Teaching/Living near Ann Arbor (Detroit, Livonia: best city, home, find a job)

[jeredincali]

Hey all:
I'm attending a graduate program at the U of M starting Fall 2008 and I want to simultaneously teach high school history. I'll be attending the college teacher job fairs in mid-March, but does any one know about:
1.) the teaching market (are school districts in need of secondary social studies teachers) around Ann Arbor (circa 35 miles max in any direction)? And how to find out about it?
2.) the best communities to live in in Ann Arbor, and in surrounding communities that don't involve insane commutes, particularly during the snowy season?

Any help would be appreciated!!!

[sikes0000]

I have heard from various posters on this board (and a close friend of ours who is a teacher) that the market here is horrible for teaching opportunities. But secondary teachers I could not tell you about.

Now where to live around near Ann Arbor? How about in AA I would stay away from Ypsilanti. But within 30-40 miles you could live in Canton, Plymouth, Northville, Livonia. Heck even up 23 to Whitmore Lake/Brighton/Hartland. I guess it depends where you could land that teaching job. But most of those places are well within driving distance (~20 miles). There are some other really nice areas around Ann Arbor if you can afford it.

[jeredincali]

thanks, sikes.

I figured with a surplus of teachers that many would be subbing, building reps and name identity, and planning on one day being one of the lucky hundred chosen for a permanent position.
Is it difficult to support yourself as a substitute, I wonder?

[Coldjensens]

My wife subs. She is paid $68 - $75 per day before taxes. You do not work every day. Sometimes they call you in for a day and you turn down other offers then they send you home half way through the day and only pay half a day (not worth the gas after taxes). Bottom line - no you cannot make a living as a sub.

There are some fabulous towns around Ann Arbor. In my opinion AA is the best City in Michigan and one of the best in the US. The surrounding small towns are some of the best small towns anywhere as well.

Look at Dexter, Plymouth, Chelsea, Tecumseh, Clinton, Saline and maybe Dundee. All are wonderful quaint small towns. Most have good to excellent school systems.

I am probably forgetting a few.


You can also look at Ypsi and Canton. Ypsi is a city and not the nicest city, but it has some neat areas. Ypsi township and Canton are basically suburban sprawl (endless cookie cutter subdivisions and strip malls that all look exactly the same), but there is nothing wrong with either place. Canton is somewhat nicer and has better schools.

Salem is a cute tiny village that is close to Ann Arbor. The outskirts of South Lyon/Lyon township are near Ann Arbor. South Lyon itself is just within your range. South Lyon was a cute small town that got infested with fast food, strip malls, and McMansions, but it still has a modicum of quaintness.

Not sure about teaching jobs, but my wife gets a lot of calls to sub and she is not credentialed so I assume that they do not have a ton of credentialed teachers seeking sub positions (or they would take them over her). Other than that I have no idea what the market is like. You could call Mr. Manu ("mah new") at Grosse Ile high school. He is a nice guy and has taught social studies for a long time, maybe he can help you.

[5kingsinvegas]

Most districts require that you be a licensed teacher in order to sub. Teaching jobs at any level are highly competitive. Literally thousands of applications per opening. Best of luck to you, but don't hold your breath. There are basically no teaching jobs in Michigan.

[spedteach]

I found a great website that helps you find all of the school districts in the country. It costs $20 to sign-up but they have done all the work for you. My family is considering leaving MI and moving to another state, so I have been checking the site often.
Good luck!

The site is Teaching Jobs. K-12 Teaching Jobs, Administrative Jobs, and Coaching Jobs at Education Jobs. Browse 1000's of public and private school jobs

[jeredincali]

thanks, everyone, I feel better now that I'm educating myself--with the help of forums, basically, and the web until I move there soon. Plus, I feel more optimistic, if that sounds realistic, considering the plethora of dreary forecasts coming out of the MI area. For example, I have my MI professional certificate in line, so I think I'm in good shape (fingers crossed) if I get in early and talk to people where and when I should (BTW, coldjensens, thanks for the reference!!), like at the teacher fairs, etc.
Heck, while we're at it (ha ha), what's a teacher to do for work in the summer??

[Coldjensens]

A lot of teachers work at Metroparks during the summer. I worked for the system during college. It is a great place to work in the summer, but not fabulous pay. However as a teacher you are used to not fabulous pay.

[jpoole52]

I'm not trying to be pesismistic, but professional certificate or not, if you only are certified to teach history, it's going to be tricky. try the mi-reap website or greatschooljobs.com, i actually found my teaching job there. you might find much better luck in them manchester area or in jackson county (jackson high, grass lake, napoleon, etc), a decent commute from ann arbor. at the teacher job fairs, the lines for ann arbor public and surrounding areas are usually 1-1.5 hours long from what I've seen in the past.

Best of luck in finding a position, where you might be slightly lucky is that ann arbor public will open new high school this fall.

I used to teach in Michigan, but it wasn't worth sticking around through the economy and lack of teaching jobs.

Also, something you should be aware of, Michigan has it's own certification that doesn't involve the praxis and districts don't really accept other state's certification in reciprocity, so you will probably have to get your michigan professional teaching certificate, just in case yours was out of state.

[missy3681]

I'll be point blank because I went to the job fairs last year and will be attending this year, You will NOT get a teaching job in History. I know that is harsh, but trust me when I say this. I stayed for personal reasons, but am also looking outside of MI and received many offers. This is what you are looking at and what you should do to get one in Michigan. I was offered multiple interviews and many school districts wanted to hire me in Michigan, but could not until they got their funding. This is the realities of what you are going to expect:

Job fair April 14-18: lines for MI are about 3-5 hours of wait. They are generally rude and I have been in many lines when I got up there they basically said, oh we decided not to hire your endorsement after 3 hours and their sign up stating they wanted it! This is not just me that has this problem, but many in MI lines. Also, let me throw in of all districts to teach,do not teach in Detroit. I have heard only horror stories and safety issues.

Job Availablity:
Well, I am certified in Secondary in Social Studies (group) and Biology. Since I have a split endorsement I can help budget restraints and I can teach science. I still got the "can you teach Chemistry" question and did not get a lot of jobs because of that. I know off the top of my head 10 people who can teach something in Social Studies and can not find a job. Some years of experience, others good references. In Michigan it is who you know and what your endorsement is. If you could teach Physics everyone would grab you and you would not have a problem.

Teaching population:
Michigan is a huge teacher producing state. Michigan is one of the tops with also Iowa at making teachers. Eastern MI University I remeber one year graduated close to 800 teachers. Now, probably 60-75% are certified in social studies or something close to this.

What you need to do to get a teaching job:
Get into a school in Ann Arbor that you like and ask to volunteer. This may be subbing some times and also maybe heading an after-school program or being and aid. You have to get your foot in the door and then if there is a part-time position or anything, you would receive it over another.

Just remember that there are teachers with years of experience trying to find the same job you are. Good Luck at the job fairs though! I do hope you are not the mainstream and get some lead.