Soon to be college graduate and considering a move to Colorado Springs (live, best)

[otowi]

Yes, I've been on interview committees and it is scary how many applicants aren't qualified!

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by otowi

Yes, I've been on interview committees and it is scary how many applicants aren't qualified!

For the rest of us, can you elaborate a bit on how is it that some are not qualified....Thank you.

[otowi]

They don't have the required degrees, certifications, experience, etc. Like someone trying to be a high school teacher with an elementary generalist certification, or no certification at all. Or someone wanting to teach high school math who is afraid of teaching math beyond high school Geometry. Or someone wanting to teach high school who can't handle teenagers, etc. In education, the requirements are often mandated by law - it's not like an employer can just say, gee, you seem like a really nice person so we'll hire you even though you don't have even a minor in the subject you want to teach...

[hollyt00]

Seconded... it's amazing how many people want to teach a subject that they have no certification for. Sorry, if you want to teach Spanish, but only have a certification in English, with no NCLB addendum (24+ credit hours at collegiate level), we're not going to hire you.

[teach_ac]

Originally Posted by otowi

The one district most people say to avoid is Harrison District 2, and I would say so ESPECIALLY for employment. .

Why do you say that I avoid D-2?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by teach_ac

Why do you say that I avoid D-2?

Your answer is in this thread.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by hollyt00

There is a lot of "who you know" ...that is right... but everyone is weighed on their own merits

There is a lot of dog poop in the brownies, but everything is very sanitary.

These two things are polar opposites. Since the first is harder to admit, I'll assume the first is true and the second is what we tell ourselves to help us look past the first.

[Jcelmer]

So D2 gets hammered pretty hard around here, but I have been in contact with quite a few people who work for them and they are EXCELLENT people. It may not be the most glamorous district, but it is absolutely a district in which passionate people could do a lot of good. It's my understanding it's lower income - those kids need the best teachers, imo.

I hope that sort of helps guide you.

[hollyt00]

Hopefully the bleeding stops with D-2... because of the pay for performance plan, and the expectations from admin/Mike Miles, they would lose teachers year after year. Add in there Teach for America employees, who are awesome, set a high standard, and stay for two years and find another school to save... the turn around is difficult for good employees to want to stay there.

[otowi]

There are lots of good people who work in D2; I've known dozens over the years, but usually D2 doesn't keep them around or they choose to leave and end up in another district. D2 has a VERY high turnover rate. And even though most of those teachers are dedicated and passionate, when the majority of them are there for 3 years or less, that does hurt the kids. I remember when I went to school my brother and I were 5 years apart and yet we had the same teachers, and when we got to high school each of us could go back to our elementaries and still find most of the same teachers. That was a very good thing for many reasons. But today that is increasingly rare, and D2 is the worst performer in terms of that teacher turnover. That's not knocking the teachers or saying they aren't good. I know that is not the case, because hey, we've hired many of them away! Same was true of Wasson before it closed.