Teaching in Montana? (Billings, Bozeman, Kalispell: credit, student loans, home)

[Southtemple]

Hey everyone,

I have been reading through these posts and I had a question. I am teaching right now in AZ and have been thinking of moving back up north to Montana. I am ok in the eastern part, near Lame Deer or Saint Xavier or even up in the north east area.

I am certified to teach science/biology and am currently teaching chemistry here in AZ. To be able to teach chemistry in MT I would have to take several more high level chemistry courses. The MT certification process is pretty hard to get through and I am not sure I am going to do that.

Anyone have any thoughts on teaching in MT? I like Bozeman of course, but then so does everyone else! Lol - so that would likely be out.

Thanks for any thoughts or comments. I make pretty decent money here but I am tired of the desert and I am in a very remote and impoverished area and that can be really stressful and hard.

[Mt-7]

congrats for considering an undeserved area, however are you aware of the wages of teachers in Montana?

Teacher Salaries By State | Average Salaries For Teachers | Beginning Salaries For Teachers | Teacher Raises | TeacherPortal.com

[bongo403]

Yes, teacher salaries in MT are low. Also, you are more likely to find a job in the smaller towns if you have a second certification. I hear health/PE is a good second certification to have.

[NDak15]

Montana has some of the lowest wages for teachers in the nation. The cost of living may not be as high in the eastern part of the state (someone else can chime in on this) but Bozeman has a high cost of living. Just remember you can't scenery. I also wouldn't teach on a reservation. Lots of poverty, drugs, crime, and general despair.

[bongo]

After 25+ years of teaching, in my humble opinion the best way to get a teaching job in another state is to jump thru all the hoops first by getting certified in that state. Administrators are more apt to choose someone who has a state teaching certificate in hand.

Your science credential makes you fairly marketable. Is there any way you could add a math credential to that!?

Teaching is still a great profession. I have enjoyed hiking & backpacking every summer & what better place to explore in the summer than Mt.

Have you ever thought of working parttime in the summer for a national park doing nature hikes or such with your science/bio background? That could augment your teacher salary.

Best of luck!

[flyingcat2k]

If you are considering reservations, you should qualify to get your student loans partially for fully forgiven by serving an underserved area. You may also get a portion paid by the tribe if you are teaching upper division or science courses. You'd have to investigate this.

The costs of living in the eastern half of the state are MUCH LOWER than the western half EXCEPT the Bakken oil play area around Sidney extending south to Glendive and west to Plentywood. The Bakken zone is very expensive, even more so than Bozeman (I also snicker at all the Bozeman and Kalispell plates in town). All districts pay poorly as even Billings, which pays the most, has difficult times attracting and retaining teachers. The problem with rural life is that you may have to drive 30 miles for a gallon of milk or a tank of gas. If you are up for that, then go.

[Southtemple]

I teach on the Navajo Reservation here in Arizona, I am ok with that and have some very good friends who are Indian. I know that white people often think or say that reservations are dangerous and scary places, but really - they are just poor in terms of financial wealth. I would say that they are very rich in other ways.

I feel committed to Native education and feel that the rewards can be very great. These are such amazing young people. I know that Montana doesn't pay very well, I have been reading that and also I spoke to a few schools last summer and was really surprised at how low the salaries are.

Right now I teach chemistry and could easily teach health, I have a good background for that. The certification process in MT is very onerous, but I am doing it slowly. They don't just accept your out of state credentials. For instance, even tho I am teaching chemistry in AZ MT will not accept that certification and I need to have either a full degree in chemistry or at least 29 credits (which is almost a normal BA degree). I need another 9 credits to be approved by MT. So for as little as they pay they sure do not make it easy to actually teach there.

Anyway - I understand about the $$. Thanks for letting me know your own information and experience everyone !

[georgiainwyo]

I think that the posters have pretty much covered the concerns about teaching in Montana. I started my teaching career there on a reservation with an income of about $15K/year. Unfortunately, that just didn't cut it as far as paying the bills. I gradually worked my way into working at a "good" district in Montana that I loved. We still couldn't make ends meet. 4 years ago I suggested to my husband that we move to Wyoming, where I was born & raised & lived until 1995. I should have done it long ago! My take home pay doubled from that in Montana. That was the result of no state income tax, higher pay, and no union dues. Also, Wyoming has more money (tax base) for schools, so there are more opportunities for teachers/students to utilize more resources. One thing about Montana is that there is a very comprehensive "Indian Education for All" program through the state dept. of ed. When it was started I was one of the trainers for teachers. I learned so much. There is so much information out there to teach students about the Native American culture. Keep in mind that Montana has 7 reservations, so there is quite a large N.A. population there. That being said, most of those reservations are in what a lot of people consider "not so desireable" areas.....out in the middle of nowhere, desolate, etc. The res. near the Kalispell/Flathead Lake area are in a beautiful part of the state, though. Most are very remote and quite far from other sizeable civilization. There are positives and negatives about teaching in Montana and particularly on a reservation. For me, the positives of moving back to Wyoming greatly outweighed staying in Montana. I understand that this is just one woman's opinion, and I always say "to each his/her own". Montana needs good teachers, just like every place does, so I am happy that there are teachers who like being there. It is just a shame that the income level is so low. I believe that all teachers deserve adequate compensation for their hard work. I know it is about the kids, not about the money, for most teachers. But one has to survive economically, too. It is a catch-22. If I were you I would definitely make some trips out to the area to check things out, both in winter and summer. I've never been as cold and miserable as I was during a week long stint in a remote reservation school. The wind blew the skin-piercing snow sideways and the roads were not maintained. Many teachers don't last long and I think that may be because they didn't fully check things out before taking a job. Whatever your decision, I wish you the best!!!!

[ElkHunter]

Georgia, outstanding post, but I have a question.

Did, or do you feel that Montana is 60 years behind in their thinking? I'm talking state, not the general populace. Let me explain.

As the STATE saw it:
60 years ago, teachers were all female, you never saw a male teacher. But it was like it was a secondary occupation, the husband had a good job and pulled in the bacon and the wife taught school to occupy their time. There was no need to pay teachers a decent wage because husband did that.

I remember my aunt was a teacher and she absolutely loved what she did and the kids loved her. My uncle passed away and she had to quit teaching and get a "real" job. She went to work as a cashier at Ben Franklin in order to make ends meet.

That was in Eastern South Dakota, but do you feel that that mentality is in the legislature in Montana?

[Southtemple]

You know, after I posted last night I got very upset. I geuss, the reality is that I do know what you are saying and I cannot hide the truth from myself.

It is so upsetting that MT does not pay their teachers enough to live on. Besides that, I have an advanced professional degree with over 150 credits in the sciences and the OPI have given me such a hard time getting those credits accepted. It seems ridiculous - I have state certification in two states and they are still hassling me and making it so hard for my significant profession qualifications and education to be acknowledged. They act like I am being 'difficult,' when to be honest I feel like they are being unhelpful.

And to realize that I will not be able to support myself? it is so upsetting to me. Why don't they pay their teachers enough? I make a very good salary here and feel it is reasonable for the challenges we are asked to handle. I don't know that I could take a 10,000 pay cut for worse conditions.

Thanks for your comments, my ideals and reality sometimes have a difficult time together. In that case, I guess I will look into Wyoming which is a great state and I do agree that while I like to help others I don't want to do it at the expense of my own well-being. That is unhealthy!