Episode 363: The Classroom and Beyond: Big Careers in Jordan School District

Jane:
The big ones that we have open that we're really still seeking are the special education support professionals that are working in the special education classrooms, our classroom assistants, our nutrition services, and our sub bus drivers and sub bus assistants.

Mike:
Our substitute pool is really somewhere where you can get your foot in the door. We're really looking to hire licensed substitutes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. In Jordan School District, we like to say come for the job and stay for the adventure. On this episode of the Supercast, we take a look at career opportunities available in Jordan School District in the classroom and beyond. They are jobs that support students and education every single day. Listen and find out who we are looking to hire right now and how to apply if you are interested in joining the Jordan School District team.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are talking today with two of our administrators in the Human Resources Department about job opportunities here in Jordan School District. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background.

Jane:
I am Jane Olson. I am the Talent Acquisition Administrator here in Jordan School District.

Mike:
Dr. Mike Trimmel and I am the Assistant Director in HR over Talent Development. I've been a principal and assistant principal for the past 15 years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's talk about some of the job opportunities in Jordan School District right now. Jane?

Jane:
So right now we have very few of our licensed positions still open. As of today, there is only eight licensed teaching positions and then an additional 10 athletic coaching positions that, you know, have an hourly period where they can teach. But the big ones that we have open that we're really still seeking are the special education support professionals that are working in the special education classrooms, our classroom assistants, our Nutrition Services and our sub bus drivers and sub bus assistants. Those are our big opportunities at the moment.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the positions that are always open? Where we, there are certain positions where we're always looking for somebody.

Mike:
Yeah, I would say definitely our special education, educational support professionals. The educational support professionals in our special education classrooms typically we have openings year-round in that setting.

Anthony Godfrey:
And they're sometimes referred to as a classroom aide; that might be the more common nomenclature that we would use for that position. So it's part-time, many times, but sometimes it's full-time with benefits, helping support the teacher in providing instruction for and supporting students. And that can be working with students with a wide variety of needs.

Mike:
Correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk to me about bus drivers also.

Jane:
Yes, with our bus drivers, we're typically looking to build that substitute bus driver pool as large as we can and then that's where our primary recruitment pool for our full-time positions come out of, that sub bus pool. So it's essential for us to have a really good set of sub bus drivers. We're looking for the best people with the best personalities and making sure that we get them the credentials that they need because we pay them to get their CDL.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's part of it is you get paid to get your CDL and this is a unique position as is a classroom aide position, where you get a lot of opportunity to work with students directly and build those relationships. For some students, the bus driver or the classroom aide looms very large in their lives, and those relationships are very important.

Mike:
Absolutely. I would say the the classroom assistants in special ed classrooms, they really build a wonderful relationship with each of the students and same thing with the bus drivers, right? It's the usually the first person and the last person that a student sees in the day is the bus driver.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, you get to know people, you're in their neighborhood, it's it's it's a great position and you get that CDL training which is a nice bonus. Let's talk about the licensed position, that there's a particular reason that we have as many licensed openings as we do at the elementary level.

Jane:
Yeah, I think it's important to remember that what you're seeing right now is not because people are leaving. We recently, the Board approved us to start a process where we're going to be selecting and recruiting gifted and talented specialists part-time at every elementary school in Jordan School District. So that is potentially 24 up to 48 positions that we would be looking for to fill, and we did we started with 14 of those schools this year. So some of those openings are because we created them, not because people left.

Anthony Godfrey:
The licensed positions are harder to come by for candidates and we've had a large number of applicants this year probably larger than we've had in my memory at least. Talk to us about the numbers and how they've evolved over the years.

