Another teacher moving to NYC (public school, transportation, budget)

[Rachael84]

You need to have a degree in anything besides Education in order to qualify for the Fellows program. It's extremely selective but worth a try.

[GinnyLee]

I am able to transfer my FL certificate to a NY one and will have 2 years to complete testing, etc. to get an official NY teaching certificate. I will have 5 years to complete my masters (which I planned on doing anyway). We are having budget cuts/freezes here in FL as well...I'm sure many states are going through the same situation. Is hitting the pavement the best way to secure a position? Here in FL you have to go through the DOE. Are there any good job fairs for teachers that would be worth a flight to go to? Fellow teachers, how did you secure your positions in a NYC public school?

Thanks again for all the feedback and help!!

[Futcha]

Originally Posted by GinnyLee

I am going to be moving to NYC (Brooklyn most likely) in June of 2009. I am currently an elementary teacher in Florida and have a BS in Elementary Ed K-6 and am certified in ESOL. I was wondering if anyone has any tips/tricks of the trade to share with me about finding a job when I get there. How soon should I start to look? Should I go directly to the schools of interest in order to apply? What is the best way to narrow down where I want to teach? (as there are SO many schools to consider)

I have 4 years experience in an inner city,Title I school. The grades I have taught are 3-5, all of which are test driven in the state of FL. Also, how does NY gear their education towards testing? Florida has a test driven education system, which is one of the reasons I am trying to leave. I want to be abel to teach my students to be more than great test takers...

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

New York isn't too bad with tests. We have Regents and a few state tests but it doesn't affect kids too much. I'm in high school so it's been a long time since I was in 3rd, 4th, and 5th but I don't remember anything crazy at all. Sorry I can't be of much help with when to look (because I'm only in HS so I have no job hunting experience other than asking for an application at a little store in the Bronx) but I'm sure someone else will give you some great info.

[Rachael84]

Originally Posted by GinnyLee

I am able to transfer my FL certificate to a NY one and will have 2 years to complete testing, etc. to get an official NY teaching certificate. I will have 5 years to complete my masters (which I planned on doing anyway). We are having budget cuts/freezes here in FL as well...I'm sure many states are going through the same situation. Is hitting the pavement the best way to secure a position? Here in FL you have to go through the DOE. Are there any good job fairs for teachers that would be worth a flight to go to? Fellow teachers, how did you secure your positions in a NYC public school?

Thanks again for all the feedback and help!!

Honestly, job fairs aren't worth it. I hear this year that there's thousands at the job fairs with few openings. The schools at the fairs are also in the worst areas of the city. Even those who live here in the city find it pointless to go to. I don't recommend shelling out a lot of money to fly here to go to one. Instead, you would be better off coming for a few days, staying in a hotel, and hand delivering resumes to schools.

I got hired last year. I saw an opening online at a school and faxed my resume. I followed through, got an interview, and was hired on the spot.

[UpsonDowns]

Originally Posted by FutureCop

New York isn't too bad with tests. We have Regents and a few state tests but it doesn't affect kids too much. I'm in high school so it's been a long time since I was in 3rd, 4th, and 5th but I don't remember anything crazy at all. Sorry I can't be of much help with when to look (because I'm only in HS so I have no job hunting experience other than asking for an application at a little store in the Bronx) but I'm sure someone else will give you some great info.

Actually that's not true. The Dept of Ed is trying to sign an $80 million five-year contract with CTB/McGraw-Hill to institute a computerized testing system that includes testing children from 3rd grade and up every 6-8 weeks.

I attended a focus group about it last year. I tried to find the article in the NYTimes, but there are so many articles on testing that I could not single it out.

[Stac2007]

Originally Posted by Rachael84

Honestly, job fairs aren't worth it. I hear this year that there's thousands at the job fairs with few openings. The schools at the fairs are also in the worst areas of the city. Even those who live here in the city find it pointless to go to. I don't recommend shelling out a lot of money to fly here to go to one. Instead, you would be better off coming for a few days, staying in a hotel, and hand delivering resumes to schools.

I got hired last year. I saw an opening online at a school and faxed my resume. I followed through, got an interview, and was hired on the spot.

You are right; the job fairs are a waste of time. I have by bachelor's degree in social science, master's in education and my New York state certification for social studies grades 7-12 and felt like nothing more than a piece of meat during the June job fair. I have stood in long lines for each of the schools which posted jobs at the fair. The school’s representatives give you thirty seconds to speak and then they move on to the next person. I have been a substitute teacher since I graduated this last December and must have given my resume to every school I worked in. I have not been called for one city interview. I get plenty of emails about upcoming job openings due to resent resignations but that it. The city human resource department tells me to contact each and every middle and high school to see if there are any open positions. When I call I am transferred to the school’s voice mail box. I guess they are sick of the hundreds of calls they receive daily. Go figure.

[Rachael84]

keep looking and trying...Principals come in this Monday.

[Dark of the Moon]

There seems to be a higher than usual level of angst among this year's Teaching Fellows, as many of them apparently still don't have jobs for the coming school year. The ones who report having attended job fairs says that they were a complete waste of time, apparently in pretty much every borough and every subject (including even the "high needs" areas of math, science and SPED).

I don't know if the Fellows simply accepted too many applicants this year, if teachers are holding onto jobs they might ordinarily have quit, or if Principals just aren't hiring .....

[Rachael84]

Yeah, I'm trying to transfer out of my school. I applied to 115 schools on open market and sent out about 50 resumes. Only have gotten ONE call for an interview! And I have one year experience. This is really pathetic.

[jax78]

Originally Posted by squeezeboxgal

There seems to be a higher than usual level of angst among this year's Teaching Fellows, as many of them apparently still don't have jobs for the coming school year. The ones who report having attended job fairs says that they were a complete waste of time, apparently in pretty much every borough and every subject (including even the "high needs" areas of math, science and SPED).

I don't know if the Fellows simply accepted too many applicants this year, if teachers are holding onto jobs they might ordinarily have quit, or if Principals just aren't hiring .....

I'm a Cohort 12 fellow and I noticed this too on the fellow boards. I think a lot of it is the budget cuts. I know my school needs to hire people, but we are unable to because of the budget cut. I have no idea what is going to happen with those classes?!?! CRAZY!

Personally, the Fellows should be taking this into consideration. They hired the mid years already. Maybe they need to hire less people, and before the mid years get jobs, they should make sure everyone they hired for June '08 gets a job, yaknow?

Overall, the fellow program was great for me. I'm still at my school, and don't plan on leaving the city. I feel for the fellows that are desperately looking for jobs now..any teacher really. It's hard right now.