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Hello. I have been reading this forum for several months, and have learned so much. Thank you, all!
I plan to relocate to the Boise area next summer. I am a teacher, and will be applying for teaching positions in the Boise and West Ada school districts. Are any of you teachers in either of those districts? If so, I'd love to know more about the districts, and whether the demand for teachers is strong at this time. With all of the population growth in the area, I'm thinking it must be. I have heard that 1000 new students enter the districts each year. That's amazing!
It's still a very strong "good ol' boys" system. My husband has tried to apply for higher levels several times now and only received one interview in 2 years (guessing out of 8ish applications?) Didn't get the job, even though the interview went quite well.
It took us 5 months of applying to every qualifying position in the entire state of Idaho to land his current job. Surprisingly, he was able to get a job 20 minutes from the apartment we were already living in (using our savings); it was nice not having to move just yet.
It doesn't matter how many students are being added every year, there just aren't enough schools to support it all. I think you will have better luck if you teach math or science, and you apply to academies and "side" schools. Try to get in the substitute system if you can, that's what my husband did at first.
Well, my husband is the sole provider too. He graduated and didn't have a job line up, so we took the chance to move where we really wanted to be: Idaho. Yes, it was a gamble, but it would have been a gamble anywhere else too.
I think that's the advantage to making a move when you're young and just starting out.
My situation is different. I've been teaching for 20+ years, was widowed a few years ago, and have a little girl to raise on my own. California has changed dramatically since I was a child, and I do not think it's the best place to finish raising my little one.
Oh no, we weren't newly starting out at all, 10 years married at that point and just had our 3rd child. My husband already worked for a high school in Arizona for 8 years, and then another 1.5 years in college (teaching and assisting). I can have a pretty high risk tolerance to things that I think are a good idea.
One thing I would look into is how easily can you transfer your certification from California to whatever state you want to move to. My husband's Arizona certification would transfer to Idaho (and several other states), but not to California, Oregon, or Washington.
I think that's the advantage to making a move when you're young and just starting out.
My situation is different. I've been teaching for 20+ years, was widowed a few years ago, and have a little girl to raise on my own. California has changed dramatically since I was a child, and I do not think it's the best place to finish raising my little one.
Spread your choices out as far as you can. Finding a teaching job in Boise might be harder than finding a job in Pocatello, or Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, or one of the smaller towns and the rural school districts. Some school districts here support their schools more than others, and the districts are all very locally funded and controlled.
I only mentioned other places in the south because you're looking at Boise, but if you really want to move here, it may pay to check out the N. Idaho cities, too.
Idaho is essentially divided between north and south by mountains. This is part of the reason why there's so much local control here and relatively little state control of the education system.
While it's very true that life in Boise is different than in these other S. Idaho towns, it's not radically different. All of Idaho is still very similarly Idahoan. The prevailing attitudes and ways of life in Boise really don't differ very much from the rest of the state.
banjomike, thank you for your input. We have friends in the Boise area, and so would choose to live there for the fellowship and support of our friends.
I bet the Boise area, including satellite cities will have the best opportunities in the state because of population base and the number of schools.
Theoretically, I must agree with you.
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