NEWS INDEX 2001 March

Teacher Placement Day on April 5 to draw school districts from 27 states and six foreign countries

Craig Chamberlain, Education Editor
(217) 333-2894; cdchambe@uiuc.edu

3/29/01

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New and veteran teachers, from both the University of Illinois and the community, will be shopping for jobs at schools from around the country and around the world April 5 (Thursday) at the UI’s annual Teacher Placement Day.

More than 350 recruiters representing more than 200 school districts from at least 27 states and about six foreign countries are expected at the event, being held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.

Among other things, the event may provide clues to the state of the educational job market and the extent to which teacher shortages exist in Illinois and elsewhere. According to Mildred Trent, director of the UI’s Educational Career Services Office, the sponsor of the event, the number of school districts represented has more than doubled in recent years.

About half of the recruiters will be from within the state, including many from the Chicago area, but California and Texas also will be strongly represented. California, in particular, is offering some enticing perks and bonuses to deal with shortages, Trent said. For the second year in a row, Hawaii will be sending a team of recruiters.

Recruiters also will be coming from the U.S. Army in Germany, and from a United Kingdom-based organization that recruits for Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and South Africa.

Registration for teachers will begin at 8 a.m. Recruiters will interview candidates starting at 9 a.m. in various rooms throughout the Illini Union, including Illini Rooms A, B and C.

For additional information, contact Trent, or Davida Bluhm, at the Educational Career Services Office (formerly the Educational Placement Office), 333-0740.