School districts hiring teachers and substitutes at South Valley recruitment fair

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Several South Valley School Districts are taking action to hire more educators. An annual teacher recruiting fair takes place next week.

There are over 20 school districts already signed up to be a part of the Tulare and Kings County Teacher Recruitment Fair and they're all looking for educators.

Whitney Marroquin still remembers stepping into the recruitment fair nearly 15 years ago

"It's a way for teachers to make contacts without just going to one individual school," explained Marroquin. "You have 20 or 15 schools at your disposal."

For Marroquin, the rest was history. She's been working for Exeter Unified ever since as both an academic coach and a teacher.

"Our profession is an amazing opportunity to reach our future," said Marroquin. "These kids are who we get to work with everyday, and it gives us an opportunity to make a difference in their lives."

She credits the teacher fair for helping to start her journey.

"You can get yourself out there and share your love of kids, of learning, of teaching," said Marroquin.

The 37th annual Tulare and Kings County Teacher Recruitment Fair takes place next Friday, March 11, at the International Agri-Center in Tulare and staff are hoping for a big turnout.

"We've seen many educators who are close to retirement retire, we've had some relocate out of state," explained Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire. "That makes it a challenge and makes events like this even more important."

Attendees don't need to be credentialed. Staff say they're looking for potential substitutes as well.

"My recommendation is that they come with the info that districts want to look at like resume and letter of application," added Hire, "and have that positive attitude."

They're asking everyone to register by 5 pm on March 9th. You can register here.