Teacher Hiring 2011-12 in NOVA (Arlington, Alexandria: low income, apartments, school districts)

[bsheehy]

Sorry if this has been discussed recently, but I wasn't able to find threads that updated the hiring outlook for teachers this year (2011-12). My Fiance will be graduating from college this May (out of state) and will be moving in with me in Alexandria. She will be graduating with an elementary education degree, and hopes to teach Kindergarten or First grade. She's open to any school districts within NOVA.

So is teacher hiring picking up enough for this year that a newly certified teacher from out of state would have a shot at a full time job? She has a reading license, a technology certificate, and has student taught Kindergarten and 3rd grade.

If she can't find anything, she wants to sub for a year or two to get some more experience and establish connections within a district.


Thanks for any input!

[marie5v]

She has a good chance of being hired, I think, depending of course on her interview skills and knowledge. Fairfax county is having a job fair this month, but the deadline for submitting an application is tomorrow so she would have to do it ASAP. She can still apply if she misses it, but will probably have to wait a few months for an interview. Prince William and Loudoun also have job fairs, but I don't know the dates or deadlines. She should check the websites of the school districts to find out. If it doesn't work out, subbing is a great idea.

[bsheehy]

Thanks Marie! I'll tell her to start applying online. She'll be out here visiting at the end of March. In Indiana, the Principals prefer teachers to walk in their resumes. Should she do that at particular schools she's interested in here in NOVA?

[CaliTerp07]

Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Arlington County, and Alexandria City are all hiring. There are various job fairs throughout the area this month. I would suggest she hurry up and submit her applications, but she shouldn't have trouble finding work if all her paperwork is in order and her applications look good.

I'm applying for secondary math positions, so it's not quite the same, but I have verbal offers from several middle schools in Arlington and FFX counties (due to personal contacts from working and volunteering on campuses) that should finalize once I get my apps in. The hiring outlook is good here.

[marie5v]

Originally Posted by bsheehy

Thanks Marie! I'll tell her to start applying online. She'll be out here visiting at the end of March. In Indiana, the Principals prefer teachers to walk in their resumes. Should she do that at particular schools she's interested in here in NOVA?

I don't know if it's necessary to actually walk it in, but if she doesn't get a response from a county after submitting the general app, I would submit a resume and letter to the principals of specific schools either online or through the mail. I guess walking in couldn't hurt, but I think the important thing is not to just wait around for someone to contact her - some of the counties just kind of collect applications but don't really forward them anywhere, so it's necessary to do a kind of 2-part process - first get it all in through official human resource pathways, and then separately contact principals directly.

[bsheehy]

Great, thanks a lot!

[KathyR]

This was a great question and I appreciate all the responses!

[bsheehy]

In a best case scenario where she gets offers from more than one district (not saying it will happen, just trying to think ahead), what districts are most "teacher friendly?" Obviously this is highly subjective, but any personal experiences would be appreciated.

Salary is a consideration, but not the most important factor. I'm thinking more of QOL considerations, like ease of commute (we live just off 395 at king st.), parent support, work conditions, etc.

Honestly, I think all of NOVA is going to be an improvement over Indianapolis. Even neglecting the pay (which is half of NOVA), the state Superintendent Tony Bennett seems to be completely anti-teachers. In general I don't consider myself a proponent of unions, but situations like the one taking place in Indiana show that they are still necessary in certain instances.


^^^Does the above statement violate the board TOS? I apologize if it does and understand if it needs to be deleted.

[car54]

Teacher pay has been frozen for years in Fairfax County, and there's no hope in sight.

So, I'd check out the fiscal shape of a City/County school district first....I think Arlington is doing the best around here...

[CaliTerp07]

It's really going to depend on the individual school as much as the district. FFX county is huge, and the economic/racial diversity from one school to the next varies greatly. A school in an area surrounded by low income, immigrant friendly apartments is going to have a very different feel from an elementary school in a wealthy area of mini-mansions. When you apply to FFX, either of those ends of the spectrum and everything in between is a possibility.

It is so important that the mentality/philosophy of the principal matches her own, in my opinion. Someone can hopefully chime in on the process of being assigned to a specific school (since I'm not completely familiar with it), but from personal experience, working for a principal you like and respect who you feel is in your corner is night and day from a principal who has a different view of discipline measures, teacher solidarity, etc. My middle school has 3 different grade level administrators and a principal over the whole school. I would work for 1 of the grades in a heart beat--I love the vice principal's involvement with the kids and the teachers. I don't think I could handle working for the other two. Their styles don't mesh with mine at all.