We held a job fair recently as a tool to recruit talented educators to join our outstanding staff.  In addition to completing interviews with the candidates regarding our open positions, we took time with each candidate to talk about the Mount Vernon community (our “Chamber of Commerce” speech, so to speak).  I was fortunate to be able to complete several of these conversations with the candidates, and it was a reminder of how fortunate we are to have a great school district in a great community.  In so many ways the community sells itself, and it was great to see how many candidates had a true interest in working here and living here.  The candidates I spoke to during the job fair shared the following themes regarding their thoughts about Mount Vernon, based on their job fair experience with us:

  1. It is clear that the school district is at the heart of the community, and that the community strongly supports its schools and its educators.
  2. All of the people they spoke with had a strong passion for what they do for students, and love the fact that they get to work in Mount Vernon.
  3. The district has a clear vision of who it is, where it wants to go in the future, and what it needs to do to continuously improve as a district.
  4. The district owns the fact that it still has a lot to learn, but is willing to work hard to do so.
  5. It is clear, based on the number of experienced educators on the staff, that educators want to stay in Mount Vernon after joining the district.
  6. Everyone the job fair candidates met with were friendly and helpful in the process.

With openings created by the district offering an early retirement plan, along with adding a few new positions while reinstating some positions that had been in place in the past, this is a critical time for the district to find quality candidates for several open positions.  It is also a nervous time, as fewer people are getting into the teaching field and others are leaving the field.  But, my confidence in our ability to find quality educators is high largely because of the great community that is Mount Vernon.  

The community truly sells itself when we are recruiting new educators to join us, and that is because of all of you who make this community special.  Thank you for being one of the main reasons why people seek out the opportunity to work in the Mount Vernon Community School District.  Spring is almost upon us so let’s celebrate!