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Old 07-29-2010, 09:40 PM
 
38 posts, read 91,281 times
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I want to move to Texas next school year. I am looking for the best school district to try to find a job. I have an Elementary MS license and will be applying for my Texas license. I have endorsements in Biology, General Science, and Social Studies. I know that many districts have been cutting positions but we still want some information. What is the district, the pay for a new teacher, how hard is it to get a job there, and anything else that you can think that would be information for me to know. I am really interested in the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas.
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Old 07-29-2010, 09:55 PM
 
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When transferring into Texas, you start off at the base minimum of the salary schedule, which is $27,320 for 10 months. After a year teaching, it goes up to $27,910. HTH some.
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Old 07-29-2010, 09:59 PM
 
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Even when you are in a district that has a different base salary then the state??? Like on Houstons website they list the pay and the starting pay is way different than that. New teacher needs some help understanding this.

Last edited by shoebottom; 07-29-2010 at 10:30 PM..
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Old 07-29-2010, 10:56 PM
 
Location: WA
5,286 posts, read 7,577,932 times
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The base minimum Melissa cites is the minimum salary mandated by state law. Generally only the very rural small districts pay that low of salaries. In the 3 cities you cite starting salaries for new teachers will be between $40,000 and $45,000 depending on the district. In my own district in suburban Waco the starting salary for teachers with no experience is $40,000 and there are additional stipends on top of that for having a masters degree ($1000) and between $2000 and $4000 for hard to fill specialties like secondary math and science, special ed, and ELL.

As for which city to move to? I just got back from a AP teachers workshop in San Antonio and talked with a lot of different teachers from around the state. My own perception is that Houston is probably going to be your best bet as teaching jobs have tightened up substantially in DFW and San Antonio over the past couple years. But that's just a perception, I could be wrong. Teaching jobs are going to be much harder to find than previously, but if you want to teach then Texas is probably as good of a place as any to be looking for work these days. You'll want to go to the TEA web site and educate yourself on all the Texas certification requirements and you are behind the curve on applying for jobs so that might mean spending a year working as a sub.

No one is going to hire you long distance. You're just going to have to show up and start looking and be very flexible as to the type of school and teaching you are going to do. Often the last positions hired are positions like working at alternative schools (kids on long-term detention) and that sort of thing. I expect there will be some that will come on here with stories about doom and gloom about teaching in Texas but there is always huge turnover in most Texas districts compared to places like Oregon or Wisconsin where teachers stay put and never leave until retirement. So frankly I don't know of any place else in the US where the situation is better for teaching jobs except perhaps the upper plains states like North Dakota.
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Old 07-30-2010, 06:50 AM
 
38 posts, read 91,281 times
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I will not be moving until the 2011-2012 school year. I really dont want to move without a job in place, will that make impossible to get an interview or anything. I would be wanting to work in a place that offers some help with paying student loans. Even if it is in a high level Science class.
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Old 07-30-2010, 10:01 AM
 
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I would be wanting to work in a place that offers some help with paying student loans. Even if it is in a high level Science class.
as a newbie teacher you are probably going to get the least desireable science assignment--and have multiple preps--
"high level science" meaning AP classes usually go to teachers who have been there longer and earned better class of students...

I don't know if you mean earn enough in salary that you can repay your loans or that you expect a special forgiveness for loans because of where you teach--I had that situation when I graduated in the 70s because I had what was called a Student Defense Loan and if I taught in Title 1 schools I got money written off--which I did--taught in inner-city Houston

not sure what the situation is now because I think that type of loan is pretty much obsolete...

you should run a search on the Texas board and all major city boards like Houston/Dallas/FTW/San Antonio for
teaching jobs--
you will get lots of hits
read them--good information even if there is repetition--mainly because people keep posting the same questions over and over asking if they can get a job teaching...

you will have out of state certification that is not recognized by Tx--you need to check the state site and see if your state has reciprocity and if not how to go about getting a temporary status that will allow you to be hired/teach while you work on your Texas certifications

