Teacher moving to Atlanta (College Park: job outlook, transfer to, neighborhood)

[princess1976]

I have been teaching in Shreveport, LA for 11 years and would like to transfer to Atlanta next school year. My certification is in grades 1-8, middle school math, and computer literacy. Currently, I teach middle school math at an alternative school. I also teach math at a community college. Are there any middle schools that are close to community colleges in Atlanta? Do you think I will be able to get a job for the 2010-2011 school year? I will be coming to a job fair in Feb. 2010. I have turned in all of my paper work to GA Prof. Standards, and should be receiving my GA certificate next week. What is a good neighborhood in Atl for a single lady in her early 30's? I do not know anybody in Ga, so I need to be in a safe environment. I do not want to live in the same community that I work. Thanks.

[lastminutemom]

Get the job first. Being certified in math should help, but last week I met a teacher with 10+ years experience and a bunch of add-ons (certifications) who was told by one principal that she could hire 3 new teachers for what she would cost. (Certainly an exaggeration, though her salary would be nearly double that of a new teacher.)

We have already had some painful cuts to education in GA and things could be much worse next year. Community colleges are growing but at the same time are seeing funds cut so I can't tell you what the job outlook is there. I do know, from my own experience, that CCs, for part time work, don't pay enough to make it seem like a full time salary. Does that make sense?

Fewer teachers are quitting and more are trying to return to teaching because of the economy.

Once you have a teaching job, then you can figure out where to live. You absolutely need to be open to any and all offers, though most school systems will require you to work at the school for three years before transferring, as the economy improves, with math certification you should more easily be able to change systems if you want to.

[7purple]

Check TeachGeorgia. There are some job fairs listed. I will be looking for a secondary science teaching job and I see that Fulton county is having one for science and math teachers in March. A couple of other people have mentioned to me the "problem" with having experience/higher degrees....But doesn't being a great teacher count for something? Good luck I'm sure we'll find something!

[princess1976]

Thanks alot. I will definitely get hired before quitting my job. 7Purple I am going to the job fair on Feb 27th. Good luck to you. Let's pray and believe that we will both be blessed with a job.

[7purple]

Thanks! I'll be going to the one Feb 27th too. The one for Math/Science is March 12th and it's supposed to have principals.

[7purple]

I see that the job fair on March 12th (Fulton county Math/Science teachers) was cancelled.

[gatormomtotots]

Gwinnett has postponed their fair. The transfer process within county has been suspended at the moment. We also have a hiring freeze in place as of last week and were told they are only going to interview special ed and math (I believe). In addition, we have been told that while we will not take any more furloughs days this school year, there will be substantial staff cuts (whatever THAT means...) and furloughs for the next school year.

[lastminutemom]

Cobb and Fulton need to cut 70 million dollars (each) from their budgets for next year and DeKalb needs to cut 88 million.

I think you can expect very few teaching jobs next year. We can expect larger class sizes.

[susan pritchard]

good luck....i was cut from fulton county with 20 years experience...and even as an award winning teacher, I cannot even get an interview at this point!

[7purple]

What areas are you certified in? Did you go to the job fair today in College Park?