The Clarke County School District has begun the process of hiring teachers for the 2025-26 school year. The process commenced with contract releases for current teachers on Feb. 14 and continued with the annual Educator Career Fair on Feb. 22. “(Our hiring values) are derived from our mission, vision, beliefs and our strategic plan, as well as our school leaders,” CCSD Interim Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dan Swartz said. “Student potential (is a big one). A teacher has to believe that (they) can help you reach your full potential (and) your wildest dreams.” Photo from the ODYSSEY archives
The CCSD hosted its third annual Educator Career Fair on Feb. 22, kickstarting the hiring for vacant teacher positions from schools around the district.
Three months remain in the 2024-25 school year, but the Clarke County School District is already looking ahead to hiring for next year.
For the third consecutive year, the district hosted its Educator Career Fair at the CCSD District Office at 595 Prince Ave. The event, held on Feb. 22, brought 135 aspiring educators to Athens as CCSD and school leaders look to fill an estimated 57 teaching vacancies ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
The event was organized by school level, with registered attendees able to navigate between elementary, middle and high schools based on their interest and qualifications. Every CCSD school brought a leadership team to meet with candidates, with CCSD providing an opportunity for on-the-spot interviews.
“If they aced that interview, then we had (Human Resources) representatives right there who could walk that candidate down, confirm that they did have an opening and give them a contingent contract right on the spot, so that was exciting,” CCSD Interim Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dan Swartz, who organized the fair, said. “We make sure that (the hiring) process runs efficiently and effectively.”
The district’s effort has already yielded results. According to Swartz, the district has made significant progress in filling their vacancies, having recommended candidates or issued provisional contracts for close to a third of openings.
The current job openings for Clarke County School District middle and high schools as of March 3 are shown. Clarke Central High School currently has five job openings listed on the CCSD job application website, two of which are holdovers from last year. “We have a science (department) opening that we’ve had because we had to pull out some classes this year and we have a social studies (department) opening that was vacated at the beginning of this year,” CCHS Associate Principal of Instruction Dr. Summer Smith said. “We (want to) hire for them during hiring season, because our pool is much bigger. We usually just get a lot more applicants (and) more qualified (applicants).” Map by Wyatt Meyer
The job fair followed the release of contracts to current CCSD teachers on Feb. 14. Educators who had offers extended to them had up to 10 business days to re-sign their contracts, concluding on March 3.
As of Feb. 28, 77% of CCSD teachers have re-signed these contracts, according to Swartz.
“We want to do everything we can to retain highly effective educators, so that’s something that we do look at. Some attrition will happen, and that’s natural, (but we) try to limit what we can,” Swartz said. “We do expect a high number to return this year, so we’re hopeful about our retention rate.”
As of March 3, there are currently five positions at Clarke Central High School that aspiring educators can currently apply for on the CCSD job website. The English, science, social studies, foreign language and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) departments are each looking for an additional teaching member.
“We want to do everything we can to retain highly effective educators, so (re-signings of contracts) is something that we do look at. Some attrition will happen, and that’s natural, (but we) try to limit what we can,”
— Dan Swartz,
CCSD Interim Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith, who attended the job fair and helps organize school hiring committees, says CCHS looks for two main characteristics in prospective teachers: teamwork and diversity.
“Our teachers do, for the most part, work in teams. Y’all may not realize it, but they are behind the scenes, so (collaboration is) a big thing we look for,” Smith said. “We look for people who have a coachable spirit and a coachable attitude. If you have the will, we can help you get the skill.”
