Hiring in the SDMA

Hiring in the SDMA
Posted on 07/13/2017

One of the many responsibilities that school administrators have during the summer is to ensure that the staff is “ready to go” for the start of the following school year.  In many cases this involves preparing schedules, reviewing class rosters, and offering summer professional development opportunities for returning staff members.  It also includes filling staffing vacancies by hiring new teachers, administrators, and support staff employees.


As the unemployment rate in our state continues to shrink, so does the number of candidates that we see apply for our vacancies.  Fortunately, we have some great advantages in Menomonie with our proximity to larger cities, competitive wages and benefits, and the connections that we have with UW-Stout and other post-secondary institutions.  Perhaps our greatest advantage, however, is the wonderful community that we can offer for our teachers, administrators, and support staff employees in which to live and work.  In a recent round of visits that I had with employees at each school in our school district, the desire to live in such a wonderful community was one of the more common answers to the question, “Why do you continue to enjoy working in the School District of the Menomonie Area?”


During this past week, I had the opportunity to participate in interviews during which several talented and well-prepared candidates vied for the opportunity to work in our school district.  In most cases, the candidates that come to us demonstrate successful experiences working in other schools and communities.  Even the candidates without a wealth of prior experience typically have a vast amount of education and training that allows us to anticipate future success with them working in our schools.


Despite the success that we have enjoyed in filling most of our positions, the school district will once again hold a job fair this summer from 2:00-6:00 pm on Tuesday, August 8, at the Administrative Service Center located on Pine Avenue.  While it is possible that a full-time teaching position could be available at that time, the job fair could be an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in working as a substitute teacher, bus driver, hourly custodian, paraprofessional, or supervisory aide.  Vacancies in the school district continue to be posted on the school district website, the WECAN school employer website, or the more general INDEED job searching website, and more information about the job fair will be published as we get closer to the date.


Should school families or community stakeholders have any questions about working in the School District of the Menomonie Area , I invite you to visit me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue, or contact me at 715-232-1642. More information about our schools can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com), and I regularly post school-related information on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/menomonie.schools)