Demand for Elementary Teachers?

[cfree]

Especially this year or next...due to Arnold's budget cuts. With tenure in a prior district, 10 plus years in experience but only 3.5 here layoffs are hitting everybody. Whoever says "we need teachers" is full of crap. SD County stands to lose 1,000's of teachers, plus they're treating us like carp. Don't even bother and stay where you are, or, go somewhere else. Maybe Vegas, or the inland empire, a very hot booming CA undesirable area. I know teachers with multiple credentials and 15+ years WHO are being laid off. Can't say more...just look elsewhere!

Sorry

[jsant5]

schools cutting back and many got Pink slips this past month

[GratefulDeb]

What if you look to teach in a private school instead of San Diego Unified? Are the chances better of getting a job then? I am moving in July with my daughter who will be a new college grad with a degree in elementary and special ed with a concentration in history. Can she at least substitute until she finds something? Any help would be really appreciated. I feel bad because it is my dream to move and she could have had a good job back here in NJ but she is coming with me. What do you think her options are?

[Snort]

Deb,
Right now is not a good time for teachers in CA. Nevertheless, what districts are proposing is untenable. Class sizes are already brimming to capacity for 4th grade and up. You can't let go of so many teachers and not have class sizes of over 40 kids per class. First of all, they won't fit in the classrooms, and then there's the legal limit problem to overcome. I'm guessing that Arnold finds the money somewhere to fund the bare minimum of teachers.
I've noticed in my district that there won't be any cut to the administration clique, but that's another issue.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by GratefulDeb

I am moving in July with my daughter who will be a new college grad with a degree in elementary and special ed with a concentration in history. Can she at least substitute until she finds something? Any help would be really appreciated. I feel bad because it is my dream to move and she could have had a good job back here in NJ but she is coming with me. What do you think her options are?

Generally speaking most of the first-year teachers get their positions via the internship programs. My wife, for example, was a working teacher 2 years before she actually graduated. You have not mentioned whether or not your daughter is credentialed - without a CA credential she will have to jump through additional hoops.

Private schools are an option but they do not pay as well nor do they have the excellent benefits. The reality is that most teachers who work in private schools do so to get free educations there for their own children.

Now, you mentioned special ed. My wife is a special ed teacher in an inner city school and did *not* receive a layoff notice. That tells you something about the demand. Even so, my wife may have to go back to a different school in a couple of years after she takes off to have our baby. It is an extremely tough situation for teachers right now, especially first year teachers without master's degrees and without bilingual skills.

The school funding will come through at the last minute but it really might be the first day of school before it's all said and done. I would say that your daughter is facing a very, very tough situation right now. But not impossible. She should be planning and researching now, talking to districts county-wide, because it's probably going to be too late once summer vacation starts.

[LHudson]

In Texas, I'm certified to teach English and speech grades 6-12 and Special Education ec-12. Today, I sent off all the paperwork to gain my credentialing in CA and now I'm reading this thread. Why did I even bother to rush? This is a bummer. As any teacher knows, class size makes all the difference. The teachers who DIDN'T get laid off have their jobs cut out for them next year. What a mess!

[GratefulDeb]

My daughter is taking the CBEST on April 12th. They are offering it in NYC. Also, she will not be moving out to SD unitl January 2009 because she is student teaching here in NJ to finish her degree. My question is, do you think she can substitute for the rest of the 2009 school year and also look for something permanent for the beginning of 2009-2010 school year? When I researched these boards about a year ago, I read that the need for teachers in california would be doubling over the next ten years. That is one of the reasons we are making the move because my other daughter will be going to SDSU for teaching also. It is too late for us to turn back now. I feel bad that she will have trouble finding work now

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by GratefulDeb

That is one of the reasons we are making the move because my other daughter will be going to SDSU for teaching also. It is too late for us to turn back now. I feel bad that she will have trouble finding work now

If she goes through the SDSU program she will certainly find something.