Career Corner

I am fairly certain that most prospective teachers and even many first-year educators do not spend much time pondering the topic of tenure. Indeed, aside from possible mention in the introductory courses in education I would daresay tenure is considered germane to the actual training of teachers. I don’t think much about the topic, either, until I come across articles about its eminent demise. These articles appear to be occurring more and more frequently which is why all prospective and current teachers should increase their awareness and knowledge of tenure policies and laws. Whether or not you agree with the principles of tenure, you need to understand the history, as well as the current arguments, in order to know your present situation and speak intelligently on the topic.

I encourage you to start your research with the current laws in the state in which you are searching for jobs or presently teach. That state department of education’s website and the school district’s human resources or professional development website should contain this information. If you have questions about these laws you owe it to yourself to ask for clarification. Think of this information as you would your car or home insurance policies. We tend not to read those in detail until something bad happens. That may not be catastrophic with your car, or even your home but with your job, it is definitely better to know your rights before dire situations arise.

You must next proceed to the political arena and attempt to gauge the prevailing attitudes of elected officials, from your local school board members to state legislators and the governor, to our newly elected and appointed officials in Washington. For example, there have been very recent legislative actions in Florida, New York and Ohio that were designed to alter the tenure laws in those states. It is incumbent upon you as an educator, especially those of you teaching in those states, to know more about those efforts. I highly recommend that you regularly monitor EducationWeek and other reliable sources for developing trends on this topic.

Obviously, it is in your best interest to know more about your own current and projected tenure status. Beyond that, however, it would be advantageous to the entire teaching profession for you to at least be prepared enough to intelligently respond to the question, “Will Teacher Tenure Exist in the Future?” If you are not, it is much easier for others to make it go away.

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I really enjoy the opportunity to interact with prospective students at our Admissions functions. One such encounter occurred last Saturday when I spoke with a high school senior (and her parents) who is planning to become an elementary school teacher. Since these chance encounters do not allow time for a deep exploration of the prospective student’s reasons for their choice of majors and careers, I just assumed that her motives were well-analyzed, her chosen field was well-researched and elementary education is an appropriate fit. I then moved quickly to making my points about future marketability in this arena.
A study of the supply and demand data collected by the American Association for Employment in Education (which is available in AAEE’s annual “Job Search Handbook for Educators”) reveals an abundance of prospective elementary teachers in most parts of the country. A quick inquiry of your local districts will provide valuable feedback as to their balances of supply and demand at the elementary level, but in most cases, the story will be the same – landing an elementary teaching job is a very competitive process!! Aside from the common admonitions about good grades, relevant experiences, broadening your geographic preferences, etc., how do you go about increasing your marketability, particularly if you have legitimate geographic constraints?
The answer to the above question may very well be “learn to speak the language.” The specific language would be the language most needed by your targeted districts. Many school districts across the country are having great difficulties locating and hiring bilingual teachers. They are trying to fill bilingual education program positions, as well as, hiring teachers who are bilingual for their regular classrooms. The former programs previously existed only in the states along the Mexican border and in many urban areas. That is no longer the situation. Schools across the country are becoming multicultural settings with students and their parents bringing multiple languages into the mix. You can easily discover the language needs of your targeted districts by simply asking an HR staff member to identify current and projected student population demographics.
Once you have that information what do you do? The obvious answer, of course, is to master the needed language!! That may be easy for my high school friend who has a few years to prepare for the competition but what about those of you who are currently in the market for an elementary teaching position? The answer can be very close by or thousands of miles away. Nearby are the formal and informal resources on and around your college campus. The formal resources are foreign language courses that you can build into your curriculum if you are still pursuing your degree or take as post-baccalaureate credit if you have completed your degree. There may also be some non-credit courses taught through your university’s continuing education division. Informally, you may check out your university’s International Student Office to see if there are any students who might wish to provide a teaching/tutoring arrangement. International students are often eager to do so in hopes that you will reciprocate by assisting them with their mastery of English.
In addition to your campus and community resources, there are opportunities to learn a language through travel/work abroad. Numerous language immersion programs are offered by universities and private entities. Since this travel may be pricey for a new college graduate, you may want to check out paid opportunities to teach English in a foreign country. These programs are usually short in duration and do not require certification in a subject area. You are hired just to assist the native students with their English skills. In return, you have an ideal opportunity to learn that country’s language.
Your university’s career center contains a wealth of information on this topic and advisors there can provide valuable insights on the right path for you. As I told my high school senior/2013 elementary school teaching candidate last Saturday, it does not matter how you choose to acquire a second or third language, it just makes sense to do it. You’ll gain an incredible competitive edge!!!

