So, I thought that I was on top of things with the search for a teaching job for next year - I have worked on my resume and started to put together the foundations of a cover letter. Also, I've worked my butt off at Penn for the past semester. But when I called one of DC's charter schools today to inquire about their hiring timeline, they informed me that they're already taking applications and about to start interviewing. Seriously??? The DCPS online application isn't even up on the site yet!
Some of the folks from last year's Penn cohort came by today to talk to us about their experiences with their first year and how things are going. It was interesting to hear their perspective. Some of them had nightmare hiring experiences, and I'm hoping that DCPS isn't as painful as they describe Philly to be. Some of them were hired in July, and several others not until September or even October. Ugh. I'm hoping to have a job way before then, but it sounds like with public school that might not be an option.
I really care about public education. I went to public school from 1st thru 12th grade, but public school in DC is nothing like the schools I went to in California. If I had a school age child in the District right now, there are very few public schools that I'd be comfortable sending her to. I know that often the kids who end up in charter schools are the ones who have parents who are proactive enough to fill out the application, get them on the waitlist, etc. What about the parents who don't have the resources or the knowledge to advocate for their children's education like that? Education is supposed to be the great equalizer, and I really believe that every child deserves a free, excellent education. How else are they supposed to grow up to be successful?
I really want to teach in public school, it's something that I'm passionate about, but if I have to wait till August to be hired I'm going to go insane. If I get offered a job at a charter school, do I take it? Or do I just hold out and hope that I get a decent public school job instead? I really don't know if I'm going to have options for next year - I'd like to hope that I will, but after listening to everyone talk about the job process tonight I'm kind of worried.
