GOSHEN — After struggling to find candidates for vacant teaching positions last year, Goshen Community Schools officials decided to try something new.
On Friday, school leaders hosted the first “Experience Goshen ... A Community Visit” event, designed to bring prospective educators to the community for a tour and interviews.
The event was co-hosted by school corporation and Goshen Chamber of Commerce officials.
In recent weeks, Goshen Community Schools Assistant Superintendent Tammy Ummel said she has attended six teacher recruitment fairs at colleges and universities and has watched as schools from other states slide contracts across the table, offering jobs on the spot.
“How do we compete with that?” she said. “How do I ‘sell’ everything that’s good about the Goshen community and the school district to someone in 20 minutes?”
Ummel, who serves as the district’s human resources and professional development director, said she had been thinking a lot about the teacher shortage in Indiana and how to recruit new teachers to the area.
As of Friday, Goshen Community Schools had nearly 30 open teaching positions listed on the district’s website.
Ummel said as the current school year comes to an end, the number of open positions is likely to increase, leaving school officials to fill those spots before students return in the fall.
With some creative thinking — including hiring college students to teach part-time while student teaching part-time — school officials managed to fill all of the open positions last school year, Ummel said.
“We’re in competition not only for students, but also for the best educators,” Ummel said. “We want the best and the brightest.”
Experiencing Goshen
After a short welcome at the Goshen Chamber of Commerce Friday, a group of seven prospective teachers set off for a morning tour of the community and several schools. More teachers later joined the group for interviews with principals at the Goshen Community Schools Administration Center.
Chamber of Commerce vice president Nick Kieffer co-hosted visitors for their trek across the city.
During the ride, Kieffer answered questions about housing, amenities and other “quality of place” matters.
“I think this is an incredibly ingenious idea for the school system to offer,” Kieffer said. “It helps make that connection that is so important when it comes to making everything come together.”
The bus tour included stops at Goshen High School and Parkside Elementary School where student ambassadors introduced the prospective teachers to their building and school community.
Friday’s visit included a stop at City Hall to meet with Mayor Jeremy Stutsman.
Stutsman, a graduate of Goshen High School, praised Goshen Community Schools and the relationship the schools share with the community.
“There are so many groups in Goshen that function well together,” he said.
Matt Wise, one of the visiting teachers from Grace College, said he enjoyed the community focus in the morning.
“It was a very different experience in terms of interviewing,” Wise said while taking a break for lunch at the Old Bag Factory, sponsored by Teachers’ Credit Union.
Cassidy Marshall, of University of St. Francis, said she enjoyed the tour of downtown Goshen as well as the peek into Parkside Elementary School.
“Not being from Goshen, it was good to know that if I do end up moving here, there will be some familiar places,” she said.
Brittany Miller, of Ball State University, agreed.
“Yeah, normally after an interview you sort of drive yourself around and get a feel for the town. It’s been nice to be able to do that as part of this event,” Miller said.