Teacher moving to Boston (unemployed, school districts, university)

[banditrc]

Hi guys,

My wife and I are planning a move to Boston this summer. My wife is a music teacher and will be looking for a job. She's eligible for a temporary certificate so I know that won't be a problem. We're also willing to be anywhere around or in the city, preferably near public transit.

My main question is about the current job climate. Lots of schools around the country are closing and positions being cut. Is a lot of this sort of thing happening around Boston? She teaches music, so of course this is a concern. Also, when do interviews typically take place? She'll be in London for 5 weeks this summer completing a masters degree from june 23 - July 31.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

[Urban Peasant]

Boston is also seriously hurting from the economic downturn, many teaching positions have been cut during the past year, and more are bound to follow. The superintendent even mentioned the possibility of some schools closing (Boston has 4,500 empty seats and that means a waste of money) although they might have plugged the budget gap enough to avoid that.

As for teaching music in the city, forget it! The city cut most art and music positions long ago and the few remaining positions are mostly part time positions that don't pay well. I know this for a fact because the music teacher at the school I worked in last year taught only one class a day and told me he gives private lessons to suburban kids to supplement his measly salary.

My suggestion for your wife is to look either to teach in the suburbs or as adjunct faculty at a college or university or give private lessons. Boston is known as a world class leader of higher education but beneath that, you will find that the public school system is by and large a sorry, woebegone skeleton of a system, light on cultural enrichment but heavy on bureaucracy.

[banditrc]

thanks so much for the info, what are the prospects of landing something outside of the city?

[kmann-sherborn]

How about Berklee College of Music. Or is she looking to teach younger children?

[banditrc]

Originally Posted by kmann-sherborn

How about Berklee College of Music. Or is she looking to teach younger children?

Really, she'll be looking for a full time public school job. She prefers elementary, but currently teaches highschool. We really need a stable, solid income. Unfortunately, my income can't really be counted on right now as I'm in the early stages of an opera career.

We don't actually need to make the move this year, but it's something we're considering. With the economy the way it is, maybe it's best to hold onto what we've got now and re-examine the whole thing next year. We're both just kind of ready to move on from where we are now. I always expect education to hold up in the north east states, but it seems like the cuts are happening everywhere.

[gf2020]

My wife is a public elementary school teacher. I would be very skeptical of your wife's ability to move in to MA from out of state and land a public school teaching job.

Since all MA teachers must be certified and most school districts require graduate degrees, jobs invariably go to teachers who have connections within the local school system. I'm not saying it's impossible to break in to that environment, I'm just trying to paint the picture that it is very hard to do so.

If she was bilingual or a special education teacher the situation would be different, but I suspect right now she would just be one of many unemployed music teachers here in MA.