Jane:
Yeah, so back when I started as the HR specialist about four years ago, we were averaging about 50 to 60 qualified candidates for elementary pools. Now our average over the course of a school year, so even when we've got a position that's only open for a couple of days, we're averaging 96 applicants per position, with our high this year of 195 for a second grade position at Riverton Elementary School. So when we're talking about qualified candidates, we're talking about candidates who have a professional elementary educator license. It's allowed us to really focus in on the high-quality instruction that you know the strategic plan really indicates is something that is a strong Board priority.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's talk about something you mentioned, and that is even when jobs are only posted for a couple of days, jobs go through different phases where they're posted for a longer period of time during a certain part of the year, and then they aren't posted as long, starting I believe in August. So speak to that timeline and what that looks like.

Jane:
So that timeline is, starting March 1st is when we post all of our positions that are generally filled. Our hard to fill positions actually start as far back as January 1st and then once we hit the March 1st, they are open for five business days. Once we hit June 1st, that narrows the timeline significantly because it's kind of our crunch time. We want to make sure that we get all the qualified educators that we possibly can prior to the first day of contract, so it could be as few as one day but as many as five. So really, those timelines start to ratchet down about June 1^st. So we're in that crunch time where we're typically seeing two to three days on an elementary or even middle school or high school license position.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if you are applying in the spring when most options are available, you may have to wait a little bit before interviews even start, but at this time of year over the summer, you really can expect interviews to happen pretty quickly and that's by policy. That's negotiated policy with our employee groups that those interviews happen on a different timeline. Now one thing that I've seen over the years is that you know if you're one of nearly 200 candidates and you're really trying for a position, don't lose hope because there are things that happen as the year approaches were even into the start of the year that we don't expect. People have to move things happen in their lives, and we do still hire at times that you wouldn't expect so I would say keep looking and keep applying. Talk to me about that.

Mike:
Absolutely. What I would say is I would tell people not to lose hope, right. Apply, keep checking, and get your foot in the door somewhere. Our substitute pool is really somewhere where you can get your foot in the door. We're really looking to hire licensed substitutes. We have a lot of substitutes in our District, and so we're really looking for high-quality licensed substitutes right now. So if you can get your foot in the door, you have a good opportunity when positions open to have your application looked at.

Anthony Godfrey:
And teachers and administrators really appreciate someone who's done a good job as a substitute, and then when they have an opening and they have a need, it's like, “Hey, wait a minute, maybe there's someone we could pick up.”

Mike:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is not just about the numbers. When you have a large number of applicants, then you end up with highly qualified, as you mentioned, highly motivated applicants who are really ready to be very effective in the classroom. Talk to me about how this has impacted student instruction to have such a good candidate pool.

Mike:
Yeah absolutely. What we've seen is having such a large candidate pool allows administrators to really dig deep into those applications and find the qualities and characteristics that align with Jordan School District, and interviewing top candidates and being able to select top candidates. Once we've selected those top candidates, we already know that they align with the . . .  they have the characteristics that we're looking for, they align with our values, and they're motivated to be high-quality teachers that our students deserve.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back more from the Human Resources Department about opportunities in Jordan School District.

Male Voice:
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Sandy:
Hello I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @ Jordan District. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
Where do people go if they want to apply?

Jane:
So we always accept digital applications on our website hr.jordandistrict.org, and then you would hit the “apply here” button. It's really big so it's kind of hard to miss. But if you ever have questions you can always reach out to us. We have our contact information on our website which is recently updated so you'll be able to reach out to the right team and the right group of individuals to help you find that perfect job.

Anthony Godfrey:
And there has been an expansion in the Human Resources Department. We've added personnel, we've shifted personnel's responsibilities so that we can provide the best support possible. We've added benefits for employees, so we really are doing a lot to try to attract the very best for our students.

Jane:
Absolutely, I would add that you know we are really focused on becoming a world-class HR department and that's not world-class in terms of education. We're talking world-class, competing with some of the biggest organizations, Fortune 500. That is our goal and where all of our aims are headed. We want to be known as some of the best, so we want to provide not only the best quality candidates for our students and for our schools, but the best quality experience for our employees that always results in great results for students.

