District Hiring

Two weeks into Summer Institute, and I have so many thoughts to share about the training and my practice teaching experiences so far.  It is pretty scary how quickly it is going by.

But I want to take a moment and talk about District Hiring.  While my acceptance into this TNTP program guarantees me a job with the partner school district this fall, it does not tell me anything about where that job will be.  I am now property of the school district, and I can be placed in any secondary math teaching position they happen to have open. I think of it a little like being in the military, because the district will tell me where to go.  It is not as if I have no choice however.  Typically, Teaching Fellows will attend district hiring fairs, send out resumes to principals, network, and all the stuff you normally do to land a job.  So, even after the TNTP interview to become a Teaching Fellow, you still have to interview to get the actual teaching position in the school district.

This year, things in my district are a little off schedule.  We Fellows have been told that due to some changes going on at the district level, they will not be handling any of our job placements until after July 30th.  So, the good news is that I am able to just focus on Summer Institute without the added pressure of interviewing right now.  The downside is of course having no idea where I will be teaching this fall, or what grade level of math.  Secondary math actually means anything from 7-12 grade.  I originally began this new career with the assumption I would be teaching at the high school level.  Now I am hearing that the district is expecting a lot of openings in middle schools, so I am just doing my best to keep an open mind and trust that it will all work out.