During the recession education funding dropped, jobs were scarce and demand for new teachers plummeted. Now, that trend has reversed, and school districts from Fresno to Sweden are competing to employ the newly credentialed teachers.

“A few years ago many of our teachers were on the brink of retirement,” said Jessica Choy, an academic adviser for Education Student Services, representing the Kremen School of Education. “When the recession hit they were ready to retire, but, at the same, time they were deciding, ‘Let me hang on a couple more years just to be on the safe side.’”

Now that a rising amount of teachers have retired, there’s a huge hole to fill, Choy said, and she is seeing a growth in request for teachers.

“The last two years, the demand for teachers has increased significantly,” said Ivy Fitzpatrick, an academic adviser at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. “We, at this point, don’t produce enough teachers to fill all of those open spots, so the pendulum has really swung.”

This is a major game changer for teachers, Choy said.

“It’s more competitive between districts; districts are going to be wanting the same teachers,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are so many openings. Students are really getting their choice of school at this point.”

Due to the rise in teacher positions open, there is also a rise in district attendance at job fairs.

Last year Fresno State had 69 school districts attend its annual Teacher Recruitment Fair; this year there were 96.

The recruitment fair is geared toward students who are finishing their credential, but many formal credential students, and those looking to switch out of their district, are invited to attend.

“We produce these quality teachers through our credential programs, and at the end of their time with the program they’re looking for a job, so we are providing the services for them to do a one stop shop,” Choy said. “This way they can meet with different districts without having to actually apply or having to go to different interviews and having to take more than one date of their time.”

At the teaching fair, students are able to meet with the different districts, share their resumes and even interview on the spot.

Danny Vulich, a prospective physical education specialist, was able to meet and be interviewed by four school districts.

“As a P.E. specialist, it’s a little bit more competitive, because there’s not as many districts that are in need of P.E. teachers,” Vulich said.

Although P.E. positions aren’t in high demand, math, science and special education teachers are highly needed.

“Many math and science majors, they can make far more money in industry than they can in education,” said Madera Unified Superintendent Ed Gonzalez. “And there’s a growing special ed population in schools.”

Schools in California are not the only ones searching for teachers. School districts from Washington State, Colorado, Oregon and Sweden participated in the fair too.

Engelska Skolan is a bilingual school in Sweden that has come in search of native English speakers.

“All we really look for is a credential; if they have a teaching credential from Fresno State and they qualify for a subject that we teach in English, then they are able to be employed,” said Mike Saphir, the dean of principles at Engelska Skolan.

Prospective teachers are not required to speak Swedish to be considered as a candidate, but as an incentive, the school district provide paid Swedish lessons.

Students are now getting their choice of where they want to go.

“The outlook is good now,” Fitzpatrick said. “If anyone is thinking of becoming a teacher, now is the perfect time to go into a credential program and really start working toward that goal.”