Middle school and high school science has been area where jobs have opened up--the state has mandated 4 years of science vs 3 which has caused schools to hire more science teachers...
that wont continue for new hire spots after this year probably--
replacements will be more problematic because they depend on ongoing student numbers--if enrollments drop then fewer teachers will be required...

there are areas in DFW where there is new growth and new schools which mean significant numbers of teachers are needed but sometimes not as many "new" teachers as you might think since student enrollment is moved from old school to new school and teachers already hired follow that movement...

the north suburbs like Allen, Frisco, Prosper, Murphy
in FTW the Northwest ISD has seen growth and built/is bulding new schools

many larger districts like FTW ISD are in financial hurt--

you can google for financial issues for various districts

Texas has state divided into regions--each region has web site that lists all public ISDs in that zone--usually has link to job openings as well

Spring in April is when lots of openings for next year might be known and new jobs posted/hired but also right before school starts in August when some vacancies show up
most hiring fairs are in May--many of them are on the same day which makes getting to more than one really difficult
most of them are cattle calls and often people do not get a true interview--
some districts have gone to invitation-only job fairs--where they send specific interview apps to people who have registered on their web sites
all disticts want you to do that initially---and they are normally screening OUT more apps than they ask to come in

regarding salaries--starting teachers in the HEB ISD--area between Dallas and FTW near DFW airport is supposed to have a 48 or 49K starting salary for entry level teachers--there is usually lot of competition in my area (mid-cities DFW) for which district will have highest starting salary--a one-ups-manship kind of thing--as the district suppliments the state minimum...
but paying such a high entry level means that the local districts get thousands of apps each year--not just from new teachers but from experienced ones in other less-desireable districts
so there is TREMENDOUS competition to get jobs in these districts in Region 11
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Old 07-30-2010, 10:43 AM
 
Location: WA
5,286 posts, read 7,577,932 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shoebottom View Post
I will not be moving until the 2011-2012 school year. I really don't want to move without a job in place, will that make impossible to get an interview or anything? I would be wanting to work in a place that offers some help with paying student loans. Even if it is in a high level Science class.
Most likely yes. As a new teacher you are EXTREMELY unlikely to be hired without interviewing in person and depending on the district and school they may want you back for multiple interviews before making a hiring decision. Some places I applied to had an initial screening interview and then I was called back for a committee interview with the principal, department head, etc.

I'm also not sure you'll be able to finish getting your Texas license without being here. One of the steps is getting fingerprinted and you have to use their private vender who does the fingerprints and they are only set up on certain days in certain cities.

If you were to look for work in a major metro area like Houston you are looking at possibly applying to upwards of 50 different school districts in the greater Houston area and being available for interviews when they come up. Each district operates on its own schedule and positions are always coming open at random times. You really have to be here to conduct a meaningful job search. 5 years ago when districts had a much harder time finding applicants some districts would head out of state to hiring fairs in places like Oklahoma to recruit out of state applicants. Those days are over.
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Old 07-30-2010, 12:02 PM
 
Location: Long Beach, California
354 posts, read 708,549 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melissa78703 View Post
When transferring into Texas, you start off at the base minimum of the salary schedule, which is $27,320 for 10 months. After a year teaching, it goes up to $27,910. HTH some.
No...I am starting at 43,000...(I have my masters..) this is at a charter school and they normally pay less--otherwise the starting salaries at most schools with a B.A. is around that much.
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Old 07-30-2010, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 30,993,781 times
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I am not a teacher so I have no personal experience with this. But many school districts (most?) in Texas post their pay scales.

Lake Travis ISD in Austin has starting pay at $42,734 for a Masters degree with 0 years of experience.

Lake Travis ISD | Human Resource Services (http://www.ltisdschools.org/123310531131051760/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=280115&C=55046 - broken link)

I assume that similar school districts in the Austin area pay similarly.
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Old 07-30-2010, 06:56 PM
 
38 posts, read 91,281 times
Reputation: 20
Thank you for helping me. Keep the tips coming. The responses are so helpful.
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