jetflo19: How can my wife find an elementary teaching job in the Dallas area?
We are relocating to the the Dallas area, more specifically McKinney. My wife has applied at over 20 districts in and around Dallas in hopes of getting interviewed for a job. Unfortunately we are now close to July and she has received no phone calls. She has been attempting to visit schools and talk to principles but has not received a lot of attention from the schools. Is she doing something wrong or are we doing something wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. My wife is a terrific person as well as caring teacher and has great recommendations from her previous school.
Answers and Views:
Answer by kwess06
It wouldn’t hurt for your wife to call the board of education districts that she originally applied at or the school it’s self. Many times the open positions are filled before the summer; however, she may fall into a long term teaching position. I would recommend that she call the places back, especially the board of education.
We would like to hear from other who live and perhaps even work for the school systems. We would appreciate any input as this move is not one we are taking lightly. We live and work in Tampa right now, and the cost of living is extremely high compared to what a teacher makes (we both have 4 years of experience, and we barely break over $ 36,000, while a decent home -about 2000-2200 square feet is what we consider decent- is at least $ 300,000 unless you are willing to live 30 miles out). Needless to say, it is beyond our reach. Dallas seems to have better pay, more affordability in homes, and as my mid-western raised wife says, nicer, kinder people.Answer by ldp
It is unlikely there will be many openings now, maybe for next year
Consider also teachers are being let go, the impact of the economic situation on education particularly employment
She can call board members
Visit school and hear from the students where the school is short in teacher, who sick or dead or not returning
Visit principals of school so they can connect face and name
Visit kindergarten connected to other school and help them make the connection as well as other level of school, including the college/university, people there can recommend also
Don’t forget the role of parents, they can help so even before the entry into the school get to know some parents. Grocery, market in area where the schools you have applied are and chat. They know a lot where there are openings
Volunteer for a one day something in a school or two, your skills will be recognized
Don’t pick and choose send application everywhere
Time to network and smoochAnswer by Brhee
Whether or not your wife hears from the districts she has applied with is going to depend on a couple of factors. The first being what her certification is in, and whether or not it is from Texas. If she does not have a TEXAS teaching certification, you will need to have her check with the State Board of Education to see what needs to be done to have her licensed here.
This could be as simple as taking the ExCet test or could require more effort. She probably will be able to get an emergency certification if she is in an area that teachers are desperately needed in. This will get her one year to fulfill the requirements of SBEC (State Board of Educator Certification). Call or check with them if this is the case.
The second thing that may be holding your wife back is the date. The cut off date for teachers to put in their resignations in Texas is usually around the 7th of July. That means that all of the early positions (the ones which the administrators knew about at the end of the school year) have been filled. The administrators cannot fill the others until they either learn about them, or have them OFFICIALLY open. So even if your wife hasn’t heard anything yet, there is still a good chance she will.
In the meantime, the Dallas Fort Worth Area is serviced by the Region XI service center. If she goes to their website they have a link for employment, where other jobs may be listed.
Also, most of the schools now have online job applications. If she has not filled these out, it may be worth her while to do so (as many schools go for these lists first- plus many post the open positions on their webboards and you can apply your online application directly to the positions you are looking at)
In a worst case scenario, where no job position becomes open by the beginning of the school year, you should have her check into a few of the districts closest to you and what they require for substitutes. Get this training and get on the lists early. A well qualified sub is a treasure and will have steady work. This is turn will get her, her abilities, and her qualifications out there where the administrators can see them. So that if a position comes up out of the blue- she will be someone they think of immediately.
Good luck and Happy Job hunting. The links for the SBEC and the Region XI service center are below.
Answer by BabsFort Worth has a hiring freeze for elementary grades. Dallas prefers to hire Alternative Certification teachers as they get paid less and they are under a huge budget crunch. The Dallas area has many teacher programs in the local universities so mot of the schools can hire first year teachers at a much lower cost to their budget. She should probably start as a substitute in the local district. She can get her foot in the door and decide which schools she would want to teach at.
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