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Yes, that would be ideal, but isn't that unrealistic to hope for both of us to be hired in the same school or mini-district? I figured it would be more realistic to reach out to a larger area...especially if all of a sudden a principal gets two emails from prospective teachers from NY. Is this incorrect?
Teaching couples are often times preferred over two single people. Rural Hawaii and that is what you are looking at, is a little different. I'm going to speak of Maui because that is where I lived. Which high school serves Paia? Maui high? That can be quite the drive. Haiku may be king K HS which would also serve kula, Makawao, and pukalani as well as all upcountry schools. Is there a HS in Kihei?
Your BF is doing SPED right? Almost every school will have an opening normally. SPED is a a pretty certain job. Just my advise. When looking at rural schools you want to work close to same spot if you are only going to have one car.
On Maui you could live in Kihei or Wailuku or Kahului and be within driving distance of most of the schools on the island.
Honestly when I looked at the openings and saw Hana, I talked with my wife about applying. Lol. I'd love to live in Hana.
Konawaena H and M (located right next to KK'o'E) are in South Kona, as you said. The weather in South Kona is more to my liking (cooler, like you want) and tends to be more of a local population than North Kona; however, the VOG is worse there.
Although I never officially worked in the Kohala-Honoka'a complex, I worked closely with many people there (in the specialist job). If you like much more rural and more isolated, it's a good bet. Plenty of natural beauty. If you like to have more people around and feel a little more "town" like, then go for Kealakehe complex and/or Konawaena complex. One thing to know as you think about where to live and what opportunities are available is that driving times are much longer than they appear by map alone. The terrain, infrastructure, and traffic make a few miles a very long commute sometimes. People do commute long ways, as they do anywhere. I worked with many people who lived in Ocean View because a lot cheaper and commuted to Kailua-Kona or Kohala area daily. I also knew people who commuted from Kailua-Kona to Hilo daily. Long commutes. I was happier to live closer to work
If you can manage, I think your best bet would be to take a trip out, visit various places on the island, and try to meet with principals in the schools where you have some interest.
Thanks for the info! North Kona & Waimea seem ideal. I'm attending the recruitment in NY April & have to stay in NY because of teaching/graduate classes until late July so I have very limited traveling opportunities until then. I assume Hawaii mainly hires for the following year in the late summer (as many NY districts do) so I'm hoping that timing works out. The only other time I could potentially visit would be Spring Break time & I know flights will be very expensive & also the schools will likely be on vacation as well, so it's not ideal timing in that sense. Hopefully contacting individual principals will lead to a conversation somewhere. I am just worried about emailing multiple principles... whether they talk to each other. I would be differentiating my emails to each of them, but I wouldn't want them to feel like I'm trying to get in ANYwhere. Then again, they are busy people & an email from a mainlander doesn't seem like it'd make it into their conversations? lol
Teaching couples are often times preferred over two single people. Rural Hawaii and that is what you are looking at, is a little different. I'm going to speak of Maui because that is where I lived. Which high school serves Paia? Maui high? That can be quite the drive. Haiku may be king K HS which would also serve kula, Makawao, and pukalani as well as all upcountry schools. Is there a HS in Kihei?
Your BF is doing SPED right? Almost every school will have an opening normally. SPED is a a pretty certain job. Just my advise. When looking at rural schools you want to work close to same spot if you are only going to have one car.
On Maui you could live in Kihei or Wailuku or Kahului and be within driving distance of most of the schools on the island.
Honestly when I looked at the openings and saw Hana, I talked with my wife about applying. Lol. I'd love to live in Hana.
Huh... the teaching couple thing sounds pretty awesome right about now lol. We would both be emailing principals with cover letters/resumes & if it is a K-8 building, we would be emailing the same principal. We have different last names so I don't think there'd be a hint that we are together other than the obvious fact that a principal is receiving two emails in the same day from New York residents who have the same alma mater. He does do SPED but he really wants to teach Elementary (he loves 4th grade, but is open to 1-6) which is harder to get a job in from my understanding. We understand that "beggars can't be choosers" but we do have options in NY in terms of employment & we really want to find a district with supportive administration & a sense of community that will give us the opportunity to participate. We are optimistic but also very realistic-- hence all the questions & discussion.
Hana is BEAUTIFUL but I think the isolation would be a bit much, no? I currently live in a rural area in NY & by rural I mean 40 minutes away from shopping/malls/restaurants, etc. We don't go into "the city" (not NYC) very often & we do most of our shopping online. My issue with Hana is that from what I've read, it seems pretty "closed"--generations of families living there & established communities. I feel like if we moved there, we'd feel like outsiders and have difficulty making friends & integrating into the community. For that reason, Waimea & North Kona area seems like it fits the bill in terms of rural beauty & enough people to make friends and participate in the community.
I'm attending the recruitment in NY April & have to stay in NY because of teaching/graduate classes until late July so I have very limited traveling opportunities until then. I assume Hawaii mainly hires for the following year in the late summer (as many NY districts do) so I'm hoping that timing works out.
