teaching job/ living in philly suburbs (Philadelphia, Scranton: apartment, to rent, high crime)

[Ashley9216]

I am from NEPA and am trying to find a place to rent an apartment/ teach in or near the suburbs of philly. I have a few questions....
Does anyone have a list of safe, affordable suburbs near philly, even if that includes in New Jersey...?
And also, does anyone know of any areas that may have teacher shortages in the philly or in jersey near philly?

[Ashley9216]

Are there any areas within a 50 mile radius of Philadelphia with a known teacher shortage, that are NOT inner city/ high crime areas??

[Tangled Threads]

Special ed jobs all around. What are you certified in?

[frankgn87]

teacher shortage? My wife and I are in education and I can't think of any area that has a shortage, unfortunately. This is a great area for teachers as it pays well. I would start the job search first and then figure on the location to live depending on where you land.. Look at charter schools. Better teaching conditions and kids that want to learn.. Good luck.. BTW- Jersey pays even more then Philly but its harder to get into a school over here due to that..

[toobusytoday]

Ashley, Your best bet for teacher openings is in the city schools but as you've found out, "teacher shortages" is no longer a phrase that's bandied around much any more. The suburbs around Philadelphia have excellent schools and no lack of applicants.

[bambiying]

If you are certified for elem. ed, then no, there are no shortages. If you hold a specialty cert., like for math or science or a language, you may be able to find something. There are openings in Philly for things like that, but not in the best areas. Have you checked on pareap.net for openings in the area?

[toobusytoday]

Ashley, If you are a graduate of a Pennsylvania school with a major in education, you must know that PA graduates hundreds of ed majors every year and most want to stay right in the state. The majority also do not want to teach in the city. The teachers that get jobs, at least in my school district, do not leave unless a spouse gets a job in another area or until they retire. Even harder to hire positions, like a physics teacher, would probably have a couple of dozen applicants. Also, many districts are having hiring freezes and budget cuts. Not a pretty picture.

[Bailey66]

I am a teacher in suburban Philadelphia and I can tell you that getting a job is very difficult unless you have a connection. I just spoke to our HR guy last week because I am leaving (My husband was transferred to Charlotte) and he told me that even my position would not be filled because of cost cutting. It must be extremely frustrating for new hires. I would consider looking at a private school although the pay is not so hot. Good Luck!

[kas141]

Ashley, I am a NEPA transplant teaching in a suburban Philadelphia school district. I got a job in the area 10 years ago, when population was exploding. At the time, my district was hiring 200+ new teachers per year in every certification area, but now the budget crisis is so awful EVERYWHERE that no one is hiring, and positions are actually being cut (population growth has leveled off).

If you want to teach in the Philly area, you will HAVE to teach in the city, or in a private/Catholic school, at least for a few years or until the budget crisis is resolved. Also, reconsider staying in the NEPA area if at all possible. If I didn't have so much time invested in my career here and family roots already planted, I would head back to the area in a heartbeat. It is a completely different dynamic down here (not necessarily a bad one, just different), both work-wise and people-wise, and it does take some time to get used to. Not to mention, the cost of living down here is INSANE compared to the Scranton/WB area.