Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are both teacher - he has taught 6-8 grade (math, science, language arts, ELL) and I've taught HS French.
We are considering a move to Hawaii in several years, after I hit 20 years and my pension will be maxed out. I won't be able to draw from it for 17 more years, but I will have it set aside for the future.
I also run a web-based business. It is smallish for the moment but it is growing fairly quickly and hopefully by that time it will replace his teaching income and part of mine.
The web stuff can be done from anywhere, so that's easy to move - and gives us some income even if it takes a while to find something else on the island.
What is the job situation like for teachers? I'm thinking there isn't a huge demand for French teachers, but you never know...I tried looking on the DOE website but couldn't find any job listings at all so I have no idea what the situation is really like. I've heard that it is hard to find teachers in Hawaii, but I've also heard that they pay teachers pretty poor wages. I know I'd be taking a big pay cut since even if I found a teaching job, I'd only get 6 years of my experience on the pay scale.
We have three kids - ages 6, 11 and 11. I'm thinking we might be better off waiting until the older two are out of high school, but if the opportunity is there and things work out that may not happen. Our initial plan was to move after we retire but honestly, my husband is miserable living in AZ and he'd rather have a lower standard of living but be in Hawaii than all the money in the world and live in AZ. He's originally from Poland, so the hot weather doesn't get along too well with him.
Don't know the situation for you getting teaching jobs, but PLEASE take some time to look through forum postings on the quality of education in Hawaii in regards to your children. There have been many discussions on how bad the schools are, both from an education level and from a discrimination-against-haole level. I don't know how anyone would still want to bring their kids here, especially teachers who understand the value of a good education. You would be better off waiting until all of the kids are out of high school.
If your husband is miserable living in AZ, find somewhere else on the mainland where he would be happier. There are plenty of places in other states that have good schools for your kids. Pursue your Hawaiian dreams after all of your kids graduate unless you can afford to send them to one of the private schools that have been discussed on the forum.
New, non-experienced teachers do receive low pay but it actually rises quickly. Most of the teachers at the high school near me are making $60k to $75k.
About the "discrimination-against-haole level" at schools, we certainly aren't seeing it. The best thing for any kid in any new to them school to do is to get immediately involved in a sport. It gives immediate respect here and lets the student make friends of all nationalities/ethnicities.
New, non-experienced teachers do receive low pay but it actually rises quickly. Most of the teachers at the high school near me are making $60k to $75k.
I'm currently at $70K with 16 years of experience and a masters + 30. How quickly does it rise? From what I could tell, I'd start at $48K but the salary schedule online doesn't show anything else.
What about special ed programs? My son is legally blind but still able to attend regular school (he has very low vision, but it's enough to read, write, etc). He's got a good vision person now that works with him but I have no idea what the high school situation will be.
Sadly, I wan to add that we currently live in one of the few places that might be worse for education than HI! We are consistently in the bottom 5 out of all US states for per-pupil spending, pretty low for achievement as well. HI just got the race to the top grant so perhaps they will be an IMPROVEMENT over what we currently have!
I read about a wonderful public charter school on the Big Island named Mala'ai. I think it's a middle school, which would be right for your 11 year olds. They have a huge garden and the children learn all about growing their own meals, "Farm to Fork". Sounds like fun.
I think Arizona has really messed up their priorities with their new law about questioning anyone who looks "illegal". I agree with your husband. I wouldn't want to hang around there with my kids/family, even if I am white.
I'm currently at $70K with 16 years of experience and a masters + 30. How quickly does it rise? From what I could tell, I'd start at $48K but the salary schedule online doesn't show anything else.
What about special ed programs? My son is legally blind but still able to attend regular school (he has very low vision, but it's enough to read, write, etc). He's got a good vision person now that works with him but I have no idea what the high school situation will be.
I suggest if your son is doing well where he is don't uproot him on the understanding that Hawaii got some grant money and will implement better programs. Special ed in the public schools here is contingent on the school.
Serious consideration needs to be taken before changing kids environment; especially if they are disabled.
When I went to HS in Hawaii back in the 80's , I saw 3 Haole teachers beat up pretty bad.
I never saw that in college, though one of my instructors woke up to a dead cat tied to his windshield wiper and a dead dove shoved in his gas tank.... All because he made mistake of asking his students to not refer to each other by their race.
We've been discussing it further and we'd really like to be able to move NOT contingent upon needing jobs. I've got 4 more years to put in here, then its' up in the air. That's 4 more years to grow my business - and if we get it to he point where it's bringing in enough to cover living expenses, we may make the move and not be concerned with finding jobs on the island. But I still am a bit concerned about my own kids' schooling, especially with the vision issues.
The DOE is the main difficulty teachers have in relocating. Plus there is a huge transplant shock most new folks go through and being a teacher puts them at ground zero for interaction with local folks. A teacher asking kids not to refer to the other kids by their ethnicity is pushing a whole lot of the wrong cultural buttons although I doubt the relocated mainland person would even be aware of them. Hawaii has it's own ways which are not the way things are done on the mainland and Hawaii is extremely resistant about changing, especially since it especially doesn't want to change and be like the mainland. People pay thousands of dollars to come here on vacation because we aren't like the mainland, so shouldn't that give folks who want to change Hawaii a clue?
Pauuilo school on the Big Island gets good reviews and they have a very robust garden/ag line of teaching, too. I don't know if they need teachers frequently, but if you called the principals of Pauuilo, Laupahoehoe or Honokaa and found employment with one of those three schools, you'd be able to live in the Pauuilo area and have your kids go there. All these are pretty rural schools, though. Waimea Elementary would be another employment option although house rents are higher there.
My DH teaches high school in Hawaii. He has over a decade of teaching here, mainland experience too, and makes just under $60K. However, teachers in Hawaii get a lot of community respect so that is a plus. He also likes the kids at his school and enjoys teaching here. He says it is very different than mainland schools, though. He had a mentor when he first started teaching at the school he's at now who he learned loads from. If you were to teach over here, I'm sure you could get together with him and he'd give you loads of teacher advice. Getting more than one teacher together with another one invariably seems to turn to teacher talk so it wouldn't be hard.
I can't help you with the blind assistance program, although a lot of the special needs kids seem to have aides to help them through the day.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
