The University of Maine College of Education and Human Development, the largest teacher preparation program in the state, is holding its annual education career fair on Friday, April 5, from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., at Wells Conference Center. At the event, the university’s upcoming education graduates can meet representatives from dozens of school districts as well as other employers in Maine. 

Nearly 50 employers have registered for the fair, including school districts from across the state, early childcare centers, public charter schools, the Maine Department of Education and more. The number of participating employers is the largest in the six-year history of the event.

A significant shortage of qualified teachers in Maine and increased need for education technicians, substitute teachers and other professionals serving students from preschool through grade 12 are behind the increase in participants. Graduates of UMaine’s state and nationally accredited teacher preparation programs are automatically recommended for teaching certification in Maine in critical areas, such as early childhood, elementary grades and high school-level mathematics and language arts. 

Prior to the fair, the College of Education and Human Development will hold a series of professional development workshops for students, including a question and answer session with Milken Educator Award recipients from Maine. The awards, created by the Milken Family Foundation, are presented to early-to-mid-career teachers in recognition of their important work, as well as the promise of what they will accomplish in the future. The Milken panel will feature recent honorees who are still teaching, including Hillary Hoyt from Winterport’s Leroy H. Smith School and Sarah Collins from Hermon’s Patricia A. Duran School, along with Mary Giard and Dick Durost, Milken recipients in the 1990s, who are now retired from teaching. All four are UMaine or University of Maine System graduates.

Read more at the College of Education and Human Development website.

About the University of Maine: As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick- facts/ and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts/.