Hundreds of educators pack jobs forum

Nearly 300 educators -- a mix of laid-off teachers, recent graduates and those seeking a career change -- packed a Hofstra University career forum Thursday to learn how to use their classroom skills in other ways.

"Teaching is indeed a testing ground, a laboratory, a drawing board, and ultimately a foundation of skills and talents that are pertinent and applicable almost anywhere," said Stephen M. Bongiovi, keynote speaker and 2006 New York State Teacher of the Year.

Some labor analysts, noting about 3,000 local district jobs were lost at school year's end, call the education job market the next big employment crisis. A Newsday analysis found that about 1,200 teaching jobs across Nassau and Suffolk counties were cut, with districts largely blaming a $200-million decrease in state aid.

Thursday's conference attracted such a large group that some walk-ins had to be turned away, prompting another forum for the fall.

Mary Royes, 26, of Franklin Square, who earned her master's degree three years ago, was among those who attended. She has been a substitute teacher and has worked as a teaching assistant in Syosset, she said.

"I'm open to anything now," Royes said. "I'm looking out of state to teach in South Carolina or anywhere there's an offer."

Mark Grossman, regional representative for the state Department of Labor, counseled patience, saying the job market for educators will turn around because the faculty base is fairly mature and many will retire.

"But it is going to take a while," Grossman said, adding that educators can move into another field or take a "bridge job" until the market opens up.

Also looming over this year's school budgets was the prospect of a 2 percent property-tax cap statewide, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law last week. The state-aid cut and property-tax cap forced districts to rethink the way they operate, Grossman said -- and for many, that meant downsizing.

Stephanie DeQueiroz, 27, of Wantagh, has a master's degree in education and said she has been looking for a full-time teaching job for two years.

"It's getting to the point where I need to make a career change," she said. "I've been treading water for two years."

David Braunstein, 31, from Roslyn, who worked for three years as an elementary school teacher in Queens, left that job a year ago -- a move he had been considering.He plans to pursue a writing career.

"Does being a teacher lend itself to career changes?" he said. "Truth be told, I believe that's relative to who you talk to. But I'm a firm believer that there are no wrong turns in life."

The conference, called "Reinvent Yourself: Exploring Alternative Career Opportunities for Educators," included workshops from experts in education, government and private industries, along with faculty from Hofstra's School of Education, Health and Human Services. It provided professional, practical and personal advice to those struggling in the education field.

"The message is there are lots of opportunities," said Howard Berrent, a former elementary school teacher who works in educational publishing. "You just have to view yourself in a different light."

With Jeremy Schneider