School for teachers in Hawai'i starts in late July. Some years, the kids start at the very end of July and some years they start in early August. If you are hired, you would likely be notified by the end of the school year (early June) because there is a better idea of how many positions to be filled. The only hiring that usually happens in late July is a rush to fill positions that were not filled for some reason or vacated. This year, for example, teachers started July 23 and kids started July 29.
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I am just worried about emailing multiple principles... whether they talk to each other. I would be differentiating my emails to each of them, but I wouldn't want them to feel like I'm trying to get in ANYwhere. Then again, they are busy people & an email from a mainlander doesn't seem like it'd make it into their conversations?
Oh, they definitely talk to one another. It's a small island that way But it's doubtful they'd talk about your email in particular, so I think you're probably ok Even if you do, you're still focusing on one general region, not spamming the whole island. If you're very impressive via email, it might get mentioned. Some principals are friendlier with other principals and some not so much.
I agree with haolejohn about needing to work in close proximity/same school (or one school on the way to another) if you have just one car, unless for some reason one of you lives within walking distance to the school. I knew people where one partner dropped the other off on the way to work. Since there are very few main roads, it's possible that's what happens. Then you'd both want to live on the same side of the two schools (e.g., north of both schools). But you never know, so it's only a thought at this point. Some middle/elementary are really close to one another (in the Kealakehe complex, middle and el are right next to each other, Konawaena, middle and high are right next to each other and el is down the hill and walkable). And I agree that some administration likes to hire couples because it's more likely that they'll come if BOTH are hired at the same school. Some schools don't like it as much.
Last edited by GraceKrispy; 01-01-2016 at 12:07 PM..
School for teachers in Hawai'i starts in late July. Some years, the kids start at the very end of July and some years they start in early August. If you are hired, you would likely be notified by the end of the school year (early June) because there is a better idea of how many positions to be filled. The only hiring that usually happens in late July is a rush to fill positions that were not filled for some reason or vacated. This year, for example, teachers started July 23 and kids started July 29.
Oh, they definitely talk to one another. It's a small island that way But it's doubtful they'd talk about your email in particular, so I think you're probably ok Even if you do, you're still focusing on one general region, not spamming the whole island. If you're very impressive via email, it might get mentioned. Some principals are friendlier with other principals and some not so much.
I agree with haolejohn about needing to work in close proximity/same school (or one school on the way to another) if you have just one car, unless for some reason one of you lives within walking distance to the school. I knew people where one partner dropped the other off on the way to work. Since there are very few main roads, it's possible that's what happens. Then you'd both want to live on the same side of the two schools (e.g., north of both schools). But you never know, so it's only a thought at this point. Some middle/elementary are really close to one another (in the Kealakehe complex, middle and el are right next to each other, Konawaena, middle and high are right next to each other and el is down the hill and walkable). And I agree that some administration likes to hire couples because it's more likely that they'll come if BOTH are hired at the same school. Some schools don't like it as much.
Yikes!! Thank you so much for the heads up about late July. I don't know why that detail slipped my mind through all this research. I'm speaking with the program director at my college to try & figure out a way for me to finish my coursework by late June/early July at the latest. There's a lot of moving pieces/barriers to get there, so I am trying my best.
In terms of emailing, my concern is that the principals would think I'm trying to "play the field" by sending out a personalized email/resume to each of them and that it makes me seem less genuine about wanting to work at that particular district. On the other hand, it doesn't make sense to only send an email/resume to ONE school, right? Because then all my eggs would be in one basket.
In terms of transportation, I think we are just going to see who gets hired first & the other person will try to sub/work in that district as much as possible, or at a close neighboring one. In terms of us being a couple-- how could I even mention that? I suppose in a phone interview I could, but I'm not sure there's a polite way to mention it in an introductory email lol.
It's just stressful because of the time constraints of my current job/being a student finishing up Masters/not being able to be on-island for the entire process. It feels like if I miss this summer's employment opportunities, I'll have to wait a year for this entire process & I really don't want to do that. Of course, if it comes to that, I will deal with it, but I'm trying to ensure that hopefully one (both, ideally) of us gets hired in Summer of 2016.
Huh... the teaching couple thing sounds pretty awesome right about now lol. We would both be emailing principals with cover letters/resumes & if it is a K-8 building, we would be emailing the same principal. We have different last names so I don't think there'd be a hint that we are together other than the obvious fact that a principal is receiving two emails in the same day from New York residents who have the same alma mater. He does do SPED but he really wants to teach Elementary (he loves 4th grade, but is open to 1-6) which is harder to get a job in from my understanding. We understand that "beggars can't be choosers" but we do have options in NY in terms of employment & we really want to find a district with supportive administration & a sense of community that will give us the opportunity to participate. We are optimistic but also very realistic-- hence all the questions & discussion.
