CANFIELD, Ohio – Four soon-to-be Youngstown State University graduates were among those who came to the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio’s job fair Tuesday morning.
Leah Bachani, Brielle DeSaulles and Jasmine Dahl are from the area, and Adena Rugola of Uniontown, Pa., is open to staying here for the right opportunity. With classroom interests ranging from pre-K to fifth grade, the four young future educators liked having the opportunity to talk to representatives from school districts from all over the area in one day.
With representatives from 18 schools from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in attendance, the future educators had plenty of hands to shake and places to provide their resumes.
“This is a great opportunity to look for talent,” said Andy Tommelleo, superintendent of Poland Local Schools. “We all started at this point, looking for a beginning to our career, and it’s a great opportunity to have a great face-to-face conversation with the next generation of teachers. And the ESC does a great job in pulling this together and providing that opportunity.”
Monica Brodigan, human resources supervisor at the ESC of Eastern Ohio, said the annual event provides opportunities for not just newly trained teachers but also those looking for a new opportunity, as well as support staff in the education field. More than 30 teachers seeking their next job and recent graduates arrived at Tuesday’s event within the first hour.
“You’re looking for the right fit and measuring up talent,” Tommelleo said. “We’re competitive. We want to showcase the great district that Poland is and, hopefully, we attract the best and the brightest. But we also want to make sure that we fit them as much as we believe they fit us.”
Dante Capers, associate superintendent of student services, student wellness and success at Warren City Schools, was among those meeting with prospective job seekers. Capers likes to see young job seekers interested in staying in the Valley, where there is a lot of opportunity and low cost of living. He said Warren City Schools is looking for all positions, but most importantly to him is the type of person who will be taking a position.
“We’re looking for great candidates, candidates who are passionate about kids first, but also who are masters in their fields,” Capers said.
Chris Neifer, superintendent of Boardman Schools, said he has hired teachers every year from the event, both when he was the superintendent of East Palestine Schools and now as the leader of the much bigger Boardman district, which employs nearly 300 teachers.
“I think we hired 13 last year, and it was very competitive,” Neifer said. “Last year, we went through stacks, 10 to 12 applicants for a position.”
James Rook, superintendent of the East Palestine City School District, said he hired a couple of candidates he met at the job fair last year. He was seeking an eighth grade science teacher and some intervention specialists this year.
“We’ve really gotten a lot of great candidates,” Rook said, both last year and this year. “We appreciate the opportunity that the ESC gives us, and we find it very worthwhile.”
Frank Baker, middle school principal at United Local Schools, said the district is always looking for “good young people” ready to get out of college and step into the classroom.
“We’re trying to be proactive on what is going to happen with all the trickle down, or people moving,” said Mary Alice Sigler, director of staff and student services at United Local Schools. “One of the things we try to do is really encourage our people to grow and take that next step if they are interested in administration or the next step in education outside the classroom. We help them develop to become those leaders at United.”
Pictured at top: Adena Rugola, Leah Bachani, Brielle DeSaulles and Jasmine Dahl will soon be graduating from Youngstown State University and hope to be stepping into roles in elementary school classrooms in the Mahoning Valley.