If you’re an aspiring teacher in Chicago, you’re in luck.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is looking to hire 1,000 teachers before the start of the 2016-2017 academic year, which starts on September 6.
Many substitute teachers are delighted, as they are optimistic that they will be able to transition their love for teaching into a full-time career.
One was quoted as telling a local news outlet, “If I have to be forced out of this profession, I don't know what I will do."
The new hiring, ironically, comes just two weeks after the school district laid off 1,000 employees. Half of those who were laid off were teachers.
The laid off employees were encouraged to reapply for other positions within the district. In previous years, it is said that about 60 percent of CPS employees laid off were rehired for other positions.
One of the biggest issues for the coming school year will be the funding gap between what the district needs financially to operate and what it has been provided.
An issue arising from this deficit is that teachers may strike over better pay, although a strike wouldn’t be expected until after the school year starts.
A spokesperson on the behalf of CPS said that the district “remain[s] committed to reaching a fair agreement for our teachers that the district and taxpayers can afford.”
The hiring for the new teaching positions started at a career fair on Wednesday.
