How is the job market for teachers? (Atlanta, Savannah: school district, salary)

[harrison21]

I currently live in Colorado (relocated from OH for a job) and I really hate the area- one big reason being an insuffrable 8-9 month winter and I'm not a skiier/snowboarder. I'm looking at various places all around the southern east coast. I have read up a little bit on your forums, but couldn't find anything about the job market. So I figured before I even started researching the area, I would ask if there's even a chance I could find a good job (in many places the teaching market is impossible to get into now).

I currently teach special education for students with mild/moderate disabilities in k-5. I'm willing to do any elementary grade, but I do want to stay in the mild/moderate realm. I also do have a license for regular education k-3. This is my 2nd year teaching. I don't have a masters degree- only a bachelor's. I have excellent references and good data to show growth in my students. My current school demographic is pretty strange- we're about 50% extremely wealthy students and 50% extremely poor students, so I have experience with both. Before I even go further, what are the chances I'd find a teaching job in the Savannah area? Thanks!

[ellie]

https://jobpostings.savannah.chatham...bPostings.aspx

I hope this helps. You may have to click a link on the page this sends you to.

[bellhead]

[mod]orphaned[mod]

Check out the link above, the good thing is the school system is unionized "I believe" so the pay and such are pretty descent.

[TRC2k11]

BstYet2Be,

My apologies. I don't see how a telling a teacher how good and bad schools are is off topic when the teacher is looking for a job in said area.

I know if I was looking for a job the environment of said job would most certainly factor in my decision.

Have a nice day.

[harrison21]

Thanks for the link! I see there are some positions open, and given that it's mid-year I'm guessing that generally means there are a lot of open positions (since most jobs would be posted for next school year?) The reason I ask is that I know in OH you'll see a fair amount of open positions, but what someone may not know is that there are literally 2,000-4,000 people applying for a single teaching job. Here in Colorado, there's only about 30 people applying for each job, so the market is great but I want to get out. Does anyone know how competitive it is in your area? I might just post a topic in the general georgia forum too, since I need to decide if I'd want to apply for your state's license. From my first research it looks as if the Savannah area would be the area I'd like the best, but it's always best to look everywhere too. I wasn't sure if Georgia was a union state- that's very good to know. OH is, but CO isn't- and I've seen some HUGE differences (negatively) in CO because of it. That would be a big plus.

[midgeorgiaman]

As to unions, I can't speak to the Savannah-Chatham school district, but the overwhelming majority of Georgia teachers are not unionized. The only district that I am aware of that has a union is the Atlanta city schools and there power is limited in a right to work state. There is no union statewide and GA will be much more like CO than OH. Just thought I needed to clear that up quickly.

[bellhead]

Here's a link to the pay scale. Determining your starting point on the scale is the hard point.

http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12...cherScales.pdf

[harrison21]

Thanks- sorry should have said this before- CO is actually the lowest in the nation in regards to teacher pay, so I have nowhere to go but up. I'm not sure what everything stands for on that scale, but even if I started at the very beginning (which I might, since my experience is in another state?) I'd actually be making more than I'd make at my current school.

[bellhead]

Your experience should count. But they have no rules or explanation in their pay chart. Some of the jobs my wife looked at told you where you would be starting in reference to your experience and degrees.

[912]

Right now is a bad time to teach in GA. Schools statewide, including here, are laying off. Property tax collections, the main source of funding, continue to plummet. I'd wait at least 5 years before considering GA, regardless of your qualifications. There's a line of local teachers ahead of you waiting to get back to work.