Recruiting teachers in specialty areas is compounded by a decades-old teacher shortage in Maryland. Every year, state colleges and universities turn out 2,100 new teachers and Maryland school systems hire 7,000 teachers.
To fill those positions, many school systems - including Anne Arundel County - recruit nationwide, Bozzella said. Virtual job fairs save travel time and money. Most Maryland school systems have an online application process.
That doesn't mean that Anne Arundel County will forgo its live job fair. Last year, the county received more than 700 applications at its job fair at North County High School. Because of the number of people, this year's fair, scheduled for March 29, has been moved to the Old Mill schools complex in Millersville because it has more parking.
Also this year, the Maryland Association of School Personnel Administrators is hosting its first statewide job fair, on April 5 at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, said Stephanie Moses, the association's president.
The new Maryland Education Recruitment Consortium, made up of representatives of all 24 Maryland school systems, will have four interview rooms, a suite staffed by state certification officials and information booths. The idea is that once out-of-state teachers come to Maryland, they are likely to stay.
"Let's get them to Maryland, and we'll divvy them up among us," said Moses, who also is director of human resources for the Wicomico County public schools.
Moses said the consortium hopes to make the fair annual. She has sent advertisements to 478 colleges in surrounding states and in states that have teacher surpluses, such as Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
