Pre K Job Fair

(Photo: Robin Shulman/WNYC)

Listen above to WNYC’s story on this Pre K Job Fair.

Highlights from the post/story on WNYC:

“I feel like I’m speed-dating here,” said Dawn Posporelis, a manager at Precious Moments Nursery School in Queens, as she sat behind a table holding five-minute conversations to size up applicants.

Unlike some job fairs, where the chances of actually getting a job are slim, here the chances are high and the task is matchmaking. Community organizations need to staff up quickly, and some organizations were looking to hire as many as 10 teachers.

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“A lot of good-quality talent is coming through. So I’m pretty confident that we’re going to be full by next weekend,” said Ron Tompkins, who needed to fill five pre-k teaching jobs at two sites in Queens. He said he found several prospective teachers with the wisdom and experience he was looking for. “Basically, I just said to them, ‘I’ve got money, you’ve got skills, let’s do something,’” he said.

Recruiters described their ideal candidate as “warm,” “kind” or “caring.” Many of them are talking about the same quality: responsiveness. Research shows this quality most impacts young children.

The prospective teachers are almost entirely women, some with years of teaching experience. Many are switching careers. There are at least two lawyers, a dancer, an HR director and an artist.