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Medford School District on the hunt for teachers About 28 teachers are needed for this school year Comment By Kaylee Tornay Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kaylee Tornay Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 24, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Kaylee Tornay Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 24, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News The Medford School District has about 28 teacher positions to fill for the coming school year and is trying to ramp up hiring before pre-employment training begins Aug. 31. Summer is typically a time of transition for public schools, as teachers retire or relocate. Human Resources Director Sharilyn Cano works with the Medford school principals to find potential hires. This is her first time going through the hiring season with this school district, having held the position since October 2014. "I think sometimes people don’t think we have the openings that we have. They don’t realize how many opportunities we have," Cano said. She added that she may have an elevated sense of urgency to fill the spots in part because of earlier deadlines at other school districts. "I don’t remember it being late July and not having all my teacher positions filled," she said. Dan Smith, principal of North Medford High School, said he is used to having a full team of teachers by the end of the previous school year. He interviewed a few candidates for the two open positions at his school but did not hire them, saying finding the right fit is more important than expediency. "We’re very picky about who we’ll hire," Smith said. "I’m not against delaying the hiring until we get qualified applicants." Substitute teachers can be hired to fill the positions temporarily if needed. Smith and Cano said fewer people are applying for Medford's open teaching positions. Crystal Greene, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Education, said anecdotally, rural communities in Oregon seem to be struggling to find teachers, particularly middle and high school instructors who specialize in science and math. Because districts do their own hiring, no statewide data was available, she said. National Public Radio published stories earlier in the year about declining numbers of pre-education students in undergraduate programs throughout the country. Budget cuts to valuable programs, decreased pay and a lack of job security are cited as reasons students chose other professions. Smith predicted that this trend will turn around. In his 23 years of experience, he said he's seen ebbs and flows in teacher numbers again and again. "I fully expect that to ramp up because I think people want to be in helping professions and make a difference for kids. It’s a very challenging and rigorous career, but I think people want to do that," he said. Teachers interested in applying can visit the Medford School District website at medford.k12.or.us/Employment.asp or call Sharilyn Cano at 541-842-5008. Reach reporting intern Kaylee Tornay at [email protected]. By Kaylee Tornay Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kaylee Tornay Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 24, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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