Professional Development

FINDING THE JOB THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU

The larger the geographic area you are willing to explore, the more opportunities are available to you. You must focus on your strengths and provide specific examples of the attributes you have that schools want.  You’ll have this information once you’ve completed your research on school districts.

How to Research a School District

• Conduct internet research for information about the school district, administrators and community.
• Contact the National Public School Locator for  information on public schools and school districts in the country. Web address is www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/school-search/.
• Contact your State Education Department for demographic data and related information.
• Go to the district office and request school district fact sheets, calendar of events, board meeting schedule and related data.
• Drive through the district in effort to learn more about the students’ socio-economic environments and available resources such as libraries.
• Schedule an appointment to visit a school. Talk with teachers and administrators.
• Attend PTA meetings, school board meetings and school related activities within the district.
• Talk with parents of children who attend school in the district.

Information to Gather on a School District

• Demographics of the district – geographic boundaries, size of the district, student enrollment, class size, grade levels served, number of teachers employed.
• Mission statement.
• Districtwide goals and plans for the future.
• Instructional programs and learning objectives for its students.
• Professional development programs.
• Student achievement in reading, math and science.
• Special honors or recognition by state or federal agencies for academic excellence.
• Key personnel.
• Parent involvement.
• Mentoring programs for new teachers.
• Teacher union involvement and professional organizations.
• District challenges (e.g. budget constraints, staff reductions, meeting learning standards, physical plant).
• Salary schedule.
• Residency requirement.

Conduct an active search for schools—not simply districts—where   you might like to teach.  Don’t assume that submitting an application to the district office will lead to an interview or a job offer.

• Seek the advice of friends, fellow students, and former professors about schools that serve students well and are likely to support new teachers.  As schools become more and more responsible for their own hiring, they are more likely to rely on informal leads about promising new teachers.
• Start your search early.  Let principals of schools that interest you know that you’re looking.  They may not have positions available at the time, but can keep you in mind should someone unexpectedly retire or go on leave.
• Wait until you find a job that you are confident will work out for you.  Don’t jump at an offer just because you think it’s the best you can do. A school with no openings in June may suddenly have several in August. Make your interest known and stay connected.

Study the school from the outside: Use as many sources as you can to learn about a prospective school. Explore its web site. Consult state and district data about the school’s performance over time. Talk with a local real estate agent or parents whose children attend the school.

• What’s the school’s reputation? Is there evidence of the school’s success?
• Has the principal been there for at least a few years, or has the school experienced repeated turnover in leadership?
• Does the school welcome parents and make it easy for new teachers to establish productive home-school relationships?
• Is it a safe, orderly and purposeful place for teaching and learning?
• Do people seem to like being there?

Study the school from the inside: Never take a job without carefully assessing what it will be like to teach there.  Research shows that when individuals have an accurate preview of a job, they are more likely to stay with it, even if it is very challenging.

• If school is in session, ask to sit in on classes.  Do teachers and students work well together? Is there a constructive climate for learning, not only within certain classrooms, but across the school?
• If you’re asked to teach a class, seize the opportunity.  It means that the school wants to know what you have to offer and, if they hire you, they will be more likely to support you as a novice.
• Talk formally or informally with as many people you can.  Most new teachers interview with the principal, but only about half meet with any future colleagues.  Yet it is fellow teachers who will be most important to you once school begins. Take every chance you get to hear from teachers about their school. Not everyone will be upbeat , but if you find pervasive malaise or discontent, it’s probably not the place for you.
• Learn about how teachers work in the school.  Do they function independently in the isolation of their classroom or collaborate across grade-levels or departments? What roles do they have? Are there teacher leaders in the school who serve as instructional coaches or staff developers? Do experienced teachers routinely work with new teachers or tend to gravitate only to their veteran colleagues?

Seek answers about your position: Once you have decided that you and a school are good candidates for each other,  find out what you can expect from the school. Taking a job is a two-way deal and you should be sure that the terms are clear.

• Will any part of your assignment be in a field for which you’re not prepared? Will you be expected to teach a split grade at the elementary level or have more than three preparations at the secondary level?  Too often new teachers get the difficult, left-over assignments, making it especially hard to succeed.
• Is there a curriculum available for the subjects you will teach or will you be expected to create the curriculum on the fly?  Many new teachers are not interested in teaching a scripted curriculum, but they value having detailed resources that they can use flexibly.
• Will there be others teaching your course or grade level who have more experience and expertise?
• Are there school-wide standards for student behavior?  Effective classroom management is one of the greatest challenges new teachers face.   Working in a school that sets clear expectations for students and offers extra supports for those who need them will substantially increase your chances of success.
• Does the school have an induction program that extends throughout the first year and offers more than one-to-one mentoring?  Having the right mentor can be ideal, but too often mentors and novices are mismatched (different subjects, different grades) and no time is provided for class observations and debriefing.  Research shows that teachers who work closely day to day with a range of experienced colleagues find it more valuable than being paired full-time with a single colleague.