Finally...they threw me a bone
For those of you who have known me for a while, you know that I am on my third school year working as a substitute teacher and trying to get picked up for a full-time contract position. Competition is fierce and nepotism is one of my biggest obstacles. You have to know someone in order to be assigned a long-term sub position (i.e. maternity leave) and then you have to fill a maternity leave before you'll be considered for a contract spot. If you can't get someone to give you a maternity (or similar) leave, then you keep running into a brick wall. Earlier this year I thought I was a shoe-in. A third-grade teacher was pregnant and due in February and was planning to take most of the second semester off. I was her favorite sub and she regularly requested me. She made a huge plug to get me hired to cover her maternity leave. The principal also likes me and has made me one of two people who are called first for every sub job at his school. I was interviewed along with 4 other people. Everyone unofficial though I had the job in my back pocket. But one of the candidates (who happens to be the daughter of the athletic director in a neighboring school district) was serving a health leave at a different school and the superintendent's office informed "my" principal that that woman should be given the maternity leave. I didn't really have a chance.
Anyway, a new situation has come up. Another teacher who is pregnant and due in May was just put on bedrest. The woman taking her maternity leave can't start until April 30 (this is a special ed position and they want a special ed person to take the full maternity leave which is understandable). Anyway, they called me yesterday and offered me the job for March 26-April 27. It isn't a contract position or even a long maternity leave. But it is a month-long assignment (anything longer than one week requires certification and is a step up on the hierarchy). If nothing else, maybe this will be what it takes for me to finally get my foot in the door and get an actual interview for next fall. I feel like I am standing right outside the door and am liked well enough by teachers and principals. I just have to wait for all the pieces to slide into place.
Anyway, a new situation has come up. Another teacher who is pregnant and due in May was just put on bedrest. The woman taking her maternity leave can't start until April 30 (this is a special ed position and they want a special ed person to take the full maternity leave which is understandable). Anyway, they called me yesterday and offered me the job for March 26-April 27. It isn't a contract position or even a long maternity leave. But it is a month-long assignment (anything longer than one week requires certification and is a step up on the hierarchy). If nothing else, maybe this will be what it takes for me to finally get my foot in the door and get an actual interview for next fall. I feel like I am standing right outside the door and am liked well enough by teachers and principals. I just have to wait for all the pieces to slide into place.
Labels: Teaching
posted by Mama G @ 8:21 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:02 PM,
jfield said…
In a couple districts I worked in, the contract required the district to contract subs who taught more than a certain number of days in the year, if nothing else to make them eligible for pro rated benefits and as a disincentive to abusing subs to fill positions that should have been permanent hires.
I live in a small town now with very similar job politics so I wish you the best.
At 12:00 PM,
Becoming said…
HOLY GUACAMOLE! I need to count my blessings. Here in Houston it is MUCH easier to get into a school. Matter of fact, painfully easy. We have alternative certification for people who already have a degree. Take a course (some programs require only one course --others offer more), pass a couple of tests, get hired to teach in a classroom for a year, don't do anything stupid, and you are fully certified. You can go from 0 to classroom in a few weeks. And there are plenty of positions available. I just started subbing a few weeks ago, and I hope to have a classroom in my children's school this fall.
Good luck. (Oh, and my eventual goal is to be an elementary librarian...)
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