Houston School District Returns to NC to Recruit Teachers

North Carolina's public school teachers appear to be in high demand. Especially by the Houston Independent School District.

Houston Independent School District has 282 schools and a student population of about 210,000.  It reports a 2012-2013 high school graduation rate of 86 percent.  Administrators say they're always looking for qualified and highly skilled teachers. This has brought them back to North Carolina for a second time in two months to recruit.  Last May, they held a job fair in Raleigh and have already hired 20 North Carolina teachers for the 2014-2015 school year.

This week, they're hosting three teacher job fairs in North Carolina. On Wednesday, July 23, they were in  Raleigh. On Thursday, July 24, they're in Greensboro at the Double Tree Hotel on High Point Road.  It runs from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday, July 25, they'll be Charlotte hosting another one at the Hilton Charlotte Center City. It's from 8 a.m. until Noon.

Sheleah Reed is the district's press secretary. She says the district offers a base starting salary of $49,100. The average starting pay for North Carolina public school teachers is $30,778. But Houston ISD does not offer some of the benefits our public school teachers are fighting for including; teacher tenure, Master's pay, classroom teaching assistants. According to Reed, Houston ISD doesn't offer pay for teachers with a Master's degree and some classes don't have teaching assistants. Reed did not know if the teachers have status rights. In an interview with WFDD's Kathryn Mobley, Reed explains why Houston ISD is back in the Tar Heel state and the skills they're looking for. Reed encourages interested candidates to learn more about Houston ISD online.