Teacher moving to St. George area (Washington County) (Hurricane, La Verkin: to rent, student loan)

[bkf]

My husband and I would like to move to the St. George area. We are just graduating from college, and though my husband majored in Mechanical Engineering, he really wants to teach high school math and coach basketball.

I am wondering about the quality of schools in the Washington County area. How motivated are the kids? Are the teachers high quality? It would be interesting to know about the high school sports arena too. My husband just loves working with youth and is excited to work with them and help them get excited about learning. He also loves to help them build their self-confidence through basketball.

We are also wondering how hard/easy it will be for him to get a teaching position. Does anyone know how desperate the district is for math teachers? I know they are opening a new high school for Fall 2008, so we thought that might help.

In addition, starting salary looks like it is right around $31,000 for teachers. Are we going to ever be able to live on such low wages if we live in a smaller town like Hurricane? I am graduating in accounting, so I do have a great major to supplement our income if necessary... but I'd rather not.

Finally, are there any good ideas for what a teacher could do in the summers to make a little extra income?

Thanks for any and all help!

[mello]

Thanks for writing back even if you don't have a reply for me.
So... you are moving to Hurricane??? We have lived here for 11 years and love it. My husband graduated from Dixie State College and we've been lucky enough to stay here. It is our favorite place to live so far.

AS far as the quality of schools here, (in my opinion, of course) I think they are pretty good schools. Hurricane High is a pretty good school. My kids aren't old enough yet, but I do see alot of "high school spirit" among the youth here. It is a small town and the high school serves all of Hurricane, La Verkin, Toquerville, Apple Valley, some parts of Hilldale, Springdale, Virgin, and Rockville. have you checked out the Washington County school district's website for jobs available?

I have the opportunity of working with the youth quite a bit. I have served with them in my church as well as for piano/violin teaching. They have a unique spirit about them. They are amazing. I don't know about the quality of the teachers here except for the elementary schools. I have really loved most of my kids' teachers, especially Mr. Stevens, Mr. Leavenworth, and Mr. Jensen from La Verkin elementary.

I had a friend who stayed working in Utah for the school district just after she graduated. There is some sort of student loan incentive that they will forgive your loans for working in Utah post graduation as long you meet their requirements. The salary for $31k does seem low BUT the average salary (we were told) for Washington county was $36k last year.

AS far as work for the summer.....try hooking up with Zion's canyon, or the many canyons nearby. They have summer jobs driving the busses or other programs for rangers. You could also try the nearby campsites, i.e. Sand Hollow, Quail Lake, Red Cliffs, Snow Canyon.

We do love it here. It does get hot in the summer but you learn to bring ice water with you in your car everywhere you go and you also learn to shop in the mornings or late evenings. Avoid going out in the middle of the day if you don't have to. We love the winters and all the recreation around us.

One of the neatest things about the Hurricane valley is the community. The people are close-knit. They have events all thru-out the year. Peach days is huge!! People are always doing nice things for each other here and they are laid back too. Hurricane is said to be the county's center of economy in the near future.

good luck and hopefully I've helped you in some ways.

Mello

[kwm03160]

I don't have much knowledge about Hurricane, but living in St. George would be expensive, and 31K won't go very far. Also, Utah does graduate a lot of accountants, so I wouldn't expect a huge salary being an accountant. In Salt Lake, I started out in the low 30's as an accountant (4-year degree, graduated 1st in my class).

[bkf]

Thank you for the help. Yes, we are thinking of moving to Hurricane because housing is way cheaper than St. George right now. We may have to rent for a year before we buy though. Do you know of any good, cheap places to rent that have 2 bedrooms?

Apparently jobs for Washington County are supposed to be posted online starting Feb 20. That's what I was told anyway, so we'll be checking then for sure. Does the district have good management?

Are there good sports/dance activities in the community? I would like my kids to do some sort of sport or activity as they grow up.

So, mello, I'm guessing your husband must work so that you can make more money than just your salary? What does he do?

kwm, I am graduating with a Master's degree and plan to start the CPA exams right away. I think starting salary at a tax firm should be should probably be around $40-45k.

[leiliyah]

As far as the high schools, I graduated in 2004, and back then the schools were AWESOME. The most sports-oriented is Pine View. Dixie has an amazing Fine Arts program - their plays are the best out of all the schools. I don't know too much about Snow Canyon. When I was at school, the kids were of a mixed variety - you of course had the slackers and druggies and stuff, but the majority of the kids seemed to do well in classes. There were some AMAZING teachers, some good and some not-so-great.

There are EXCELLENT sports and dance activities for your kids. Since I was in high school, I know of at least 4 new dance studios that have opened in addition to the new ones. I recommend Diamond Talent Productions if your child is more of a serious, studio-type dancer. For a just for fun studio dancer, try Westside Studio. Some of the newer ones I know are geared more toward drill-team/cheerleading type dancers, but I'm not too familiar with them. I don't have really detailed information about sports, but my little brother has been doing the little-league type baseball and football and he loves it. There are also many other options - a lot of the moms here like to teach voice or piano at home. The schools also offer great clubs and activities.

[bkf]

Thank you for your response! That is so helpful to learn about the schools and the area! I will have to check out those dance academies. I really want my girl(s) to take dance classes (hopefully I have at least one girl) - I'm just worried about affording it! Do you know about the costs of the different studios?

We will hopefully have our kids in other sports as well. Probably soccer and basketball. Are there good city leagues?