Oklahoma City Public Schools Looking To Hire Dozens Of Teachers

Oklahoma City Public Schools is looking to hire dozens of classroom teachers and numerous other positions within the district. 

OKCPS held a job fair Tuesday afternoon at the Clara Luper Center for Educational Services. 

“The district is looking to hire 77 certified positions, including 44 classroom teachers,” said Amber Muse, director of staffing at OKCPS.  

The district has an enrollment of more than 33,000 students. 

"We have increased our student population so a lot of the additional positions that we're looking for is because we have so many kids actually come back to the district," said Muse. "Because of, you know, the return from COVID and things like that, our classroom sizes are actually smaller, which is why we're looking for teachers. That way, we can keep our student population smaller in the classrooms with things going on. Also, with the semester coming to an end, people retire, people change career paths or get promoted." 

Filling teaching positions is a priority across Oklahoma. According to an annual survey by the Oklahoma State School Board Association (OSSBA), there were 1,019 teaching vacancies when this school year began. That was the highest number in the survey's nine-year history. 

"As of this week, we're now at 4,100 emergency teacher certificates. That's a record," said Shawn Hime, executive director, of the OSSBA. 

Himes said the OSSBA is working with districts to find solutions to address the teacher shortage, such as sharing best practices on recruitment and retention. 

"Some school districts have mortgage incentives with local banks. They have free day care for teachers' children. They have free memberships or low-cost memberships to local fitness clubs," Himes explained. 

Meanwhile, OKCPS is offering a variety of its own incentives to attract candidates. 

"Our starting pay, currently right now, is one of the highest. It's $42,000," said Muse. "In addition to that, we pay 7% into teacher's retirement, the $615.90 per month for health benefits. But also, we have several professional development that we pay for." 

People who could not attend Tuesday's job fair can apply for positions online by clicking here. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 249 certified and non-certified positions listed.