The Abilene ISD is hiring, and those interested in going to work for one of the city’s largest employers can explore employment opportunities within the district through the AISD Virtual Hiring Fair. The application process for the virtual fair begins Tuesday (March 24) at noon and runs through Thursday (March 26) at 5 p.m., and that application can be accessed through the district’s Virtual Hiring Fair web page.

Shortly after the application process closes, principals and other AISD administrators and supervisors will begin contacting applicants to set up virtual interviews. Those online interviews will begin Friday, March 27, and continue through Monday, March 30. To get the application process started, those interested simply need to click on the “Request Interview” tab on the hiring fair web page or on the “Virtual Hiring Fair” tab AISD home page to be taken to a Google document that will provide the district with the applicant’s necessary information.

With more than 75 positions available across the district, the AISD is hiring for traditional elementary and secondary teachers, special education teachers at both levels, instructional support staff, bus drivers and monitors, maintenance workers, student nutrition staff and custodians.

First-year teacher salaries in the AISD are $47,000, the highest number in the Big Country. Last August, the AISD Board of Trustees approved a $47,000 first-year teacher salary, the largest in the Big Country. The board also approved as much as an 8-percent pay raise for teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses (RNs), one of the largest raises by percentage in the state.

The district will also be handing out signing bonuses to new teachers in high-need areas. Every new teacher hired through this virtual hiring fair — as well as outside the hiring fair — will receive a $2,000 signing bonus. New teachers hired to teach secondary math or science or any level of special education will receive an additional $1,500 signing bonus. Those teachers will find a class-size reduction plan in place at the elementary school level of 18:1 (kindergarten), 20:1 (first grade) and 21:1 (second grade). Those ratios are scheduled to take effect for the 2020-21 school year. First-year teachers will also be involved in a first-year mentoring program.

Current AISD employees are also being asked to participate in the hiring fair by recommending good people to join the district. If one of those applicants is hired by the AISD, the employee who made the recommendation will receive a $250 bonus.

The AISD is opening two new elementary campuses in 2020-21 (Austin Elementary in August 2020 and Taylor Elementary in January 2021) and a third (Dyess Elementary) in August 2021. The LIFT — which will house ATEMS High School and the district’s CTE programs — is set to open in August 2021 as well.