Recruiting the Huskies that Make a Difference

Seaford Area School District Director of Human Resources, Jason Cameron knows the value of a Bloom grad in the classroom, and he's been working to bring more Huskies to his district.

After visiting campus several years ago for a career expo, Cameron was impressed by the Bloom students he spoke to. Since then, he's traveled from western Sussex County in Delaware to participate in career expos and education conferences like Collaborating to Assist Teacher Candidate Hiring (CATCH), where he shares his wisdom and advice with future educators.
 
"The students come with good questions and experiences," said Cameron. "They are well prepared to be our next teachers in classrooms."
 
He credits BU for the quality of teachers in both their content area and classroom effectiveness, noting especially their ability to connect with students and earn their respect. One of the Bloom Grads Cameron spoke with was Katie Loch '21. Cameron hired her in a temporary position prior to her graduation and made her full-time by the end of the school year.

"Anybody can be an expert in whatever field they put time into," said Cameron. "But being able to command a classroom and keep a student's attention [is something] the folks from Bloom know how to do."

In a district where 80 percent of the district's 3500 students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, Cameron goes to work every day to make a difference both in and out of the district classrooms. And while he doesn't shy away from the realities of teaching a student population layered with poverty and trauma, the faith he has in his students is absolute. In fact, two of the district schools have been awarded National Blue Ribbon honors, and three are National Title I schools.

"We are high poverty, but we don't let that stop us - [our students] can achieve," said Cameron. "Students rely on us for more than just an education [and] it's not an easy place to work. But we are all in and need you to be all in. That's our philosophy here, and Bloom grads are a few steps ahead." 

In his quest to support his K-12 students, Cameron has continued supporting pre-service college students as they prepare to take over classrooms like those at Seaford.

"Anytime a university puts something like that together, I will always be a part of it," explained Cameron. "It's our responsibility as educators to give back. I was where they are sitting now, so if I can help them get jobs with us or another district, they will be able to do what they need to do for kids, which is important to us."