My saga to get a teaching job in chicago (low income, appointed)

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by kidcharlemagne

I realized how truly clueless I was about renting in Chicago. Other than where I ultimately rented, they needed W2's, Paystubs, Offer letters on "official letterhead", cashier's checks, etc. etc. I brought paystubs and a checkbook. WOW! Not even close to enough. And they didn't like my sub job -- not salaried, and one place thought a credit score of 700 was too low. I honestly did not think that I would get a place. It was a huge wake up call.

That is not typically how it is in Chicago...unless you are renting with a management company. Chicago has too much housing stock for anyone to jump through these types of hoops. As the kids say: "You're doing it wrong."

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by treemoni

That is not typically how it is in Chicago...unless you are renting with a management company. Chicago has too much housing stock for anyone to jump through these types of hoops. As the kids say: "You're doing it wrong."

I rent from a management company downtown and all I had to do was give proof of my employment/salary in the form of an offer letter stating my salary. That was it - filled out an application and gave them that letter. They obviously did a credit check on me too. All of this is pretty standard in many, many areas, but what the OP had to give seems like way too much, even for a management company. All management companies/landlords want to do is make sure you can pay the rent. A credit check and proof or employment is usually enough for them. It gets a little more complicated when you have no credit history (like you're from another country) but that's not the OP.

[kidcharlemagne]

Chett! I am actually renting from a immigrant lady! And I do think she had pity on me! But I LOVE her, and I love her story. It is exactly the kind of thing what I wanted to experience. She came here from eastern europe and made a life for herself as a single mom, her three kids have all gotten into great schools -- lane tech? -- and two are in college studying medicine.

I feel north park is safe, and I actually didn't feel unsafe in Chicago unless i watched the nightly news. Eeek! I think I am technically in west ridge -- it's basically western and peterson. When I walked around there at dusk, each flat (?) had a different cuisine smell blasting from it, beautiful trees lining the streets, people of all races talking together, kids riding their bikes. I know I am sure I am in the honeymoon phase but it was INCREDIBLE.

Ok.. since you guys seem to think my CPS testing story seems crazy... I will give you as much proof as I can. here is a copy of the email they sent me:

[SIZE=+1]ILTS Test Administration for June 7, 2014[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]1 message[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]ES Customer Support <es-customersupoport@pearson.com>[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 6:32 PM[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Reply-To: es-customersupoport@pearson.com
To: ILTS Examinee <amaliavelasquez@gmail.com>
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] [SIZE=2] IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE JUNE 7, 2014 TEST ADMINISTRATION

Due to unforeseen circumstances the June 7, 2014, test administration will be postponed to a future date for the following test sites. You will be contacted via email next week when a new test date has been determined.

001B Carbondale Community High School
002A Parkland College
004K Chicago High School for Agricultural Science
005M Canton Middle School
008B Kishwaukee College
010A Western Illinois University
011A Parkside Junior High School in Normal, IL
012D United Township High School
013A Bogan High School
015B Capital Area Career Center

If your test site is not listed above, please report to your test site as scheduled. Unless a test administration at a given test site is officially canceled, the test administration will be conducted as scheduled. If you miss a test administration that has not been officially canceled, you will be considered absent and will not receive a refund or credit of any kind.

[CENTER]**DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL AS IT ORIGINATES FROM AN UNATTENDED MAILBOX**[/CENTER]
[/SIZE]
[/SIZE]
Note the time they sent it. Yeah. UNREAL!!!!

Anyway.... I am glad my renting experiences weren't normal. I got the "official letterhead" thing over and over. Like CPS, who just cancelled my test less then 12 hours before it was to take place was going to magically produce this official letter for me. One broker tried to tell me I would never get a place. She insisted that I had to have a cashier's check, so I would have to call my bank and have them allow me to withdraw huge amounts out of the atm, or find a sister branch... and then she told me that I waited too late into the month of June to find a place (June 6 is too late?) And that was just Chicago, welcome to the big city. She was awful! I can't imagine how she rents out anything! Like I said though the square blocks I had to work with were small as I was trying to get my kids into Jamieson -- which I did!

Another note, the Chicago Park District has a ton of amazing activities for kids at bargain rates! I signed mine up for Eco Explorers and Soccer. So cool...

I will get a job at the hiring fair. I am pretty confident of that. In the meantime, I cannot wait to explore more of this amazing city.

[chet everett]

It is probably better to have "grandmotherly" land lady that knows the struggles of even a "quiet" corner of Chicago that's more "beige" than hipster instead of listening to witchy tone of some designer fashion wearing flunky bored in the "rental office"'of some giant REIT that stacks the deck against anybody that does not fit the "mold" of the flocks bank rolled by mommy and daddy in their "urban adventure"...

West Ridge does have lots of immigrants and most are decent people that just want a shot at a better life for themselves and their kids. Keep us informed as to how it goes.


The Friday 6:32 PM time stamp sounds much like a "political tactic" to keep the newspapers and TV from being able to line up "negatively impacted" for on camera reaction -- if you work for CPS for any length of time you will see how much effort they put into "managing the message"!

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by kidcharlemagne

I think I am technically in west ridge -- it's basically western and peterson. When I walked around there at dusk, each flat (?) had a different cuisine smell blasting from it, beautiful trees lining the streets, people of all races talking together, kids riding their bikes. I know I am sure I am in the honeymoon phase but it was INCREDIBLE.

Yeah, that's West Ridge (or "West Rogers Park"). It's really one of the most, if not the most, racially integrated part of town right now. Of course north of there on Devon is a lot of Indian and Pakistani stuff and then further west is some more orthodox Jewish stuff. When it's nice out, the street of Devon around Devon & Western to a little west of California can be somewhat lively. The area is great for food - there's a few areas I don't like on the main commercial streets for its architecture but the residential streets can be nice up there in areas.

By the way, if you like sushi, one of the top rated restaurants in town is right near you - Japanese/sushi place called Katsu (and if you want to get really cheap, but fresh sushi go to Lawrence Fish Market a little bit south of you on Lawrence & Pulaski. Nowhere to eat it in there, but they have a number of nigiri for only $1/piece and their basic rolls are something like $2.95).

[rzzz]

Originally Posted by chet everett

It is probably better to have "grandmotherly" land lady that knows the struggles of even a "quiet" corner of Chicago that's more "beige" than hipster instead of listening to witchy tone of some designer fashion wearing flunky bored in the "rental office"'of some giant REIT that stacks the deck against anybody that does not fit the "mold" of the flocks bank rolled by mommy and daddy in their "urban adventure"...

The main difference comes at the end of the lease, when you move out. The hot Ukranian 24 year old from the REIT management office will dock $500 off your deposit, no matter what. The grandmotherly landlady with the a bungalow in Berwyn will look you in the eye, tell you she loves you like a daughter, bring you leftovers, introduce her to one of her grandsons, then when you move out will keep pretending she just forgot to put the check in the mail until you finally give up and she keeps the deposit in full.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by rzzz

The main difference comes at the end of the lease, when you move out. The hot Ukranian 24 year old from the REIT management office will dock $500 off your deposit, no matter what. The grandmotherly landlady with the a bungalow in Berwyn will look you in the eye, tell you she loves you like a daughter, bring you leftovers, introduce her to one of her grandsons, then when you move out will keep pretending she just forgot to put the check in the mail until you finally give up and she keeps the deposit in full.

Those "left over cabbage rolls and dumplings" have to be paid for somehow!

[chiMT]

I've been subbing as well. I'm pretty sure I will find a job for the fall, but who knows. If not, subbing for a year or two wouldn't be all that bad. (I must admit I don't have a family to provide for.) In any case, sub pay in CPS seems to be better than all other school districts I have investigated. You also have a lot of schools to choose from, and can easily work every day.

Mod cut: Off topic.

[kidcharlemagne]

Ok --

I figure it is time for an update!

I have not gotten a teaching job yet. I know, I know, YOU TOLD ME SO. But a lot of this reeks of the whole messed up education system -- and honestly -- the way things work in Chicago. Or maybe in a major city. I have only been here for a month -- so I am not sure, just what I have experienced. I lived in NYC for a little while, and LA, and there is this wall you have to scale in order to get employment -- but here it more littered with A-Holes along the way.

"Following Up" on a lead, or just trying to get information on the phone is virtually useless. No one picks up their phone or returns calls. I have basically quit calling anyone -- not just in the teaching realm -- but all the other stuff i have set up out here. My husband is still in NM and I have to secure a shop for his business -- basically an industrial space. Why is it my job you ask? Because the normal route you would take to do this produced nothing, so I had to take over and spend my entire life on this project and finally made it happen. God. There were points I wondered if half these brokers even wanted to rent these places out. They list them, but no, don't want to rent them.

So I end having to drive -- with my two five year olds -- to the physical location and sit around until someone it forced to do something.

Anyway -- tangent. So I went to the teaching fair on the 16th of July. It was a bust. They weren't even interviewing teachers for English positions. Didn't mention that in the invitation to the fair. NOPE. I paid a babysitter to watch my kids and got myself to the loop for NO REASON. Now the weird thing is, they are still posting positions for English teachers on the CPS human resources board. You apply, and a second later they send you a message saying the position is filled. Like a few hours after it is posted.

My friends who are teachers tell me to sub and I will get a full time job through that. I have to say, at this point, I am SOOOO over it. But I am stuck here for a least four years due to my husbands job.

So what to do? People do get jobs here I guess. I see them going to work everyday. So there must be a way right? I have begun to wonder. And I am not a slug. I am working on this ALL DAY.

So I decided to go back to school and get my nursing degree. I am taking my pre-reqs this fall and hopefully I can get into a decent school, and get a degree that will give me a break from the messed up education system and flexibility to get a job anywhere. Like not here.

I do love a lot of things about Chicago. My kids love it. And to some degree part of what you expect from a real city is that resistence, and that tenacity it takes to make things happen, it's supposed to make you rise to the next level. A great city I think is a tough coach, it makes you great even though sometimes its painful. These people -- these gatekeepers in this city though -- they are majorly making me hate being here a lot of the time. I am hoping this is just an intense period of having to deal with this kind of stuff and at some point I will be "in" somewhere and will get a break.


So that is my update. I wish for the other teaching hopefuls it would have been better news, but maybe there were people who made it happen... if so, please let me know how you did! (Although you may have been in one of the "high need areas" they were looking for at the hiring fair )

[chiMT]

What is the CPS human resources board you're referring to?

Consider subbing, it's a surprisingly decent system in CPS and pay is pretty good. You can see a lot of schools and talk to principals, department heads, and other teachers.