Curt Schafer
Director of Career Services
Texas State University

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Our Teacher Job Fairs have a browsing session in the morning and structured interviews in the afternoon. The interviews are scheduled during the browse portion when school district representatives discover candidates who match their staffing needs and desired professional profiles.
As I monitored the afternoon interviewing process on April Fools’ Day it became strikingly apparent that almost all of the students and alumni who had scored afternoon interviews were very professionally dressed and groomed. Now, that may not come as a great surprise to many of you but I have been involved in teacher job fairs for over 20 years and have seen thousands of candidates present themselves to school districts in good economic times and bad. In all of those experiences, I cannot recall a time when this level of attention was paid to those personal image details.
I asked two of the recruiters about this observation and their replies were similar. First, with the exception of a few challenging teaching disciplines, there are many more qualified applicants than there are positions. This means that recruiters then need to look beyond basic credentials in order to narrow their choices. Professional presentation is one of the “other” criteria used in that process.
The second and more compelling reason they offered for the heightened emphasis on professional dress and grooming was an increase in the interactions between their teachers and the “public.” One recruiter stated that the days of teachers spending every day by themselves in their classrooms are history. In classrooms today and in the future, teachers are more likely to host visitors/observers and have meetings with supervisors, parents, board members, media members, business partners, etc. Outside of their classrooms they will be required to attend professional development events, PTA/O meetings, media events, community fundraisers, etc. The image projected by the teacher becomes a direct reflection on the district and the districts take that very seriously.
In short, it is not necessary to look like a GQ or Vogue model during your search for a teaching position but you don’t want to be an April Fool either. You should be professionally groomed and well-versed in the distinctions between business formal, business casual and other types of attire. The former will enhance your chances of getting the interview and quite possibly, the job that you desire, especially in difficult economic times and this era of transparency and accountability.

Curt Schafer
Director of Career Services
Texas State University

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For the first time in recent memory, several school districts from a large metropolitan area near our university canceled their attendance at our spring teacher recruitment event – after they had already registered. This occurred in large part because of, you guessed it, a cut in state funding, which is resulting in budget cuts.

District budget constraints and reductions adversely affect the job market for new teachers - no secret there. Because districts may not be recruiting actively in as wide a market as previously, the district in which you are most interested in teaching may not be coming or have come to your campus to recruit. Does this mean they are not interested in new teachers? Does it mean they will not be interested in you? Does it mean they are not hiring any new teachers? Does it mean you cannot apply to that district? The answer to each of these questions is “no.”

What it does mean is that you will have to exercise more initiative to make contact with and be considered by your districts of choice. I use the plural “districts” because any person putting all his or her eggs in one basket in this market is not approaching the search wisely.

Here are a three ways that you might be able to contact your districts of choice effectively when they do not come to your campus.

• Attend an event at another university. The districts to which I alluded did recruit at another university 25 miles away. Why there and not here? Our university is not a major supplier of teachers for those districts. We are located in a city of about 120,000, and we are a, if not the, major supplier of teachers for the school districts in our immediate vicinity. The large institution where the districts did recruit is a major supplier for them. If the districts have to prioritize where they recruit, knowing that they will have a reduced number of opportunities, they will focus on their most fertile recruiting ground. That university’s events are open to our students, so attending events there is an option.

• Attend an event that the district sponsors. Over the last five years, we have seen an increasing number of “fairs” or interview events sponsored by districts and held on Saturdays on in the evenings. Districts initially intended these to lure professionals in other fields to interview, but most are not limited in that way. Several of our students who were interested in one of our canceled districts attended an “interview night” sponsored by the district at one of their schools.

• Contact the district directly. This technique is always in play, of course. If the districts you want are at a long distance from you, schedule a trip to that location, and ask for interviews during your visit. Most districts will try to accommodate you, as they don’t want to miss out on good candidates. This works best if you are in a hard-to-fill subject area.

The teacher job market has changed rapidly and continues to evolve. In times like these, the good candidate who takes initiative and is creative with the search will generate the most opportunities.

--Kent McAnally
Director, Washburn University Career Services
On Behalf of AAEE

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