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Old 11-07-2009, 05:32 PM
 
6 posts, read 16,917 times
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Hello, I am a teacher looking to move to Maine and was just wondering if anyone knew the percentage of current teachers that are near retirement or perhaps the number of currently unemployed teachers. I'm am hoping for some glimpse of a near future need for teachers.

I would also like some opinions about the education master's degree programs at USM. Such as number of students who apply every year, number of students who plan on staying and teaching in Maine or just an opinion from someone who's been through one of the programs.

I know these inquiries aren't easy to answer and I'm probably asking a lot but I thought I would at least give it a try.

Thanks for taking to time
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Old 11-07-2009, 06:27 PM
 
Location: Free Palestine, Ohio!
2,721 posts, read 6,383,551 times
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Here is a Maine.gov link that may help you with the demographics of teachers in our state.
Maine Department of Education - Data Center--Maine Educational Staff Publication
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Old 11-07-2009, 06:28 PM
RHB
 
1,098 posts, read 2,139,716 times
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Do you have an area in Maine in mind?
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Old 11-08-2009, 05:16 AM
 
Location: Waldo County
1,220 posts, read 3,916,473 times
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Maine has had a major shuffling of its public educational system, and the shuffling will continue for a while. The end fall out of this "redistricting" hasn't been completed yet and I think this is a delicate time to be in education in Maine.

Why do you want to move to Maine?

I think a state with larger population and hence more financial security for its education system might be a better choice. Try Massachusetts, for instance. They have a superior retirement program for openers. Teach in Massachusetts and vacation in Maine?
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Old 11-08-2009, 06:21 AM
 
Location: Cashtown, PA
298 posts, read 478,496 times
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Alot of folks here in Mass. work in Mass and vacation/retire in Maine. There are pluses and minuses to either way of doing things. Have to admit our school system is golden here where I live. But what with the economy, even Mass has been hit in the educaton dept. We almost lost our library due to budget cuts and in order to save it ..had to make cuts in various depts including education. Not a real good time to be looking for work in education anywhere but parobably particularly Maine.
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Old 11-08-2009, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,553,788 times
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My wife retired last year as Special Education Director. There is a teacher shortage in Maine and huge numbers of teachers will retire in the next few years. How much experience do you have? School districts usually hire recent graduates because they cost less to employ.
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Old 11-08-2009, 08:52 AM
 
Location: Southwestern Ohio
4,112 posts, read 6,487,930 times
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Welcome to the boards and good luck.
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Old 11-08-2009, 11:01 AM
 
Location: On a Slow-Sinking Granite Rock Up North
3,638 posts, read 6,134,720 times
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Welcome and good luck!

Maine.Info - Maine Teaching Jobs
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Old 11-08-2009, 01:24 PM
 
6 posts, read 16,917 times
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Thanks to 7th generation and reloop for the links, they were very helpful.
Northern Maine Land Man-Thanks for your input, Special education is part of my teaching degree and it's great to hear from those close to the education system.
Acadianlion-I appreciate your "advice" however I feel you are very negative and you appear to not want anyone to move to Maine. I have no desire to live and teach in Ma. A larger population does not equate to more "financial security" which just seems like a silly term when it comes to education for educational systems nationwide have been affected by the recession. Do you have children or know anyone in the education system?
I have several very good reasons for moving to Maine which are my own and I do not wish to share.
Thanks to everyone for your input and I'm still hoping to hear some testimonies regarding the University of Southern Maine's education masters programs.
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Old 11-08-2009, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Waldo County
1,220 posts, read 3,916,473 times
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[quote=polkadotgiraffe;11536274] Acadianlion-I appreciate your "advice" however I feel you are very negative and you appear to not want anyone to move to Maine.

Negative? Ah, no. I'm not negative about moving to Maine at all. I just believe that the majority of posters on this forum who want to move to Maine haven't the slightest idea what Maine is really about and imagine that it is going to be just exactly like whatever part of Generica they want to escape from.

I have no desire to live and teach in Ma. A larger population does not equate to more "financial security" which just seems like a silly term when it comes to education for educational systems nationwide have been affected by the recession.

Oh, really. Most public education systems are funded primarily by property taxes. In Maine, the largest contributor to local education plants are residential property taxes because that is what composes the majority of property taxes in Maine: residences. The reason for that is that Maine has a very narrow commercial and industrial base, and therefore towns and cities have trouble funding all of the expenses, INCLUDING schools. And of course, you are correct in that the recession has made an impact on every element of our social systems nationally. But Maine has a smaller base to begin with, and has recently begun a major retrenchment of its organizational structure, the final chapter of which has yet to be played out. Most of the final chapter will have to do with money, or the lack of it.

Do you have children or know anyone in the education system?

No children. My children are grown and did not grow up in Maine. Yes, in that I do have friends who are in the education system. I also have recent experience in dealing with the Massachusetts State Teachers Retirement System, and can state with some certainty that it is superior in some ways to that offered in Maine. My primary reason for suggesting that you look at other states without Maine's population and economic limitations is that you might do better on a day to day basis in a state whose education system isn't either emersed in, or just recovering from administrative and political turmoil

I have several very good reasons for moving to Maine which are my own and I do not wish to share.

Well, of course, your private reasons are certainly your own. But if there are significant "public" reasons for wanting to move to Maine, then I would probably not have bothered to make an initial comment on your interest. There are many places to move to in this world, and from personal experience I can state that Maine is pretty tough, unless one can move here with complete financial independence. But it is more than that: Maine offers social, geographic and geophysical challenges that many people simply do not know about or have never considered. If you consider my offering to give information about the very real world challenges of life in Maine to people from away as negatism, then I would have to suggest that such limitations to your own curiosities might bode less than well for your students.
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