Column: District 518 is hiring — come and grow with us!

The Worthington Independent School District 518 Human Resource department serves more than 800 full, part-time and casual employees.

The department supports a broad range of human resources services including staffing, new employee orientation, benefits, employee relations and organizational development. The HR department works to support our district’s mission of providing educational excellence for all learners to be successful citizens in the future — “Excellence in Action.”

The Worthington Independent School District is excited about the growth that is happening in the school district and community. We continue to see an increase in student enrollment in all K-12 classes. We are excited about adding all-day preschool classes at our new Community Education building.

The district strives to provide all learners the best opportunity to work and develop in their education. We are proud of our school staff and facilities and are fortunate to be leaders in education. Although the growth is exciting it also brings challenges for the Human Resource department as we continue to try and recruit employees to fill our open positions and retain our current staff.

ISD 518 continues to support our employees by creating a culture of respect for all our employees. ISD 518 offers competitive salary and benefits, placing importance on work-life balance.

Each spring the Human Resource department prepares to hire employees to replace resignations, retirements, unfilled positions from last fall, and new positions as Worthington Independent School District 518 continues to grow. Since July 2022 ISD 518 has hired over 230 new employees for various positions. We are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality educators and staff who are dedicated to helping our students achieve their vast potential.

As employers across the nation continue to struggle hiring employees, Worthington Independent School District 518 has increased its efforts by attending education career fairs to attract candidates to Worthington. We have also dedicated efforts to email employment information to 20 Tristate area colleges and universities to advertise our open positions. We use social media to share job openings and information about our school.

The Department of Teaching and Learning has developed an outstanding teacher induction program, to support the first three years of a teacher’s career to build on the enthusiasm of new teachers. The program focuses on teaching practices and student learning. The Human Resource department is collaborating with teachers and administrators to create a new hire training for our paraprofessionals to provide them with the tools to succeed in their positions to reduce turnover.

Worthington is part of Minnesota Grow Your Own, an ambitious program to help paraprofessionals, high school students and other community members become teachers. Worthington ISD 518 has partnered with Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Southwest Minnesota State University, and the Southwest Initiative Foundation in the Southwest Teacher Preparation Program, part of the Grow Your Own initiative.

The program seeks to recruit and prepare community-based teachers from our own vast talent pool. The program helps candidates facilitate the access by keeping coursework in the local community via Minnesota West and the SMSU satellite campus. In addition, paraprofessionals in the program keep their current positions and pay, and receive flexibility to complete their residency requirements. which allows them to work and experience our diverse educational setting. We are seeing the results and are excited to have hired graduates from this program. We are excited to be able to see them continue to grow in their careers as educators and proud to have them be part of the ISD 518 family.

ISD 518 teachers may qualify for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, with loan forgiveness up to $17,500. For more information please go to the Federal Student Aid website .

We currently have positions open including K-12 teachers, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, paraprofessionals, custodians and food service staff at all ISD 518 facilities. If you or someone you know is looking for employment, ISD 518 offers a competitive wage and benefits package. We invite you to apply and move to our growing community with new and exciting opportunities.

Interested parties can apply on the district website at https://isd518.net/district/employment . Contact the ISD 518 HR at (507) 372-2172 or hr@isd518.net with any questions.

ISD 518 is also looking for qualified candidates to substitute teach within our schools. The district partners with Teachers on Call to fill our substitute teacher and substitute paraprofessional positions. If you are interested in applying, please visit www.teachersoncall.com or call (800) 713 -4439.

We are excited about the continued growth and development of ISD 518’s diligent and innovative talent that make up our educational opportunities. Come and grow with us!