ST PAUL, Minn. — A few months ago, Mishari Dillard was graduating from high school in St. Paul, so she wasn't sure what to expect when she walked back into a high school for a hiring fair on Friday.
"I was kind of scared," she said, with a laugh.
The feeling didn't last long. Just a few minutes after walking in and filling out an application for a job as a teaching assistant for special education, she had an offer.
"The principal over there found me and gave me a job... on the spot," she said. "Now I'll be a TA at Farnsworth for the next school year. That's going to be exciting."
Just a couple hours into the job fair, which was held at Como Senior High, the hiring fair was more like a hiring frenzy.
"I think we filled about 30-40 Teaching Assistant (TA), and Educational Assistant (EA) positions," said Anny Xiong, recruitment and diversity specialist for SPPS. "In less than three hours."
Coming into the day, the district was short about 165 TA and EA positions across all schools, but by the time they closed for the day, 60 people had accepted positions.
Xiong credits the unique hiring effort and higher starting salaries for a big improvement over last year.
"We're at more than double the pace," Xiong said. "A year ago we were probably closer to 300 openings, we were definitely not hiring this fast."
Central High School principal Cherise Ayers says that's important because once classes begin, many of the jobs are even harder to fill.
"Last year in particular, we went with teaching assistant vacancies the entire year," Ayers said. "We were supposed to have 10 and we had one."
Ayers says she's optimistic this year will be different.
Kent Erdahl: "Have you hired anyone today?"
Cherise Ayers: "I did. I hired my first interview. I felt like a very good fisher person, with that first interview I was able to catch a big fish."
By the end of the day, Ayers had made seven offers, which she calls critical.
"The support roles are so critical to reaching students who traditionally don't just show up and do well at school," she said. "Students go to those people because they feel safe and they feel seen, and so those positions are so vitally important. When those positions are missing, we feel it in the building."
That's especially true when it comes to special education assistants, which is why the district is offering a limited number of $4,000 hiring and retention bonuses for those roles.
Though any classroom support position can be demanding, the majority of the jobs do not require a special license or degree, and the district is promising to work with those who have enthusiasm but lack experience.
"I tell folks, as long as you're passionate about working with students, you're passionate about wanting to make that difference, this job is for you," Xiong said. "We will provide you the training, we will provide you the support that you need to be able to succeed in this position."
That's why it didn't take Mishari long to find a job.
"From playing sports and being a captain of teams and now being in a school setting as a TA, I've always looked after the people around me and I've always gotten to know the people around me and treat them as the human beings that they want to be treated as," Dillard said. "And I feel and see that sometimes that doesn't happen in school settings. So I want to be the person who can reach out and give someone a comfortable environment when they're not feeling as comfortable as they want to be."
For information on TA, EA or other job openings at SPPS, click here.
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