Page 145 - Demo

EDUCATE | AFFIRM | INSPIRE 145Recruitment HighlightsThe Department of Recruitment & Retention expanded outreach to fill vacancies and build educator pipelines across the District. Key recruitment initiatives included:%u2022 A record-setting hiring event at the South Florida Fairgrounds attracted 928 job seekers and filled hundreds of positions in a single day.%u2022 Staff completed 34 university visits, including targeted recruitment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and the University of Puerto Rico.%u2022 The %u201cPeople Who Care%u201d marketing campaign reached diverse candidate pools through radio, television, and digital media.%u2022 A redesigned careers website featured a Pathways to Teaching intake form to streamline routing for prospective educators. %u2022 Virtual %u201cThursday Talks%u201d on alternative certification and a mailing list of over 28,000 potential candidates connected principals with qualified applicants.%u2022 A partnership with Educational Partners International placed 25 international teachers in District classrooms to support bilingual instruction and cultural competence.Building Teacher Pipelines and Grow Our Own InitiativesThe Florida Future Educators of America and Teachers of Tomorrow programs offer classroom-based experiences that introduce students to careers in education. In FY26, participation expanded to 141 schools, an increase of 10 schools from the previous year.The Palm Beach Future Educators Scholarship supported 14 non-instructional and temporary employees, as well as high school seniors pursuing teaching careers. Recipients are committed to returning to teach in the District upon graduation. Additionally, six employees completed paid student internships while maintaining their salaries and benefits, and 37 interns participated in school-based summer internships to gain experience in elementary classrooms.In partnership with BloomBoard, the Palm Beach Associate Teacher Program offers a two-year, portfolio,based pathway for non-instructional employees. In FY26, 50 participants advanced through three program cohorts, and 19 were expected to begin teaching in August. The Accelerated Induction into Teaching program, in partnership with Florida Atlantic University College of Education, allowed 16 teacher candidates to serve as instructors of record during their final semester.