outside of the district about job opportunities earlier, something the Nebraska State Education Association said was crucial.

“We really have to open up the pool and get people early,” said Deb Rasmussen, NSEA board member and president of the Lincoln Education Association. “There’ll be a worse crisis unless we can get some people that want to do the job in the classroom and there are people that want to do it.”

LPS is also looking to hire counselors, speech pathologists, and school nurses. The interview fair is offered in-person and virtually on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Candidates can reserve a spot on LPS’s website.

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