April 19, 2004 – The V.I. Department of Education launches its teacher recruitment campaign this year with a calypso beat.
A two-minute, recruitment jingle, titled, "Do You Love Teaching?" is sung by The Mighty Pat, a St. Croix Calypsonian. It will soon hit the airwaves in an effort to accelerate the Department’s 2004 recruitment campaign spearheaded by its Human Resources Division.
HR Director Alscess Lewis-Brown, who wrote the jingle, said that the Department is excited about this year’s recruitment efforts, the jingle and the campaign behind both.
"The Department is constantly recruiting teachers, support staff and other educational personnel," said Brown. "In fact, right now we are in overdrive with visits to various recruitment fairs as well as screening and reviewing applicants for prospective teaching and other professional positions."
According to a press release from the department, Brown travels this week to New Orleans with Special Education officials to attend a recruitment fair geared toward special education professionals and other specialized positions.
A panel of public school administrators interviews new recruits to the Department during the month of June.
When asked where the lines "Do you love teaching? Do you want to live forever? Then become a teacher" came from, the HR Director said, "From experience, I know that teachers make enduring impressions on the lives of their students. An entire lifetime can be enriched by the work of a good teacher. In this way, the teacher is somewhat immortalized."
Brown said this jingle will be the signature jingle but residents can expect to hear others too. The department initiated a jingle contest last fall and has entries from some of the territorial public schools. The schools are fine-tuning their submissions for final judging and release to the public.
Teaching professionals interested in joining the VI Department of Education are encouraged to visit the Education Human Resource Offices in either district, call 774-0100 or 773-1095 or visit the website at Teach in the Islands for more information or to obtain an application.
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