High School Teacher: Should I Relocate? (Houston, Dallas: fit in, 2010, apartment)

[Patrick Murtha]

I would be very interested in opinions on my situation, so let me lay out the facts.
(1)I teach high school English (and can also teach history/social studies, but would pursue that certification later). I hold a Master of Arts in Teaching from Boston University in English Education, jointly awarded by the School of Education and the Department of English; my GPA was 3.91. My Bachelor of Arts is from Yale University in American Studies; my GPA there was 3.65.
(2)I have been working in corporate education here in Wisconsin for several years at good pay, but got laid off (with good severance) in January. Because of the severance, I have not started to draw down my unemployment benefit yet, but I am registered; I will start to use that benefit in July. I get the maximum Wisconsin benefit ($388.00/week). The unemployment benefit is portable, so I can still draw my payments if I relocate to another state to seek work.
(3)My letters of recommendation and references are very good. I scored a perfect 200 on the Praxis II in English Language, Literature, and Composition/Content Knowledge. I’ve got some nice honors and recognitions on my resume.
(4)Teaching hiring is at a standstill here in Wisconsin. It’s not just the economy; school-age populations are dropping, as they are throughout the upper Midwest. Districts are laying off teachers in sizable numbers.
(5)I am an experienced substitute teacher and like subbing. Substitute teaching pays surprisingly well in Wisconsin, but for that very reason, it is a closed shop. Retired teachers are the only ones who ever get calls. (Compare that to New Jersey in the Nineties, when I was starting out; my phone rang off the hook every single day.)
(6)I now hold licenses in secondary and middle-school English in three states: Texas (one-year), Florida (statement of eligibility), and North Carolina (SP 1 professional license). My best paper right now is North Carolina; that license (the last I obtained) would get me reciprocity in almost any other state.
(7)In addition to working on getting those certifications, I have been applying for jobs all spring, through Teachers-Teachers, NCPublicSchools.org, Texas ESC Regions 10 and 11 (Dallas/Fort Worth) and Region 4 (Houston), individual district websites in all the states I’ve mentioned, and, for private school jobs, NAIS (where I apply for history/social studies positions as well as English positions). I monitor openings posted at Education America and Top School Jobs, and follow up on those as well. My job search parameters at TT, EA, TSJ, and NAIS include all the sun-belt states, not just the ones I’m currently certified in.
(8)I have applied for 70 positions this spring. I have had some requests for additional information, which I always supply promptly. In the application process, I do exactly what I am told to do, and do not do what I am told not to do (make follow-up calls, for instance). I’m playing it by the book.
(9)I have not had an interview yet, or even a phone call; just a few emails. It is tough out there this year. The district I am farthest along with is the New Orleans Recovery School District, where I’ve gone through a number of preliminary hoops and am told I’m fully eligible for hire.
(10)I was scheduled to attend the teacher job fair for the Dallas/Fort Worth area on May 4, but it was canceled on April 30 because of the swine flu outbreak. I took a financial hit on that. I am looking at attending the Houston area fair on June 15 and 16.
(11)I am single and childless, and only have one dependent, a cat. We are mobile on short notice! My apartment lease in Wisconsin, as it happens, terminates on July 31.
(12)So the big question is: If I don’t have any specific positive job indications by early July, should I plan on relocating to one of the states where I’m licensed (most likely the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas)? The theory is that I could work my job search much more effectively “on the ground” than from a distance. I just don’t think that districts are even looking at out-of-state candidates right now, they probably have so many local ones. I could certainly sub to start, if subbing in Texas is more accessible than it is in Wisconsin, and could take a part-time job on weekends to help get by for the time being.
(13)If any last-minute openings come up at the start of the school year or even a few weeks into it – which I know happens – districts are going to look for someone close at hand, not someone in Wisconsin.
(14)At the moment, I have the money to complete the relocation; if I stay in Wisconsin, I might start to draw that money down, and I suspect that I won’t be making any real progress on the teaching job search as long as I stay here. Those are important considerations. The beginning of August is a quite feasible time for me to make the move.
I welcome opinions and insights! Also happy to answer any questions.

