Teaching in OC (San Francisco, Santa Ana, Orange: houses, to buy, school districts)

[MommaMel33]

Hi there. My husband and I are looking to relocate to a town in Orange County. We are both teachers, and are wondering if anyone on this board is a teacher as well. What is it like teaching in the districts in OC? We've both taught in San Francisco and various school districts in the Central Valley, and know that the profession can vastly differ across the state.

Also, we have two kids--ages 4 & 2--and are looking for advice on where to settle that would be a good fit for us. We're hoping to buy a home in the next few years under $500K.

Thanks in advance.

[timtemtym]

I teach in LA but have lots of friends who work in OC districts and they seem to love it. Seems like it pays a little more than LA, but also much harder to get jobs! I didn't have any issues since I have special education certifications (multiple areas), but I know quite a few fully certified general education teachers who are long-term subbing for multiple years in the hopes of being next in line for full time employment.

[MommaMel33]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

I teach in LA but have lots of friends who work in OC districts and they seem to love it. Seems like it pays a little more than LA, but also much harder to get jobs! I didn't have any issues since I have special education certifications (multiple areas), but I know quite a few fully certified general education teachers who are long-term subbing for multiple years in the hopes of being next in line for full time employment.

Thanks! I have Mild/Mod credential, highly qualified in English, and also have a general education K-8 credential. I've started applying, but am waiting to see what will pan out for us. My husband has a single-subject English credential, with authorizations for computers/media and journalism, so hopefully that will give him a little leg up. He's also taught EL and Honors' classes for years.

Where do you teach in LA? I've heard LAUSD is a mess--is this your finding? I worked for SFUSD and only could take it a year--too large of a school district with too many varying issues to deal with.

[socalinnorcal]

If you can get a job in an OC district then you'll almost certainly be happy. Most everyone I know who teaches there loves it. That said, the budget crisis in CA hit many of those OC districts H-A-R-D. Capistrano Unified is one that comes to mind. Many of these districts have been pink-slipping for years.... fully-credentialed, experienced teachers are long-term subbing (as a previous poster mentioned) just to get a foot in the door in hopes that they will get hired as a full-time teacher in the next few years. The budget issues are slowly starting to disappear... again, slowly... and things within education are so cyclical so there WILL be a time again that they are looking for lots of teachers. That time is just not now. I'd look into each and every district and see what their situation is. Some are doing fine financially while some are still picking up the pieces from the mess in 2006, 2007 and 2008+. In short, I think the challenge of getting a job in OC as a teacher has more to do with the budget problems than anything else.

[MommaMel33]

Thank you both for your very realistic posts. You both re-affirmed what my hunch: tough school districts to get into, but will be pleased with teaching there if I'm able to break in. I'll continue to try, but may have to stay in the Valley another year or more (if I don't slit my wrists before then--HATE it here!).

[Coldjensens]

Depends in where you teach.

In Central and northern OC, you need to speak Spanish to get a job. There are some excellent schools, but in general the districts tend to lag behind South OC. I had a friend apply in Santa Ana. Her resume said she is Bi-lingual. During the interview she said she speaks English and Dutch and they claimed she lied on her resume. They said Bi-lingual means Spanish and English. Some schools can be rough and full of unmotivated students with uninvolved parents. Other schools are excellent, especially charter schools. Many are in the middle. It varies from school to school as much as distrcit to district.


South OC schools are mostly highly competitive. Bright and motivated students. Helicopter parents. Buidlings are mostly newish and beautiful. Houses cost more.

When we left Santa Ana, we were told a tenured teacher was paid $99,000. I am not sure whether that is salary only or full compensation package. Either way it seems pretty good for 9 months and then you can take a summer job for 2-3 months. No idea what other districts pay or paid. I remember one teacher in Orange said they got $78,000 not sure if that is tenured or not.

[harhar]

Originally Posted by socalinnorcal

If you can get a job in an OC district then you'll almost certainly be happy. Most everyone I know who teaches there loves it. That said, the budget crisis in CA hit many of those OC districts H-A-R-D. Capistrano Unified is one that comes to mind. Many of these districts have been pink-slipping for years.... fully-credentialed, experienced teachers are long-term subbing (as a previous poster mentioned) just to get a foot in the door in hopes that they will get hired as a full-time teacher in the next few years. The budget issues are slowly starting to disappear... again, slowly... and things within education are so cyclical so there WILL be a time again that they are looking for lots of teachers. That time is just not now. I'd look into each and every district and see what their situation is. Some are doing fine financially while some are still picking up the pieces from the mess in 2006, 2007 and 2008+. In short, I think the challenge of getting a job in OC as a teacher has more to do with the budget problems than anything else.

^This.

There have been cuts, furloughs and no pay increases for about 5 years now.

There are "step" raises, but no COLAs.

A Teacher salary in my district starts at 47,150 and can start as high as 60,000 if you have a Ph.D.

I know subs and long term subs still looking for positions, but they just aren't there.

People making close to 100k are either administrators, or people in the district for 20+ years.
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I can't speak to south OC other than the obvious. There's more money down there and more parents that care, but there are some bright spots in northern OC as well. Mostly on the west side Cerritos/Cypress; west of Beach Blvd. And very north/east in Yorba Linda, Brea, Fullerton, Sunny Hills, etc.

There are also the private (Catholic) schools as well in northern OC like Mater Dei and Servite.

For the most part though the rest of north OC is average or below average in terms of parent involvement, and adequate funding.

Again, unfortunately there aren't many positions open at any of these sites really.

Try edjoin.org to look for positions in specific areas if you haven't already.