I had 20 interviews the summer that I got my current job. The three that offered me a job were all over 300 miles away from where I had lived my entire life. I think the idea of taking a year off for “health reasons” or even to spend a year homeschooling your son are perfectly legitimate. But you might have waited too long for it to be an amicable parting…talk to your current employer and see what they say about it. I’d do that tomorrow, by the way…

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Like one of the other posters, I seem to be able to impress the HR directors or even the heads of library services, but the principals always seem to have the final say and they always decide to “go another direction”. The thought of returning to my old job/district is literally making me ill…and there’s another “hostage” in the situation, my 6-year-old son. He’s at my school with me now, and I’d planned to keep him with me at the new school (assuming we ever found one) – well, at least I’ve promised him that the day I get fired (which may well happen – DC is purging teachers right and left) is the day he starts homeschooling since he isn’t staying at that school without me (plus we’ll have to move somewhere cheaper than DC ASAP).

If I didn’t think it would mess up my chances of ever landing a job at another school district, I’d just go ahead and quit now and spend the year getting by with my freelance writing/research sideline. Maybe I should just pursue this avenue and skip school employment forever…maybe that is what 6 failed interviews are trying to tell me. Maybe I just suck at my job. I used to be a decent librarian, I know how to be a librarian, but I’ve never student-taught or had any help or mentoring on the job – this is something the other school districts promised, but DC can’t be bothered and they somehow expect me to figure out how to be a teacher all on my own. This is pretty much their modus operandi – they just hire inexperienced teachers/librarians/whatever. throw them out there, let them fail, and then throw them on the scrapheap.

The kids love me, the teachers think I’m a great help, but it all comes down to the administration, and the last principal who thought I was any good was herself fired (from my current school, last October, which is why I started my job hunt last November). I know that all the advice about why you should stay in teaching have to do with the kids, do it for the kids, and if it really was all about the kids I’d have no problem (well, a few problems, but nothing too serious). Unfortunately, the one who has the power to mess up my record and leave me with the stigma of having been fired is the principal, and she isn’t going anywhere…and I can’t find anywhere else that will take me. This job-hunting frenzy has pretty much messed up my summer, and school is starting in 2 weeks and I couldn’t be more miserable.

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In the mean time I will be working as a Therpeutic Support Staff [a job that works with children with autism or behavior problems] and praying a lot of teachers get pregnant this summer and schools need long term subs!

Good luck everyone!

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My first year I got a job in Florida but I trully did not like living there and because of some reciprocal license junk, I wasn’t renewed anyway. Now it seems the only responses I get are “we appreciate your interest but we’ve hired a qualified candidate” or “teacher needed for correctional facility” or “boys’ coach with social studies teacher” (thanks but I’m female and would never be allowed to coach varsity football!).

I wish colleges would inform incoming students there are no teaching jobs available unless its math/science/special ed. And I don’t want to hear about the 2 million teachers that will be “retiring” in the next decade – because they aren’t! And if they do, they are not replaced.

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In the case of hiring a high school head director, the position is often seen as an administrative level position (much like a head football coach would be) and so the main school administration is involved in the hiring process there too.

All this to say that the band director hiring process is way different from most normal teacher hiring. Yes, the NISD fine arts director has a huge role in it, as do the HS directors. As the MS assistant positions go, the MS head director will in most cases be the primary one deciding yes or no.

Now one more thing to add to the mix. In Texas, we have this 45 day thing where before sometime in the first or second week of July, districts are required to be able to let you out of your contract. After that date, most of the already-employed job seekers will stop seeking and begin settling into their jobs. The first part of July may seem less bleak than June, but you still may not get offers. This is why it’s vital to attend the Texas Bandmasters Association convention in July. One year, I had nearly a dozen interviews in those three days. At this point, summer band is about to start and directors are pretty much desperate to find someone to fill their positions. Be ready!

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