LAUSD'S RECRUITS JOBLESS TEACHER GLUT LEAVES HUNDREDS UNEMPLOYED.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

Los Angeles Unified School District officials' refrain for years has been, ``We have a severe teacher shortage - come work for us.''

Now, in an unusual turn of events, the district has a glut of recruits.

Thanks to the success of its recruitment campaign and tough economic times that have forced many districts to lay off teachers or stop hiring, LAUSD has more applicants than openings, and, for the first time in years, nearly all of them rate as highly qualified.

``Unlike any other year, we were able to fill most of our classrooms with credentialed teachers,'' said Mary Lewis, director of the teacher certification unit for the district.

Of 1,634 teachers hired by the district this year, 95 percent met the criteria of being highly qualified, compared with 68.2 percent the year before. Under new state regulations, ``highly qualified'' teachers refer to those who are fully credentialed, or who have passed their subject competency tests and are actively pursuing their credentials.

As an unintended consequence, a few hundred people who joined the district's teacher training programs - the District Intern Program and Los Angeles Teaching Fellows - are without jobs because openings go first to credentialed teachers.

Of about 840 aspiring teachers, some 300 have yet to land jobs in the classroom. Even some fully credentialed teachers are still waiting for placement. Frustration is running high among jobless recruits, especially interns, many of whom had their hearts set on teaching this fall while taking classes to earn their credentials.

``A lot of people are sort of angry, frustrated,'' said Robert Santos, a former teacher's aide who just completed six weeks of summer training with the District Intern Program. ``The sad part is it's a situation where a lot of people are putting a lot of faith and energy into the organization of LAUSD, which doesn't seem to be reciprocating the faith.''

Santos, who has yet to find a job, said the vast majority of his classmates are jobless. For now, he lives at home with his parents to save money.

``There are so few openings, all the DIs end up interviewing for the same positions, competing against each other,'' he said. `'I can't go on for too long. If it ends up that a few months down the line the prospects are slim, I have no choice but to give it up for now and get a job somewhere else.''

It's not for the lack of effort that Marilyn Mathis, another district intern, is in the same boat as Santos. She's called more than 200 schools in the district about job openings and found only five. She's had two interviews but no offers.

And money is running out for Mathis, who moved halfway across the country, from Nashville, Tenn., with a year-old son.

``I've already registered for temp service,'' said Mathis. ``I can't even continue my job search because I won't be here during the day.''

Brooke Dore, a recent college graduate who moved from Chicago for the District Intern Program, said she'd also contacted more than 300 schools for jobs and sent out dozens of resumes, to no avail.

``I've called just about every (mini) district, A through E,'' said Dore, referring to the 11 subdistricts that make up the LAUSD. ``I didn't get one response back.''

Compounding the matter is that the district's substitute teaching pool is closed because it's already filled up. In the past, the district had placed interns and teaching fellows who had not yet landed jobs into the substitute pool. The pool isn't expected to reopen until November.

District officials said they were working hard to find placements for the interns and teaching fellows. At program orientations, officials said, they warned participants of a tight job market and asked them to sign agreements acknowledging that completion of the program didn't guarantee a job.

But interns said they were also repeatedly assured that jobs would come midway through their six-week training.

``I regret the inconvenience and frustrations people might be feeling,'' said LAUSD's chief human resources officer Deborah Hirsh. ``We are doing the best we can. We value them, and we are very grateful they seek to work for us.''

As enrollment stabilizes, Hirsh expects principals will start hiring. The district won't take an official count of student enrollment until early October, and staffing is adjusted based on that count.

More job openings could also be available in October if the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing decides not to renew the permits and waivers of emergency credentialed teachers who have failed to pass their subject competency tests and are not on track to obtaining their full credentials. Some 900 emergency-credentialed teachers in the LAUSD could potentially be affected by the commission's Oct. 2 decision.

That offers little comfort to jobless recruits, who may or may not see a flood of job openings depending on the commission's action.

Those interviewed for this story said the intern program appeared disorganized from the beginning. On the first day, many students showed up at the wrong place because the district had switched the location at the last minute.

During the program, a scheduled event - where principals were supposed to show up to talk to students about potential openings - never materialized. Many students had put on their suits and interview attire for the occasion.

``It's emblematic of the thing overall,'' Santos said of the intern program.

Still, some interns hold out hope, saying they still believe in the program. The two-year alternative credentialing program is offered tuition- free to those who qualified, along with whatever needed books and materials.

Interns are supposed to get teaching assignments after their summer training while at the same time completing courses leading to full credentials. Interns were paid $2,000 for completing the six-week summer training but don't get another paycheck until they land a job with the district.

Whereas the District Intern Program primarily attracts college graduates, the Teaching Fellows Program draws from professionals in other fields seeking a more meaningful career in teaching. The fellows similarly undergo a Summer Institute with a stipend and the expectation of landing a job afterwards and graduating onto more training with the DI program.

Hirsh insists that eventually there will be enough openings to place everybody who is qualified, adding that, typically, positions open at the beginning of the year when teachers take various leaves of absence.

``If they stay with us, chances are they will get placed,'' she said. ``They may end up doing alternative jobs between now and then.''

Helen Gao, [phone]

helen.gao(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Marilyn Mathis moved from Tennessee to be an LAUSD teaching intern. Now, she can't get a job to help her and her son, Elijah.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer