Teaching in Illinois (Chicago, Naperville, Schaumburg: credit, home, transfer)

[missy3681]

I am looking to relocate to Illinois for Secondary Education jobs. I am thinking about Chicago, but I know its expensive to live there, especially on a teacher's salary. Where are good places to live in Illinois and especially teach?

[Kalysa19]

It depends on your degree...

If you have a masters and want elementary it will be hard to get a job in any area unless its Chicago Public (CPS).

Good areas to look for secondary:
(These are western suburbs...about 45 mins from Chicago)
I would try for Naperville first...they pay the best...and are HIGHLY accredited districts.
Naperville 204 www.ipsd.org
Naperville 203 www.naperville203.org
Oswego 308 www.oswego308.org
Wheaton-Warrenville
Downers Grove
Geneva
Batavia
Plainfield (They have a lot of administrative issues though).


Lake County is a beautiful area north of Chicago.
(Evanston, Lake Forest, Deerfield, Highland Park)

Hope this helps!

[Kalysa19]

Oh one more thing....if you end up teaching in CPS, you do have to live in the city limits unless you're teaching special needs.

A couple of other areas to consider:
Oakbrook
Schaumburg
Barrington

[ahava]

I'm a high school teacher in the northern suburbs. Districts around here I'd recommend teaching in are 125 (Stevenson), 128 (Libertyville/Vernon Hills), 113 (Highland Park/Deerfield), and 211 (Palatine/Schaumburg area). These districts pay very well and the teachers I know at those schools enjoy working there.

[brightmidnight]

These are pretty Chicago-centric responses. All those cities mentioned are Chicago suburbs or close to it, and while you might make a higher salary, you'll pay Chicago prices for everything, too (especially housing, wow!)

I would recommend the Metro East area on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River next to St. Louis. Some cities that would be good for this are:

Collinsville
O'Fallon
Belleville
maybe Granite City
Troy

Highland, IL is 30 minutes from St. Louis and is booming right now. It has a small town atmosphere but is becoming pretty populated. 30 minutes and you're to St. Louis and 30 minutes the other way and you're in nice quiet country. Couldn't be better

My sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher in this area, and she has tried to get jobs closer to home than she currently is and she's had problems because everyone wants to hire new graduates to fill positions so they can pay less. If you're a new graduate, you'll probably have your pick of plum jobs. If you're junior high or elementary, you're all set.

[april scott]

I was reading through these posts and was wondering if any of you would know the answers to some of my questions...I am an Elementary school teacher in Toronto Canada (here it is called Primary Junior which basically means I can teach grades K-6) and I am looking into teaching in Schaumburg Illinois. How do I go about teaching in the States...there is probably some kind of 'transfer' exam I am sure I would need to take...how do I go about finding more information on this?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I also do not have the slightest clue how I would apply for jobs in the specific area of Schaumburg? Any ideas??

April

[dazui]

Actually I agree with the suggestions.It depend on yourself.

[dazui]

And I don't live there,so I don't know where the best place to live.Anyway,best wishes for everything!

[ahava]

Originally Posted by april scott

I was reading through these posts and was wondering if any of you would know the answers to some of my questions...I am an Elementary school teacher in Toronto Canada (here it is called Primary Junior which basically means I can teach grades K-6) and I am looking into teaching in Schaumburg Illinois. How do I go about teaching in the States...there is probably some kind of 'transfer' exam I am sure I would need to take...how do I go about finding more information on this?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I also do not have the slightest clue how I would apply for jobs in the specific area of Schaumburg? Any ideas??

Take a look at the Illinois State Board of Ed website (Illinois State Board of Education (broken link)), you should find the answers to your questions there.

[thepizzaguy]

Todays 2nd biggest news story outside police misconduct is that the Chicago Public SChools messed up it's payroll and teachers are not getting paid.