Calling all educators! Oakmont is hosting a job fair with more than a dozen districts

Officials from several local school districts will gather next month to connect, network, and showcase the career opportunities available locally in the educational field.

The Second Annual Educator Job Fair will take place at Oakmont Regional High School in Ashburnham on Thursday, May 2, from 4 to 7 p.m. Organizers said the goal of the event is to give educators in grades pre-K to 12 and support staff an opportunity to meet with representatives from several school districts across the state.

The initial idea to invite multiple school districts to gather in one location came about after organizers noticed a number of employees not returning to the educational field in the post-COVID years, according to Stacey Christiano, director of human resources in the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District.

“We figured we could have a job fair, get all of the districts together to double our traffic, and work collaboratively to really see if we could get some quality people in to fill these positions,” Christiano said.

The positive response to last year’s fair was overwhelming, according to organizers.

“Everybody was excited to be part of this great networking opportunity, and we were able to match people with certain skillsets with other districts based on needs,” she said. “We were thrilled with the turnout we had.”

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More than a dozen school districts scheduled to participate

Districts and schools scheduled to participate in this year’s job fair include Narragansett Regional School District, Fitchburg Public Schools, Quabbin Regional School District, Wachusett Regional School District, Worcester Public Schools, Mahar Regional School, Nashoba Regional School District, Keystone Educational Collaborative, Winchendon Public Schools, Southbridge Public Schools, Athol-Royalston Regional School District, CAPS Collaborative, and Nantucket Public Schools.

In addition to educators looking to enter the field or advance their careers, the job fair is aimed at those seeking possible employment in other fields. Most districts currently have several job openings listed on their websites, including teachers, paraeducators, nurses, counselors, school psychologists, grant developers, electricians, drivers, summer staff, and custodians.

“(The) fair last year stood out as the most welcoming and well-organized job fair of the many we attended,” said Ann Marie Stoica, director of human resources in the Nashoba Regional School District. “We are delighted to be invited again.”

“We kind of look at it as a one-stop shop for somebody seeking employment,” said Justine Muir, director of AWSRD pupil services. “It happened quite a bit last year that someone would come up to our table looking for a certain position that we didn’t have open at that time, but if we knew that, say, Nashoba across the gym did have an opening, we would walk that person right over to their table.”

Representative from DESE Licensure Office to be at job fair

A representative from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Licensure Office will again be attending this year’s job fair, according to Christiano.

“This presents an excellent opportunity for those seeking guidance or assistance with their educator licenses to receive immediate support and advice,” she said. “We had some staff last year that got some guidance on how to become fully licensed in their field.”

Organizers were planning on making the job fair an annual regional event, according to Muir.

“We definitely hope to continue this every year for a long time,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Educator Job Fair at Oakmont High School