Teacher Moving to Lousiana... (Baton Rouge, Lafayette: apartment, job openings, best school districts)

[BlackD]

Hi there,
My wife is a teacher and we are moving to LA from PR. I would like to know which are the best school districts for her to teach in.

Thanks...

[Okhotneek]

Originally Posted by BlackD

Hi there,
My wife is a teacher and we are moving to LA from PR. I would like to know which are the best school districts for her to teach in.

Thanks...

Where at in Louisiana? In Lafayette parish, the schools on the south side are pretty good. Green T Linden Elementary in Youngsville, La is decent and they're dealing with huge population growth in that area, the school is constantly expanding so I imagine they have jobs. Youngsville Middle is a nice place and they have another new school there....I can't remember the name of it, they just built it a few years ago to accomodate the overflow. In Lafayette, I would stay away from the North side. Broadmoore is good though. In the more rural areas of South Louisiana, the schools generally suck. I went to one outside of Baton Rouge and they couldn't offer me any classes I hadn't taken yet. No Calculus, avanced classes, no upper level language classes.....I had to drive back to my former school an hour away so I could graduate high school.
Just depends on the area you're moving to....however, teachers generally aren't paid much in Louisiana. The economy there is terrible unless you're in the oil field.

[BlackD]

I am going to be working in Houma, we will be looking for a apartment not more than one hour away from Houma; so we need to find a good location for both of us. I want her to feel safe and have a good school district for her to teach in.

Thank you!

[Jedijacob]

If you are moving to Houma, I would recommend her teaching in the Terrebonne Parish school district (as opposed to Lafourche Parish.) What grade level will she be teaching?

[Anole]

I would look at the Teach Louisiana web site to find out info on jobs and research the areas you may be interested in. Houma is a reasonably safe place, again do your research as there are areas that are to be avoided. There are the usual hurricane issues to deal with because this is a coastal parish. There are lots of places to shop and the area is growing. Good luck!

[BlackD]

She is a chemistry teacher, but she has teach elementary science and high school chemistry. Thank you for all the good info.

[lgllanclos]

Houma is the fastest growing city in LA. I don't know what the schools are like, but you will love the atmosphere and people there!

[BallerinaGirl]

You can go to the Terrebonne Parish School District Web site and they have their teacher job openings posted under vacancies. I would also recommend working in Terrebonne as opposed to Lafourche.

[tamosy]

My stomach dropped reading this post. I am a teacher in Terrebonne Parish from another area. I hate to say this, and I'm sure I'll offend some unintentionally.

I will simply say be prepared. I LOVED teaching before I moved here. I never questioned my career choice. At this point, I am wanting to either move or find another career here. The public school system is horrible. Most of the families here who value education send them to private schools. Most of the public schools are rough. I've been assaulted twice, cussed at regularly, and threatened with bodily harm to me and my children on multiple occasions. I am at a "good school" now and do not have to deal with any of the aggression problems and can work without fear, but I am still saddened at the lack of quality and approach to education. It seems decisions are constantly made that dictate what will be done, but without training, without reasoning, and without discussion. My passion and desire for what I do is replaced with a deep sadness and concern about my own childrens' education.

I hope your wife has a different experience. I would advise her to talk to other teachers in the area and do NOT take just any job. Some schools are A LOT worse than others. She might even want to consider teaching in a private school. There's less money, but the classes are teachable and I would suspect she will have more power to actually teach and not get bogged down with paperwork.

Good luck to you and I'm sorry to reply with such a negative post. It has been a true struggle for me and I honestly regret agreeing to move here. My regret is almost completely based on my experiences as a teacher here. I hope your wife finds something very different from my experiences.