we are Moving to Kirtland / Farmington area??

[loboABQ]

I have lived in the Four Corners area most of my life (27 years) except for the four years at UNM. I am also a teacher here. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the districts in this area, feel free to email me or send a comment on this thread.

Good luck!

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by loboABQ

I have lived in the Four Corners area most of my life (27 years) except for the four years at UNM. I am also a teacher here. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the districts in this area, feel free to email me or send a comment on this thread.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. My wife and I are just curious as to why there is such a great need for teachers in NM. My wife called ABQ NM education dept and they were like...SO WHEN ARE YOU COMING HERE!!!

We understand the culture change / shock but what could possibly make it worse that Detroit schools or high risk security detention centers?

We really would like to come out to see the area and possibly interview. Is it best to send credentials to every school besides just the on-line applications?

We are looking at 3-4 areas (one is ABQ) and the others are in the NW four corners.


THANKS


Tim and Mary

[domino]

I would guess the demand for teachers stems from the fairly rapid growth in the region, and the low pay which discourages people from being teachers here.

[loboABQ]

I agree with Domino. The pay is pretty low (but that's pretty common for New Mexico, sadly). Also, many teachers don't last as there is a lot of work involved (as you know). By your 5th year of teaching in NM, you MUST submit a dossier in order to move onto the next level (without passing this, you lose your license). I'm not sure how this affects teachers who move into the state though. If you go to the PED website, I'm sure you will find out this information, if you don't know it already.

To back up the lack of pay argument. In ABQ, a teacher starts out at $30,000 (not sure of the next year's pay). That is really hard to live off of. For a college degree, that is really low. Here in the Four Corners, I started out at about 38,000 (still pretty low). But, 8 thousand dollars makes a lot of difference. That is one reason I did not stay in ABQ.

Also, every spring (in MAY), UNM holds an APS (Albuquerque Public Schools) Job fair. I would highly recommend this. Nearly every school from APS is there and many interview on the spot. It's an easy way to get your name out there without driving all the way across the city.

A few weeks before the APS job fair, UNM holds an Educational Fair where schools from throughout the country attend looking for teachers. Many New Mexico schools usually attend this one. This year the Educational Fair is Wednesday, April 22nd.

This was copied from UNM's Career Services page: Career Services | The University of New Mexico

Educator's Job Fair 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, Student Union Building Ballroom. The Educator's Job Fair is open to UNM students, alumni as well as community members who are interested in education related jobs and careers. Professional interview attire and preparation (i.e. Resumes) are expected! Recruiters from New Mexico as well as many other areas of the nation are attending this event.
Jobseekers: No pre-registration is required to attend the UNM Educator's Job Fair. The event is an open walk-through format, with no pre-scheduled interviews. Recruiters are prepared to visit with individuals at the fair and determine whether or not the candidate qualifies for on-the-spot interviews.

Schools that have already signed up for this event:

• Archdiocese of Santa Fe Catholic Schools Office (Albuquerque, NM)
• Brownfield ISD (Brownfield, Te)
• Chicago Public Schools (Chicago, Il)
• Fort Stockton I.S.D. (Fort Stockton, TX)
• Garden City Public Schools/ USD457 (Garden City, KS)
• Grants/Cibola County Schools (Grants, NM)
• Kayenta Unified School District No. 27 (Kayenta, AZ)
• Liberal Unified School District #480 (Liberal, KS)
• Los Lunas Schools (Los Lunas, Ne)
• Morongo Unified School District (29 Palms, Ca)
• Omaha Public Schools (Omaha, Ne)
• Socorro Consolidated Schools (Socorro, Ne)
• UNM Army ROTC (Albuquerque, NM)

Hope that helps. Any other questions, just let me know.

I would highly recommend attending these job fairs if at all possible as it is really beneficial and I recieved a lot of interviews from attending (a few job offers as well that I decided to turn down).

Good luck.

[mmposting]

I grew up in Albuquerque in the South Valley (a Spanish neighborhood or "barrio").

I've also visited all over the US, in most of the states and most major cities.

The only place in the U.S. that I felt more intimidated and "scared" than Albuquerque was the Bronx.

That should answer your question. Basically, a lot of Albuquerque is a mean, violent place with lots of gangs. So there is no difference between teaching in an inner city Detroit school and a public school in Abq.

That goes for the rest of New MExico as well.

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Thanks for the info. My wife and I are just curious as to why there is such a great need for teachers in NM. My wife called ABQ NM education dept and they were like...SO WHEN ARE YOU COMING HERE!!!

We understand the culture change / shock but what could possibly make it worse that Detroit schools or high risk security detention centers?

We really would like to come out to see the area and possibly interview. Is it best to send credentials to every school besides just the on-line applications?

We are looking at 3-4 areas (one is ABQ) and the others are in the NW four corners.


THANKS


Tim and Mary

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by domino

I would guess the demand for teachers stems from the fairly rapid growth in the region, and the low pay which discourages people from being teachers here.

It's also among the most thankless jobs in the world, and I do speak from experience (Texas).

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

It's also among the most thankless jobs in the world, and I do speak from experience (Texas).

The most of any job to be thankless. I have taught almost 17 years, mostly in places where no one else wanted to teach. Nasty basement classrooms (most special ed classrooms in Michigan were like this for years), residential placement facilities, psychiatric facilities, and cold hard urban places. And yes...in the end when it is all said and done--there are no thank-yous, No recognition and only parents who scream that their child is honor roll and not a C student and administration that wanted higher standardized test scores to reach AYP...

And now I am looking to leave all this in Detroit and go west??

Why not..

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

The most of any job to be thankless. I have taught almost 17 years, mostly in places where no one else wanted to teach. Nasty basement classrooms (most special ed classrooms in Michigan were like this for years), residential placement facilities, psychiatric facilities, and cold hard urban places. And yes...in the end when it is all said and done--there are no thank-yous, No recognition and only parents who scream that their child is honor roll and not a C student and administration that wanted higher standardized test scores to reach AYP...

And now I am looking to leave all this in Detroit and go west??

Why not..

17 years..? I would have shot myself through the head long before that. I wanted out the first year, but I bowed to family pressure to give it a chance.

I have since learned to ignore that and listen to my own instincts.

You will find a very different world out here in the Southwest! Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[zthatzmanz28]

So we are considering (seriously) Shiprock schools for work. Logged on to the Daily Times and read that Brian Manning and board suggests closing a school in Shiprock---the one I am hoping to have a position at?

What are the chances ?

Maybe ABQ or SF will look just as good tomorrow...

[areynolds]

My Husband and I taught on the Rez (Chinle Unified School District #24) in Arizona. Shawn just got a job at Navajo Prep in Farmington, so we are moving there now. Teaching on the rez is an experience, and we would have stayed forever, but the recession and the shenanigans in Phoenix cost us our jobs there. I do not know what schools in NM are like, but working with the Navajo was a great time.
Now that we have a place to live, I will be applying at schools all over the place, too.