DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Public Schools held a job fair on Thursday to fill vacant teacher, custodial and associate positions, but one thing stuck out: Theron Hobbs' personality.
“I want to use my passion to really serve people and make things better at a district level," Hobbs said.
Hobbs has served as DMPS' recruitment and retention coordinator for over a year and a half. He worked in elementary and middle schools before moving to the district level.
Hobbs works with DMPS to try and get the district the best hires as possible.
“We want [students] to have somebody that they can start building those relationships with from day one, and also people who are passionate about the subjects that they are teaching," Hobbs said.
And Hobbs hopes to find teachers who are as passionate about their job as he is.
“Awesome. Thank you so much, ladies, for being here," Hobbs said with a smile. "Wish you nothing but the best in your interview, and I’ll see you before you head out. Have a great rest of your day."
Thursday was a haven for Hobbs, as he and Peter LeBlanc – director of talent for DMPS – worked to bring in fresh, new faces to their district.
“We have approximately 93% of our teacher positions filled right now, but we still [have to] fill that 7%, because our students and our parents are going to want teachers in their classrooms to welcome the kids when they get back," LeBlanc explained.
And as of 3 p.m. Thursday, DMPS had hired to fill many of their vacant staffing positions.
Currently the district sits around 25 students per teacher, but that fluctuates around the level of education and the school.
The lower the student-teacher ratio, the easier it is for students to connect with their teachers, Hobbs explained.
And if DMPS can fill 100% of their teacher positions to teach 31,000 students in the district, then Hobbs and LeBlanc will be satisfied.
“At the end of the day, education is about the students," Hobbs said. "Without having the right staff, without having the best, equipped person as possible, we can’t serve the students as well as we would like.”
“We are trying to fill them the best way that we can, because we know our kids are counting on us when they come back in August," LeBlanc added.