Some schools offer signing bonuses, affordable housing deals, and money for continuing education as incentives for teachers, Trent said. The Urbana School District, which has recruited at the fair every year, offers some teachers tuition wavers or assistance programs. We have a lot to offer and are interested in hiring anyone who is qualified. The number of school districts represented at the placement day has doubled in the last two years because of a teacher shortage, Trent said. Increasing student enrollment, teacher retirement and an educational trend to decrease class size, put qualified teachers in high demand.
Low salaries dissuade some job-seekers from pursuing teaching as a career.
While we want the nation's cream of the crop to be teachers, we need to address how to get them into it. Special education, physical education and math teachers are in the highest demand for Urbana schools. Trent expects about 400 people to attend the placement day which will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Illini Union in the A, B and C rooms.