TEACH901 job fair looks to bring more educators to Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the spring semester wraps up for schools across the Mid-South, hundreds of people spent their Tuesday afternoon at the Teach901 job fair at the Crosstown Concourse.

Teach901 director Jeff Riddle said it’s the fourth job fair they’ve had, and only second in person.

“We market across the region, across the country. We hope to have a couple hundred people who come out to the fairs,” said Riddle.

Public, charter, and prep schools all gathered on Tuesday afternoon hunting for new talent to join their classrooms.

“Every year, we work to seek out our partners with 200 hires collectively. Our local colleges don’t always meet the demand of what we need so from a macro point of view, we’re helping infuse energy and enthusiasm into recruitment,” said Riddle.

He said these jobs aren’t only for people who take the traditional route like majoring in education and getting certified.

He added, “A lot of schools can work with people to get temporary licensure, so people that are really good at math, people really good at science, those STEM worlds, and want to make an impact to the next generation and get summers off maybe, they should look into teaching.”

Julius Blackburn, Principal of Fairley High School in Green Dot Public Schools, said he’s a prime example of this.

“I’m an alternate route educator. I started off working at 201 Poplar as a corrections officer and I saw the disparities our community faced and I wanted to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,” said Blackburn.

Another is David Jamison, who said he decided to become a teacher when his former principal made the suggestion.

You may recognize Jamison from his viral videos of unique handshakes with his students as a teacher in Memphis Shelby County Schools.

SEE MORE: Level Up: Memphis teacher’s unique class ritual featured on Access Hollywood

Now, he’s a recruitment advisor for the school district and he said he works to bring in the right talent.

“Teaching is that one profession that helps curate all professions. There wouldn’t be any doctors without teachers, any nurses without teachers, we’re the one profession, most notable profession in the world,” said Jamison.

Blackburn said it’s been 10 years since he made the job switch, and there’s no place he’d rather be than Memphis.

“Memphis is where it’s at. To be in Memphis is to love Memphis. If you come here, you’re gonna understand why and plus we need educators. We need people who are gonna pour into our youth, give back to the community, it’s a very rewarding job,” Blackburn said.

Teach901 said they may have another job fair this summer before the next school year, depending on the need of partners.

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