Oregon Special Education R&R Project

In order to effectively market your school or district, you first need to have in place an overall plan for recruitment which is supported by a separate budget. Consider the following items when developing your plan.

Advertising

1. Distribute brochures and fact sheets to promote your community and school. Make sure materials are attractive and contain a clear, direct message. Invest in high quality promotional materials that address the position, the community, compensation, school culture and curriculum.

What to include: Materials designed to attract potential job candidates.
example.

2. Advertise positions on the internet. School websites are fast becoming the preferred method of advertising jobs. Just as with traditional marketing materials, make sure that your school website is high-quality and sends the message that you want represented.

JOBS Clearinghouse, the Recruitment and Retention Project's on-line jobs page.
Other on-line jobs pages.

3. Advertise positive points about your community:

Visit Oregon Pages, a guide to the diverse regions in Oregon.
Proximity to Higher Education opportunities

4. Promote Special Education as a career Recruitment Tool Kit (National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education).

5. Present at Job Fairs:

Financial Incentives

1. Teacher Salary Survey - 'How Oregon Stacks Up'

2. Bonuses for signing, longevity, and a willingness to negotiate salary

Non-financial incentives

1. Develop a Mentoring program in your school or district.

2. Professional Development Opportunities

3. Technology

4. Low case load

In order to attract qualified personnel, consider the following:

Recruitment Efforts

1. Recruit Graduates of Oregon Programs. Click for information about ways to post job announcements, dates of job fairs and information on setting up interviews.

2. Attend university recruiting days. Click for links to Career Service Offices at Oregon Institutions.

3. Recruiting teachers with diverse backgrounds - a list of resources.

4. Grow Your Own Programs

(Middle and High School)
Paraeducator programs - Recruit and support current employees who are working as paraeducators as a source of potential teachers.
Mid-career programs - Recruit and support professionals who are interested in changing careers and pursuing teaching as a profession.
Recent college graduates - Target individuals from the community who are recent graduates having a degree in the subject they would teach.

Recruiting and retaining Speech-Language Pathologists. Includes recruitment materials and information about upcoming career fairs.

6. Recruitment Resources from on-line, journals and literature reviews.

7. Actively seek student teacher placements.

8. Share applicant pools with neighboring agencies.

Search for applicants

1.JOBS Clearinghouse - The Oregon Special Education Recruitment and Retention Jobs pages.

2. On-line Jobs Pages. - Listing of other job sites.

3. Special Education Preparation Programs in Oregon - Listing of teacher education institutions grouped by specialty area.

4. Related Services Programs in Oregon - List of institutions that offer related service endorsement programs.

During 2002 and again in 2007, the Recruitment and Retention Project conducted a survey of first and second year special education teachers in Oregon to address the following recruitment factors:

How individuals found their current position.

Factors related to accepting the employment.

Positive and negative experiences in the hiring process.

The incidence and helpfulness of induction activities.

The incidence and helpfulness of initial support activities.

The incidence and importance of ongoing support activities.

Factors associated with leaving previous employment.

Factors related to leaving current employment, Oregon, and the profession.

Click to download detailed findings from the 2007 survey related to recruitment issues.