Anthony Godfrey:
We have an onboarding process to welcome employees and make them feel part of things and give them the information they need. We also have a new educator induction that we've done for a few years, and although there are fewer positions this year with dropping enrollment, we have hundreds of new educators coming that we’ll be welcoming with a full day of activities and events.

Jane:
Yeah, I think it's important to note that when we hire educators, we don't just hire educators; we celebrate them before we ever take attendance. We want them to know that we're ready for them, that they have names and connections, and they know who their resources are- not only those names and connections but they're building relationships with the people around them. We know that another part of the the pillars of the Portrait of a Graduate is that culture of belonging and that extends not just to students; it extends to all of us. So because when you have a culture of belonging, you not only join an organization you stay.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love speaking to that group each year; it's a mix of brand new teachers who are just starting out their career, others who are restarting their career or shifting their career over to Jordan School District, and it's fun to see that energy and excitement around teaching and around the classroom. Now over the years, the Board has supported adding various personnel, various positions, and resources to help make sure that we are supporting all of our employees in every way possible. Talk about some of those changes over the years.

Mike:
So Jordan School District and the Board of Education have been so supportive with providing positions in the District that at the end of the day, provide support for students. Every elementary school has a school counselor, every elementary school has a school psychologist. Now the District is adding a gifted and talented specialist to every elementary school so that students have access to the highest quality education possible. So when we are saying that we have these openings, it's not just because people have left or are leaving; it's because the Board is authorizing additional personnel to benefit students.

Jane:
I think to add to that it's deepening our commitment to the Portrait of a Graduate. When you see openings at Jordan don't read them as people leaving. Read them as the Board investing in your students. We created these positions on purpose because Portrait of Graduate isn't just a poster on a wall. It's a staffing plan and a recruitment strategy.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're very intentional about who we're looking for and what we need them to be able to provide to students, and it's very rewarding. It's a rewarding job regardless of what you're doing, you're helping support students in Jordan School District. Talk about coaching positions. There are some athletic coaching positions out there that include one class period as part of the teaching, so they're listed as a teaching position, and that's not uncommon for athletic coaching. So talk about what those coaching positions look like.

Jane:
We are looking for people who are passionate about that particular sport. You'll see anything from basketball to soccer to track and field, volleyball, off-the-ball.

Anthony Godfrey:
We offer them all.

Jane:
We offer them all, yes. But what's really important is that one period is you're going to be teaching and coaching those skills and those traits that you want to see in a superstar athlete and making sure that you're supporting that community at that school. It's essential for us to have the right coaches because it's not just about what they do here in Jordan School District, but it's about setting them up for a trajectory that's success across their lifetime.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it is possible to teach one class period even if you aren't a full-time teacher and coach at the same time.

Jane:
Absolutely we love that.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that's that's been a great arrangement over the years. We love to have our full-time teachers coach. Sometimes that's not possible and this allows us to get our part-time or get our coaches into the classroom at least for one period. So to recap we have a number of athletic coaching positions open, and that often comes with teaching one of the classes in the schedule. We have, we always have bus driver positions available, and we have a lot of part-time positions where you can get the kids off to school, work a part-time position during the day, and still be home when they return. You can work directly with students in special ed. We tend to have openings for classroom aides there, but we do in lots of different positions, and you would be surprised at the wide range of positions that are available within Jordan School District. And we have licensed positions right now because of some new positions the Board approved, and it's surprising how those can still pop up as we get into the beginning of the school year. So, keep your eyes peeled, hop on that website, and we're here to help when you're applying in Jordan School District.

Mike:
Absolutely.

Jane:
We appreciate it and you know you always talk about in recruiting that it takes a community to run a school district so you name a position in a community, you will find it in Jordan School District.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much. Thanks for your time and thanks for everything you're doing to bring great educators and great employees to Jordan.

Mike:
Thanks.

Jane:
We appreciate being here it's always an honor to be part of the podcast.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.