Juneau, Alaska — The newly formed Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center (ARC) will host virtual job fairs and centralize hiring resources for districts statewide, its director told a joint House–Senate education committee on March 31.

“For the record, my name is Jennifer Schmitz. I am the director of the Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center,” Schmitz told the committee. ARC operates in partnership with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and is administered by the Alaska Council of School Administrators.

Schmitz said ARC acquired the Alaska Teacher and Personnel (AT&P) virtual platform from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to provide a statewide job-posting and applicant-management service. She said ARC is also working with the Department of Labor to streamline district processes for international hires and reduce exploitation by third-party recruiters.

ARC scheduled a virtual job fair for the coming Saturday with 12 participating districts and “over 1,200 applicants” registered; Schmitz said the database contains about 5,400 active applicants, of which more than 3,900 are international applicants. She emphasized timing challenges: districts often cannot wait until June or July to recruit because many nonlocal candidates sign elsewhere earlier in the spring.

“Most people out of state have already signed contracts at that time. They can't wait until June or July to sign a contract and move to Alaska with their families,” Schmitz said, urging earlier funding decisions so districts can finalize hiring.

ARC also plans onboarding and professional-development supports for new-to-Alaska teachers, including classroom-management training that more than 200 new-to-Alaska teachers took last year through ASDN.

Why it matters: Centralized hiring and training could reduce duplication across districts, improve onboarding for international hires and speed placement if districts gain budget certainty sooner.

Ending: Schmitz urged faster funding certainty so districts can recruit in time for the school year; ARC officials said they will expand virtual fairs once districts confirm available positions.