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My daughter also got a teaching job here too, but I know more certified teachers her age that are unemployed or working in a city school district. Finding a job in a NON-city in Pennsylvania is not easy, but good for you StarlaJane!
I guess I do... I was offered a job there last year.
Congrats that speaks highly of your credentials. What type of district as the urban districts do need teachers especially Harrisburg/Philadelphia etc. What subject area?
* Foreign languages
* Math
* Science
* Special education
* Technology education
There are also teacher shortages in a number of Pennsylvania school districts. Due to a recent spike in retirements and resignations, Philadelphia teachers are particularly in demand. In 2008, the Philadelphia School District started the school year with 166 teaching jobs unfilled, more than double the previous year. Most of these vacancies were in hard-to-fill areas, such as science, math, middle school and bilingual education. If you teach one of these subject areas, becoming a Philadelphia teacher may be a good way to start teaching in Pennsylvania.
Location: Fort Bend County, TX/USA/Mississauga, ON/Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP
Congrats that speaks highly of your credentials. What type of district as the urban districts do need teachers especially Harrisburg/Philadelphia etc. What subject area?
* Foreign languages
* Math
* Science
* Special education
* Technology education
There are also teacher shortages in a number of Pennsylvania school districts. Due to a recent spike in retirements and resignations, Philadelphia teachers are particularly in demand. In 2008, the Philadelphia School District started the school year with 166 teaching jobs unfilled, more than double the previous year. Most of these vacancies were in hard-to-fill areas, such as science, math, middle school and bilingual education. If you teach one of these subject areas, becoming a Philadelphia teacher may be a good way to start teaching in Pennsylvania.
The above is from the link
What an informative helpful website
I'm especially looking @ the city of Philadelphia...or maybe Baltimore/NOVA/DC schools but Philly is #1 on my list...for the East Coast. Does Philadelphia offer a teaching fellows program by any chance?
I'm especially looking @ the city of Philadelphia...or maybe Baltimore/NOVA/DC schools but Philly is #1 on my list...for the East Coast. Does Philadelphia offer a teaching fellows program by any chance?
Forget NOVA and you are on the right tract. Speaking of Fellows programs Philadelphia was big on the list of cities doing such. The person who ran the program is now the Superintendent of the DC schools and a key communicator with the President on education. Michelle Rhee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Professional life
Rhee taught in Baltimore, Maryland as a recruit of Teach For America for three years. In 1997 she founded the New Teacher Project, a non-profit organization which works with needy school districts to recruit and train new teachers. In ten years, the New Teacher Project has expanded to forty programs in twenty states and recruited more than 10,000 teachers.
Through the DC Teaching Fellows program, Washington, D.C. participated in the New Teacher Project, and was successful in recruiting highly qualified applicants.[5] On June 12, 2007, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that he had chosen Rhee to replace superintendent of D.C. public schools Clifford Janey and become the schools' new chancellor. Rhee initially rebuffed Fenty's offer, but relented when promised wide latitude and significant authority in decision-making as well as strong mayoral support for her proposed initiatives.[6][7][8][9][10]
Rhee has served on the advisory boards for the National Council on Teacher Quality,[11] National Center for Alternative Certification, and Project REACH.[citation needed] She was a special guest of First Lady Laura Bush at President George W. Bush's 2008 State of the Union address.[12]
She is the guru of and you may want to consider DC as a priority.
Congrats that speaks highly of your credentials. What type of district as the urban districts do need teachers especially Harrisburg/Philadelphia etc. What subject area?
* Foreign languages
* Math
* Science
* Special education
* Technology education
There are also teacher shortages in a number of Pennsylvania school districts. Due to a recent spike in retirements and resignations, Philadelphia teachers are particularly in demand. In 2008, the Philadelphia School District started the school year with 166 teaching jobs unfilled, more than double the previous year. Most of these vacancies were in hard-to-fill areas, such as science, math, middle school and bilingual education. If you teach one of these subject areas, becoming a Philadelphia teacher may be a good way to start teaching in Pennsylvania.
The above is from the link
I was offered a job in a suburb of Philly in foreign language.
It certainly isn't easy to find a job ANYWHERE right now, but it definitely helps to figure out which geographic areas specifically need your subject area.
I have found that PA, MA and MD school districts will work with teachers of critical shortage areas who are not certified and who want to teach.
My fav is MA. I have found the MassDOE to be very cooperative; they are very welcoming and try to make the certification process as uncomplicated as possible. If a district wants you, they'll make it happen. And the schools offer tuition reimbursement for the classes that you are required to take for certification (as well as some very nice starting salaries.) The only thing that keeps me out of MA are the taxes. But then, that is why they are able to offer teachers higher salaries, tuition reimbursement and a better educational system in general. A bit ironic, but there it is.
I was offered a job in a suburb of Philly in foreign language.
It certainly isn't easy to find a job ANYWHERE right now, but it definitely helps to figure out which geographic areas specifically need your subject area.
I have found that PA, MA and MD school districts will work with teachers of critical shortage areas who are not certified and who want to teach.