Hana is BEAUTIFUL but I think the isolation would be a bit much, no? I currently live in a rural area in NY & by rural I mean 40 minutes away from shopping/malls/restaurants, etc. We don't go into "the city" (not NYC) very often & we do most of our shopping online. My issue with Hana is that from what I've read, it seems pretty "closed"--generations of families living there & established communities. I feel like if we moved there, we'd feel like outsiders and have difficulty making friends & integrating into the community. For that reason, Waimea & North Kona area seems like it fits the bill in terms of rural beauty & enough people to make friends and participate in the community.
Hana has roads. Our precious school district covered a land area the size of the state of Ohio. There were were less than 200 students in the whole district which had 7 schools. No roads. Hana is a paradise.
You are open minded, but know your limits.
My wife and I introduced ourselves as a teaching couple. We only applied with districts that could hire us both.
Look into it. The district will k ow you will have a support network within your home at least. You two will be splitting costs, which I bet the main reasons teachers leave Hawaii is cost of living and isolation.
Hana has roads. Our precious school district covered a land area the size of the state of Ohio. There were were less than 200 students in the whole district which had 7 schools. No roads. Hana is a paradise.
You are open minded, but know your limits.
My wife and I introduced ourselves as a teaching couple. We only applied with districts that could hire us both.
Look into it. The district will k ow you will have a support network within your home at least. You two will be splitting costs, which I bet the main reasons teachers leave Hawaii is cost of living and isolation.
When you say "introduce" do you mean brought it up during the interview process, or did you explicitly state it when applying for something? It just seems like I'd be narrowing the field if I said we can only teach in a school that has both a secondary English opening and an Elementary opening. I don't have a ton of interviewing experience-- I've only interviewed for something twice (one for a graduate assistantship, once for my current teaching position) and got both jobs. That is positive but I also don't know a lot about the "process" involved in applying, since it seems there's some significant differences from Hawaii & NY in terms of applications.
Also, what is the sub job situation like? Would it be realistic to assume that there's always going to be a school in the upper Kona/Waimea area that needs a sub daily? Where I'm from, subs are always needed, but I don't know if it's like that in upper Big Island.
When you say "introduce" do you mean brought it up during the interview process, or did you explicitly state it when applying for something? It just seems like I'd be narrowing the field if I said we can only teach in a school that has both a secondary English opening and an Elementary opening. I don't have a ton of interviewing experience-- I've only interviewed for something twice (one for a graduate assistantship, once for my current teaching position) and got both jobs. That is positive but I also don't know a lot about the "process" involved in applying, since it seems there's some significant differences from Hawaii & NY in terms of applications.
If I'm not mistaken the whole island is a district. I'm in my tenth year and I don't think there is s problem emailing multiple principals. We introduced ourselves in email as teaching couple.
Hi. Our names are x and y. We are a teaching couple. Then a little more detail.
When I interviewed I was asked what would keep me from taking job. My answer was no job offer for my spouse.
the whole state is one school district, but it's divided into complex areas overseen by local superintendents, and then further into individual complexes. Kaua'i has only one complex area, the rest have two or more. The complex area on Maui that includes Hana also includes Moloka'i and Lana'i (the islands).
I would also indicate that you are coming down together and both looking for jobs. I would definitely contact all schools in which you have an interest. You may not/will not hear from every one of them, and some have less turnover (meaning no job openings). Personalize it to the area/school.
Re: subbing: if you are willing to drive to various schools in N Kona and Waimea areas, you will have better chances, for sure. Teachers generally ask the subs they like to sub before putting it into the system, in order to ensure it is picked up by their first choice (you ask, they say yes, you put it into the system and indicate the sub has already taken the job). That leaves the open jobs as fewer on the online system. Popular subs get the most jobs. It will likely take a bit to become a choice sub, but there are teachers who just put jobs in and don't care who picks up. Follow the plans, leave a nice note that gives the teacher info about what happened, leave your name and contact information, and you will likely get called if the teacher liked it. Hopefully you will get a job and you will have a steady teaching income.
Not a ton of public K-8 schools in the area you are looking, so I'd hate to limit yourself only to those situations, although there are many with the elementary and middle in very close proximity. You didn't mention (or at least I don't remember reading), but I'm assuming you'd also be interested in Waikoloa schools? In between Waimea and Kealakehe, distance-wise.
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I'm attending the recruitment in NY April & have to stay in NY because of teaching/graduate classes until late July so I have very limited traveling opportunities until then. I assume Hawaii mainly hires for the following year in the late summer (as many NY districts do) so I'm hoping that timing works out. The only other time I could potentially visit would be Spring Break time & I know flights will be very expensive & also the schools will likely be on vacation as well, so it's not ideal timing in that sense. Hopefully contacting individual principals will lead to a conversation somewhere. I am just worried about emailing multiple principles... whether they talk to each other. I would be differentiating my emails to each of them, but I wouldn't want them to feel like I'm trying to get in ANYwhere. Then again, they are busy people & an email from a mainlander doesn't seem like it'd make it into their conversations? lol
But it's doubtful they'd talk about your email in particular, so I think you're probably ok 
