Cumberland County Schools is looking to fill 200 vacancies, with the majority of those positions being certified teachers.
To help fill those positions, the school system is scheduling virtual interviews. Registration for those virtual interviews is open through Thursday, the district said in a release.
The school system works year-round to hire employees, but it does specific recruiting campaigns during the year, said Tonya Page, the district’s Human Resources director. The virtual interviews are part of a social media push the school system does in the spring and fall, she said.
Interviews with certified candidates are recorded and placed on a recruiter spreadsheet that Human Resources shares with all of the principals in the school system, she said. The process allows all of the schools to have access to the information at the same time, she said.
The school district also conducts in-person job fairs in the spring, usually in May. It also sends representatives to face-to-face job fairs in state and out of state as it looks to fill vacancies.
The school system has conducted 105 virtual interviews since Feb. 16, Page said Thursday.
“We’ve had a great many candidates come through,’’ she said.
Of the 200 vacancies, about 150 are for certified teachers, Page said. Of those 150, the biggest need is in the area of exceptional children. There are about 30 vacancies, she said.
Some positions are for dual roles. A teacher assistant, for example, may also drive a bus.
Virtual interviews are just one of the recruiting tools the school system uses. It also has a program to recruit Cumberland County high school seniors interested in a career in education. The Future Educators Program was started about three years ago, Page said. High school seniors who are interested in becoming teachers are given an early contract with the school system. Once they receive their four-year degree, they agree to teach a minimum of three years with Cumberland County Schools. As part of that program, the students do a week-long internship with Page that includes a $1,000 stipend that can be used for school expenses, she said.
The district also is offering a $2,000 signing bonus to any new teacher to Cumberland County, Page said.
The school system also works with people who have a four-year degree and want to teach. Someone with a four-year degree can apply through the Residency Program, which allows the person to teach while working to complete their coursework and testing to obtain a North Carolina teaching license.
Anyone interested in working with Cumberland County Schools can email Page at TonyaPage@ccs.K12.nc.us.
For more information about the virtual interviews, go to the CCS' website or call 910-678-2323.
Editor Lorry Williams can be reached at lwilliams@cityviewnc.com.
