On Tuesday, the mostly young candidates strolled through the lines of tables like they were shopping for the freshest fruit in the market. Over at the California table, when I was talking to them, they were offering huge incentives. I have interviews with schools in California, Las Vegas, Texas. Sign-on bonuses were also being offered in highneed areas, such as math, science and bilingual education. But our state is experiencing huge shortages.
Some districts have to re sort to just getting a warm body in the classroom.
A few Colorado districts are trying to compete. Boulder Valley Public Schools is promising teachers incremental raises every year. Mostly, though, the Colorado districts struggle, McGrath said. John Stevens, who will graduate from UNC in May with a degree in sociology and an emphasis in elementary education, said the job market is a little tighter for elementary school teachers in northern Colorado. Some of the larger Colorado school districts represented at the fair have hundreds of vacancies to fill next year.