Jobs for special education teachers in Georgia? (Atlanta, Columbus: roughest, how much)

[harrison21]

I posted in the Savannah section, since I think that may be the area I'm most interested in (although I'm definitely willing to broaden my search), but I thought it might be wise to just ask in the general forum to see if anyone could give me any advice.

I relocated from Ohio to Colorado for a teaching job about a year and a half ago. The job market in Ohio is impossible for teachers, even in special education, but the job market in CO is wide open for special ed. I really tried to like it for this reason- I've been here for about a year and a half. I've tried to get into skiing and other winter sports, but really I just hate CO. I'm desperate to get out. I'm not a winter person (never was- only moved because it was the only place I could find a job right out of school). I'm mostly looking at the southern east coast states for areas to possibly relocate too. I've heard a lot of things about Georgia and surrounding states about low salary, budget cuts, no union/poor union, etc. Just so I don't get a bunch of replies about that- CO already has all of those things as well. I believe we're actually 50th in teacher pay compared to cost of living, so I have nowhere to go but up. I don't know if merit pay based on test scores is happening in Georgia (that's something that has a lot of teachers upset in various places)- but we already have that in CO too.

I have used the search tool and saw that many people posted that the teaching market was tight. In some places, it's a lot better for special education. Is this true in Georgia? I couldn't find anything specifically about that. I will have 2 years experience at the end of this year. I have good references and good data to show a lot of growth in my students. I have just a bachelor's- no masters. I currently work with students with mild/moderate disabilities in grades k-5. I'm willing to do any elementary grade, but I do want to stay in mild/moderate disabilities (as opposed to severe/profound). How realistic would it be for me to expect to find a job in Georgia? I'm not willing to move to a rural area- other than that, I'm open to looking in various places. Before I really research more about specific areas, I want to know if I'll even have a good chance of finding a job. I have to choose a few states to apply for teaching licenses in, and I don't want to go through all that only to find out there are no jobs anyway. Also, if I have the Georgia license, will it matter that I'm applying from out of state? Obviously living in CO, I'm way too far away to come in for in person interviews. Thanks!

[midgeorgiaman]

I wouldn't say that there are a lot of jobs. I wouldn't even say many, but there are some. You can't be picky though. Most of the available special ed jobs and teacher jobs in general are going to be in the urban districts. I don't know how much you know about the south, but our urban districts make those in most of Colorado seem tame and that is why the jobs open up there. If you are willing to teach in these counties: Richmond, Muscogee, Bibb, Chatham, DeKalb, Clayton, and Atlanta city then your prospects increase quite a bit. Just be forewarned that the open jobs in these districts are often at the inner-city schools where your students will be from extreme poverty, have the entitiltlement mentality, parents are uninvolved, and a majority of the special ed students are labled EBD (emotional/behavior disorder) which 90% of the time is the designation for out of control/in and out of jail/very difficult to work with students.

If you see the above as a challenge, then I would say come on. If the above does not seem to be what you want to work with, I would consider moving on.

That is just my brutally honest opinion of the state of open jobs in Georgia. Perhaps others have a rosier insight...

[SW30303]

While I don't have first hand knowledge, I think the reply above is very insightful and true about teacher jobs in Georgia for special ed. The job openings are often in urban and lower income schools in the Atlanta metro area and turn over rates in many of these school districts is relatively high. In rural areas, there is lots of poverty as well, so teaching in public schools most anywhere in Georgia would require a level of patience and empathy that I do not personally have. Sadly, I could describing many areas around Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama with similar issues. There are several school teachers in my family who teach all over Georgia (and in some neighboring states) and there are many challenges they face. I do not envy their jobs, but I do admire what they do with kids. It is very tough work, especially in special needs areas.

Maybe if you are still seriously considering the move after doing more research, visit the Atlanta area and/or some smaller tier cities such as Columbus, Macon or Savannah, and see what you think. It seems you are more interested in larger cities than rural areas. Good luck in your decisions.

[harrison21]

Thanks! I work with high-poverty students now (many of whom are also esl) and I don't mind. In fact, I prefer this population over the wealthy population. Last year, I worked in a school with 90% free and reduced lunch and 93% ESL population. I loved it. This year we combined with another school that had mostly white, very wealthy, and an all english as a 1st language population. I don't like it as well at all. I miss the culture of my my old school. In all honestly, I truely do think the high poverty population (both students and parents) is a lot easier to deal with than the wealthy population. Both have their own rewards and challenges, but when all is said and done the "challenges" of the high poverty area are much more appealing than the "challenges" of the the high wealthy area.

[MovedfromFL]

My friend teaches SPED in Bibb County and last year, she told me they laid off several non-tenured sped teachers.

I also spoke to a Principal and he said he received 600 resumes for a middle school teaching job (at a pretty rough school).

Where I used to live up there, they only hired certified teachers for the para-pro jobs because there were so many teachers who were desperate for jobs. Many districts are still in layoff mode. Also, many are going on several years now of 10 furlough days for teachers (including some days where school is cancelled to accomodate the furlough day!)

I'm in FL now. If you are desperate to get out of CO, you could try here (Central FL area - Orange, Osceola, and Lake Counties). Very similar demographics to your current school at many schools in Orange and Lake, esp South Lake.)

No unions in GA and very, very weak (did I mention weak?) in most parts of FL. Pay is frozen in many counties in FL while benefit costs are up $50 a month here. However, due to teacher turnover, we do have jobs in my county (Lake). We also pay the lowest of all the counties I mentioned (thousands less).

Choose wisely. Personally, I would stick it out in CO for now. I would think you would have to interview in person at some point to secure a job, so that's another expense for you.

If CO actually offers the "pay" part of merit pay, you are blessed indeed. FL is trying to implement a plan, but we have no money for raises now, so how will we find any merit pay? It's a joke. (and the state budget is $2 Billion short again, so education will take another big hit)

Sometimes you have to endure cold weather just to get your career rolling (and keep a roof over your head). Oh and all teachers in FL are on annual contract forever now. Keep that in mind too. There may be jobs, but they are often at the roughest schools. I've heard some horror stories from my friends who are teachers of what is going on in Florida classrooms these days. NOT happy times.

[bookworm1963]

There are not a lot of teaching opportunities available, especially in special education. My daughter, who has been out of a job for 2 year now, has been working as an in-home tutor with several students throughout the Atlanta Area. She creates a profile on online sites so families searching for a teacher with particular credentials, specialities, areas of expertise etc. A new one she registered for is called Coviva (http://www.coviva.us/). It's totally free to create a profile which is advertised to families in the area that you specify that you can work in. Hope this helps, good luck!