More than 200 prospective employees visited the Education Support Center on April 13 for the annual Career Expo, hoping to join Longview Independent School District.
Representatives from the district's various campuses answered questions with the purpose of adding valuable educators to one of the fastest-growing school districts in East Texas. Side rooms were cordoned off for interviews, with some applicants actually hired on the spot — pending approval by the board of trustees during their May regular meeting.
J.L. Everhart Elementary Principal Arthur Brown said he was impressed by the caliber of candidates as well as the sheer volume of those interested in his campus.
'The only drawback is that we don't have enough openings, which is not really a drawback,' he laughed. 'But more importantly we were able to meet with quite a few quality education professionals, and perhaps find someone who would make for an ideal candidate down the road at some point.'
Judson Middle Principal William Houff echoed Brown's sentiment, adding that said he found a number of applicants for every opening available on his campus.
'It's exciting because we have so many quality candidates to choose from,' he said. 'It's great to have an event like this where you can meet and talk with candidates instead of just sorting through resumes.'
Describing the job fair as a 'kickoff event,' Human Resource Director Loretta Thompson Martin said her department will continue recruiting throughout the spring and summer.
'This isn't the end of our search for qualified applicants, actually more like the kickoff,' she said. 'For anyone who wasn't able to make it out here tonight, we encourage them to submit an application through the website, and contact us for any questions about positions that may still be available.'
Over 20 open positions with the district included Math, Science, Spanish and Bilingual Education, as well as Social Studies, Reading, and Language Arts.
Many applicants traveled from as far away as Dallas and Houston, with others coming from neighboring districts around Tyler and the greater Longview area.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jody Clements said an important goal of the job fair is to allow interested applicants an opportunity to sit down with potential supervisors and to get a sense of whether it was a good fit.
'There's only so much you can get from a resume, this expo allows professionals to meet and put a face to a name,' he said. 'Tonight we had a lot of excitement, a lot of great conversations and positive applicants. You can see people smiling and know relationships are being built.”
For more information about career opportunities at Longview ISD please visit the Job Listings page, or call the LISD Human Resources Department at (903) 381-2200.
