Lee County holding recruiting event for first-time teachers Thursday

Reporter: Taylor Wirtz Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published: Updated:
Teacher seen through the door of a Lee County classroom. Credit: WINK News

Lee County is on the search for teachers and is holding a recruitment event in Fort Myers Thursday night, hoping to attract anyone in the community who is looking to make a career change and maybe hasn’t thought about teaching before.

The School District of Lee County is aiming to debunk the myth that you need a degree in education to be a teacher and wants to talk to people interested in changing their career paths to something that may bring more meaning or stability to their lives. If someone does end up making the change to become a teacher in Lee County, they’ll get lots of support right off the bat from the professional development department, including a mentor who works with you one on one. Many district staff who will be at the event are career changers themselves and say they are looking forward to answering questions and sharing their journeys with potential hires.

“Advice that I would give to a career changer is to be patient and don’t be afraid to ask questions,” said Suzette Rivera, assistant director of recruitment for LCSD. “There’s nothing silly about your journey, we all have probably experienced something that, you know, we’re afraid to ask or afraid to talk about. But I really encourage people to ask those questions, and to not be afraid and to have some grace with themselves.”

Lee County has the ninth-largest school district in Florida and is growing by the day, so demand for teachers is high, especially with schools as short-staffed as many other fields currently are.

“The benefit for someone going into education is really knowing that you have a lasting impact in a student’s life,” Rivera said. “Every student is coming to your classroom with a different background, a different journey, and knowing that you get to play such a pivotal role in a student’s life, especially during these times, is life-changing and extremely rewarding.”

It is worth noting that the District had a recruiting event just like this in July and hired four people who are currently teaching this very day. If you’re interested in attending the event at the Stillwater Grille at 13451 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers, which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, you need to register by noon Wednesday.

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