can't find a job in their fields. The "career switchers" spent two months taking the courses and served as substitutes when they were not taking classes. When the teachers were at Shenandoah, other substitute teachers were used in the special-education classes, she said.

This year, the same courses were provided this summer so "career switchers" could start teaching Sept. 7, the first day of school, she said.

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT offers early letters of intent as incentives for special-education teachers to sign up in advance. The letters serve as a guarantee that the instructors would have a job in Loudoun. Unlike some other states, Loudoun does not provide higher pay incentives or bonuses for special education and other hard-to-fill teaching jobs. Britt said he has recommended higher pay, but theother classroom teachers through the program. "We have 12 returning teachers and 33 new ones," he said. "Students love them because they bring their culture with them or highlight their culture in specific lessons."

THE SEARCH for teachers also involves the traditional approach of working with colleges and universities. "We make daily calls," Britt said. "If they have names of people who have not received jobs, we call them right away." Loudoun also gets permission to be listed on the institutions' Web sites.

The recruiters also use employment agencies and go to Web sites, such as teachersteachers.com, to find candidates, he said.

They try new strategies, such as the on screen advertisements at Regal Cinemas that started to appear two weeks ago, he said.

Britt said the school district hosts three job