[Westerner92]

You can probably find a job at almost any suburban school district of the major metros. Some districts are building a high school almost every other year like Frisco or McKinney.

[loves2read]

that is not the real situation in any major metro area except maybe Houston--have not read as many people complaining there and it is a hugh metro area...

[teatime]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

You can probably find a job at almost any suburban school district of the major metros. Some districts are building a high school almost every other year like Frisco or McKinney.

A HIGH school???? I find that very hard to believe. Elementary schools, yes. But not high schools. Enrollment plummets in the higher grades.

To the OP: I wouldn't move ANYWHERE unless I had a job in hand. That includes Texas. If you were a math or science teacher, you'd have an easier time of it but not with secondary English or history/social studies.

[Patrick Murtha]

Originally Posted by teatime

A HIGH school???? I find that very hard to believe. Elementary schools, yes. But not high schools. Enrollment plummets in the higher grades.

To the OP: I wouldn't move ANYWHERE unless I had a job in hand. That includes Texas. If you were a math or science teacher, you'd have an easier time of it but not with secondary English or history/social studies.

Why not, exactly? I don't have a job here. Nor are there any decent prospects for one, whereas the prospects in Texas seem a mite better. I understand all about the difference in demand for math/science vs. English/history teachers, trust me, but I also understand the difference between the shrinking upper Midwest and the growing sunbelt in sheer demographic terms.

Westerner92 was quite correct, by the way. Frisco opened its 4th high school in 2007; its 5th will open this fall and its 6th in 2010. It's opening about two middle schools per year, and I am certified to teach middle school as well. McKinney opened a new high school in 2006 and new middle schools in 2004 and 2008. So your disbelief is trumped by the facts.

[GayleTX]

I might suggest you apply at some private schools or even public schools in cities/neighborhoods that have a higher income/higher expectations population . Those schools are usually interested in a diverse faculty that can bring a broader, more sophisticated background to their students. Even though there is not high demand for English teachers, it would be worth applying at some of those schools even if they don't have openings advertised.

[Patrick Murtha]

Originally Posted by GayleTX

I might suggest you apply at some private schools or even public schools in cities/neighborhoods that have a higher income/higher expectations population . Those schools are usually interested in a diverse faculty that can bring a broader, more sophisticated background to their students. Even though there is not high demand for English teachers, it would be worth applying at some of those schools even if they don't have openings advertised.

That is good advice! I have been applying to private schools with the thought that my academic background could be attractive to them. Since you can't re-write your credentials for every job (and often you can't even know or guess what is "selling" to a particular school or district), all you can do is emphasize your strengths. I have strong credentials on the content side, and my letters of recommendation emphasize my rapport with students, which has always been really good.

On the "down" side, the year of my bachelor's degree makes my age (50) pretty easy to figure out -- I made a mid-career shift into education -- and I am sure there is some age discrimination out there, in teaching as in other fields.

[Houston3]

School is almost out here for the summer. I think maybe three or three and half weeks left. I wouldn't think they are hiring any new teachers right now.

[Patrick Murtha]

Originally Posted by Houston3

School is almost out here for the summer. I think maybe three or three and half weeks left. I wouldn't think they are hiring any new teachers right now.

I'm talking about teaching jobs for the fall, of course. If this is meant to be a snarky reply, I don't see the humor.

[loves2read]

the way hiring for new schools works is that teachers already employed get fitst dibs--the new principal if hired from within the district gets certain number of teachers that he can pick==then there are slots opened for district transfers from other schools--then any spots left get filled with new hires...
some of the slots in other schools that teachers left do not get filled because of the filtering of students from other zoning areas for schools...
Crowly is another district that has built schools because of growth in the district--and now it is faced with not having a budget that will allow it to fund hiring enough teachers to fill the school...

You can certainly apply anywhere and you can certainly move anywhere--if you can live on your UEB after you get to TX--
there are people on Craigs list looking for roommates to share a house which would be less costly than an apt
many districts are affected by the housing/economy downturn because their tax revenues are down...the state legislature has not done what it should have this session to revise the tax policy for school funding---it is basically filled with cowards that don't want to make the voters unhappy at this point in time...