“We looked at a succession plan for teachers leaving, and we knew last year and this year would be the years we were hit hardest,” said Lisa Lewis, DPS executive director of human resources. “We anticipated the problem, but maybe not to the volume we actually saw. After this year, it should calm down.”
Those 37 teaching spots are being covered by substitutes, mostly of the long-term variety. Both Lewis and Dayton teachers union president David Romick called it a priority to get those spots filled, because the subs often do not have full teaching licenses in the right subject matter.
“Our goal is to have a full-time, high-quality teacher in front of every student,” Lewis said.
The job fair is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the DPS Community Room, 115 S. Ludlow St. in downtown Dayton. Candidates are asked to bring a resume and portfolio, and school principals will be on site to conduct interviews.
The district has positions available in middle school math, science, language arts and social studies, plus high school physics, chemistry, geometry and algebra. Intervention specialist spots are available as well.
Damon Asbury, director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association, said Dayton’s 37 openings seems a little high, but he said many school districts are struggling to fill the same high school science and math positions that Dayton is pursuing.
Romick agreed that 37 vacancies is higher than usual for Dayton’s staff of roughly 825 teachers. He said a big reason has been the surge of resignations and retirements tied to changes in the state retirement system. He estimated DPS has lost 35 percent of its teaching staff in just three years.
“Largely what we’re losing is experienced, successful teachers — people with experience in this city, with these kids, teaching this curriculum. That exacerbates the loss,” Romick said. “It will take time to ramp that experience back up, particularly in dealing with the urban environment, because teaching is not the same in Oakwood and Dayton.”
Dayton Public Schools has some of the highest poverty rates and lowest test scores in Ohio in recent years. DPS’ teacher salary schedule calls for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree to make $37,336, while a 10th-year teacher with a master’s would make $54,750.
“We have done a lot in the last few years to raise base salaries,” Lewis said. “We’re still low, but we’re not at the bottom anymore.”
Lewis said the DPS teaching jobs are hard work, but there is much variety, from single-gender schools to a STEM school, a Montessori school, career tech and early college all in one district.
“In public service, money isn’t always the joy,” she said. “You’ve chosen a career where you can change a child’s life. That can be worth way more than the dollars.”
About the Author