My fav is MA. I have found the MassDOE to be very cooperative; they are very welcoming and try to make the certification process as uncomplicated as possible. If a district wants you, they'll make it happen. And the schools offer tuition reimbursement for the classes that you are required to take for certification (as well as some very nice starting salaries.) The only thing that keeps me out of MA are the taxes. But then, that is why they are able to offer teachers higher salaries, tuition reimbursement and a better educational system in general. A bit ironic, but there it is.
Having a plan is always the best way and is quite often successful.
Foreign language is much different than other teaching areas when finding a teaching job in PA. Lots of districts are having trouble finding teachers for foreign language.
Overall though, PA is very difficult to find a teaching job. I know many people in elementary ed, phys. ed, history and even some in secondary math that cannot find a full time teaching job after subbing for 2 years. It's very competetive and often comes down to who you know when trying to find a job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarlaJane
I was offered a job in a suburb of Philly in foreign language.
It certainly isn't easy to find a job ANYWHERE right now, but it definitely helps to figure out which geographic areas specifically need your subject area.
I have found that PA, MA and MD school districts will work with teachers of critical shortage areas who are not certified and who want to teach.
My fav is MA. I have found the MassDOE to be very cooperative; they are very welcoming and try to make the certification process as uncomplicated as possible. If a district wants you, they'll make it happen. And the schools offer tuition reimbursement for the classes that you are required to take for certification (as well as some very nice starting salaries.) The only thing that keeps me out of MA are the taxes. But then, that is why they are able to offer teachers higher salaries, tuition reimbursement and a better educational system in general. A bit ironic, but there it is.
Foreign language is much different than other teaching areas when finding a teaching job in PA. Lots of districts are having trouble finding teachers for foreign language.
Overall though, PA is very difficult to find a teaching job. I know many people in elementary ed, phys. ed, history and even some in secondary math that cannot find a full time teaching job after subbing for 2 years. It's very competetive and often comes down to who you know when trying to find a job.
Wow! That is really disheartening to hear.
It really surprises me about math, as I see so many postings for math (and also for foreign language.)
Yes, foreign lang is different, although it is still very competitive, as most lang teachers are competing with foreigners for jobs and a lot of schools prefer to hire native speakers (which I am not.)
I have definitely seen a change in the last year with respect to need, perhaps due to a curb in immigration; I know that some schools were hiring native speakers on work visas, which can be problematic. One can run into problems with certification, but as I previously stated, if there is a shortage or need, and the school really wants you, then they will make it happen (at least, that has been my experience.)
I think the key to foreign lang job acquisition is to speak the language well (native fluency), to have a bachelor's or preferably master's from a reputable university, study abroad experience and some teaching experience (tutoring, part-time, student teaching, etc.)
But the key really is applying to the places that need you, and doing TONS of research with respect to states, schools, districts, certification, etc. so that you can figure out where you are going to be successful. Oh, and not getting discouraged also helps
But it is always difficult when you are limited, whether by geography or other factors; that really puts the ball in someone else's court.
Wow! That is really disheartening to hear.
It really surprises me about math, as I see so many postings for math (and also for foreign language.)
Yes, foreign lang is different, although it is still very competitive, as most lang teachers are competing with foreigners for jobs and a lot of schools prefer to hire native speakers (which I am not.)
I have definitely seen a change in the last year with respect to need, perhaps due to a curb in immigration; I know that some schools were hiring native speakers on work visas, which can be problematic. One can run into problems with certification, but as I previously stated, if there is a shortage or need, and the school really wants you, then they will make it happen (at least, that has been my experience.)
I think the key to foreign lang job acquisition is to speak the language well (native fluency), to have a bachelor's or preferably master's from a reputable university, study abroad experience and some teaching experience (tutoring, part-time, student teaching, etc.)
But the key really is applying to the places that need you, and doing TONS of research with respect to states, schools, districts, certification, etc. so that you can figure out where you are going to be successful. Oh, and not getting discouraged also helps
But it is always difficult when you are limited, whether by geography or other factors; that really puts the ball in someone else's court.
All of your points are excellent. Because of the economy and the great difficulty in selling your house teachers are not relocating or changing careers. Evidently the retirement wave in Pennsylvania has crested. The real challenge finding a job in much of the state is the way the schools for the most part are organized. Most districts are small one high school districts or perhaps a combination of a couple of consolidated townships. That makes it really hard as you have to apply to so many and nepotism is rampant. Many districts participate in regional hiring partnerships and the lines at job fairs for them is long. Many young teachers in the smaller districts are advised not to live where they work. You don't want to run into the superintendent in the supermarket and have shorter shorts on then they might approve of. Many college grads in PA are reluctant to move away from home and when they can't find a job in their limited geographic area they sub and can do so for years. There is a major mismatch between the demographics of teacher education graduates in Pennsylvania and the demographics of the cities in Pennsylvania and the school districts in the surrounding states. Many a parent says no when their darling graduate says they would like to move to Baltimore to teach. Many of those who do return in short order.
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