Houston Area Teacher Center Conference & Job Fair - University of Houston
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Houston Area Teacher Center Conference & Job Fair

Student Teacher Candidate speaks with a recruiter at the HATC Job Fair.
Panel of school district representatives at the HATC Conference and Job Fair.

Approximately 600 teacher education students from the UH College of Education and seven other partnering Texas universities attended the Houston Area Teacher Center’s (HATC) biannual Student Teaching Conference and Job Fair held on April 10, 2015. 

The day began with a general session at the Hilton University of Houston where a panel of principals fielded questions from students eager to secure teaching jobs. From there, the group attended informative sessions in Farish Hall which covered topics such as classroom management, job seeking strategies, legal issues, and managing the educator retirement plan.

Teacher Candidates at a HATC workshop.
Teacher Candidates at a workshop during the HATC Conference and Job Fair.

The day ended back at the Hilton University of Houston with a job fair.  This semester, student teachers had the opportunity to network and interview with representatives from 45 school districts, charter schools and affiliates.   For many students, it was the culmination of a long-held dream – finding that first teaching position.

“The event was a great opportunity for students to network with school administrators and recruiters," said student volunteer, Immanuel Peterson, a workstudy for the Office of Undergraduate Studies at the College of Education. "It was really fun to volunteer and I was impressed by the number of students who participated." 

Student Teacher Candidate speaks with a recruiter at the HATC Job Fair.
Student Teacher Candidate speaks with a recruiter at the HATC Job Fair.

Liping Wei, one of the Houston Area Teacher Center (HATC) coordinators added, "To see the student teachers walk out of the general sessions and the job fair, elated and thrilled for having talked with their potential employers, I felt that all the hard work of our great team in preparing for this event was so worthwhile!"

As a consortium of the UH College of Education and 33 Houston and surrounding area public school districts, HATC provides a forum for representatives from each school district to solve issues of common concern. Together districts and UH representatives discuss issues such as such as teacher quality, teacher supply and demand, policies and procedures for the placement of student teachers and more.

In 1971, HATC began with only 6 Houston area school districts under the direction of UH Professor Robert Houston. One of the first teacher advisory groups of its kind in the country, HATC’s success helped inspire the State of Texas to mandate that similar teacher centers be created across the state. It is the oldest and largest teacher center in the nation.