Now that I have a family I'm thinking of possibly moving back to MI for various reasons, but only if there is a decent chance of landing a good teaching position. I'm guessing that the state as a whole isn't the best for teachers but thought certain cities/areas might be doing ok. Anyone know if this is the case? If so, what places would be a good place to look? Any help/information is greatly appreciated.
I think now is better than last year
Not so massive
According to my teacher brother, they got far fewer retirements than they'd hoped. Some districts saw good numbers, but most were pretty pedestrian.
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56,000 teachers were eligible
56,000 teachers were eligible for the buyout, ed per detnews 17,100 took it. There are jobs, and with experience you'd have a huge leg up on getting one. The problem is, they want multiple certificates for about every job now. I graduated in 2006 and am still looking, mostly because I want to stay instate vs leaving. If you're elementary, special ed, math or science you should be able to find a job right now, besides that it's a crapshoot. All you have to do is find one district that likes you though.
first priority
There were a lot of buyouts but those open jobs are held for the teachers they have already laid off, which is a considerable amount of people or just not filling those positions. My wife was teaching in SE Michigan got laid off and then after the buyouts happened was called back. We decieded for her not to go back since she had a job at a private school which pays less but is far more stable. My father just retired (took a buyout) and has been saying how bad the outlook is for public school teachers.
Unfortunately, most districts
Unfortunately, most districts have been laying off teachers over the last couple of years due to severe funding issues. For example, my wife's district has over 200 teachers currently laid off. That said if you teach a specialized subject, you may have some luck.
Below is a link to the Oakland County posting website. You can also access each school district's website from the 2nd link to go to their respective HR / Job Posting page.
http://www.oakland.k12.mi.us/Employment/JobPostings/tabid/145/Default.aspx
http://michiganstartpages.com/michigan/education/schooldistricts4.htm
"Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures."
they just
passed a retirement incentive, so most of the people retiring in the next three years just retired. But a lot of districts had to cut a lot, so they aren't hiring replacements.
Plymouth-Canton, Grosse Ile, Grosse Pointe and Ann Arbor were the districts I saw hiring, but most are finishing up except Grosse Pointe/Ann Arbor as far as I know.
I'd say there won't be many jobs the next 1-2 years, but maybe in 3-4 a new set of retirements will occur and districts will have to start hiring.
If you teach science I can let you know of the job openings I know of....
I don't care who wins, as long as it's Michigan.....
I just got one in GR, and
I just got one in GR, and they're starting to pop up a lot around here for this year. Allegedly, hundreds of teachers in the area took buyouts, and it's a very good place to teach.
Also, depending on your major, there might be openings at my school. If you shoot me an email with your major/certification level, I'll get back to ya. Here's one of my accounts.
wolverine1832@gmail.com
For today, goodbye. For tomorrow, good luck. And forever, Go Blue.
My wife
has been looking for a Teaching job here for about 2 and a half years now. Nothing yet. If you want to take one, don't come back! NOOOOO!
Though, she's in special ed, so, eh.
Surprised
I'm surprised that your wife has not been able to find a special ed position. That is typically a position where there are not many applicants with the proper certifications. I know that many districts, including my wife's, are trying to mainstream special ed students. From what I had seen in helping my wife search for social work positions there tended to be many special ed openings.
"Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures."
Agreed. It's usually one of
Agreed. It's usually one of the high-need certifications due to the volume of special educators needed after NCLB.
For today, goodbye. For tomorrow, good luck. And forever, Go Blue.
Oh, there's openings
She just can't get any interviews. From what I hear, the positions are being clogged with applications from teachers who aren't qualified, to the point that schools just toss them and start over because they can't root through the 50,000 apps properly.
We're going to figure it out for her to get a masters and an additional cert in Hearing Impaired or Autism Spectrum, depending, to hopefully broaden her chances. Anyone aware of any Hearing Impaired, Autism Spectrum or Learning Disabilities positions in the Monroe County area?
if you are Bio/Chem/IntSci or
if you are Bio/Chem/IntSci or Math, you could probably find a position within 30mins of your home. Otherwise, it's few & far between, even witht he teacher buyout incentives.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
My wife has one year of
My wife has one year of teaching experience at a Charter school and couldn't find anything with her middle school science endorsement (public schools). They all wanted another cert.
There are some jobs open but
There are some jobs open but not as many as the legislature hoped. Here is a link that many schools throughout the state use to post positions. Good luck with your search.
Hopefully in about 4 years
Hopefully in about 4 years there are more jobs available than there are now, that's when I'll be looking for a teaching job!
Best of luck to you finding one, the only advice I can give is regularly check webbsites for openings and respond as quick as you can.
Go Blue!
As some have said, even
As some have said, even though buyouts through the state and local districts were offered, not nearly as many teachers took them as they had hoped. That doesn't mean, though, that a lot of teachers didn't retire. Just not as many as hoped.
What many districts who lost teachers are doing is trying to combine classes as much as they can (within limits) in order to save some of the expense of hiring new teachers. Math/Science/Special Ed are areas that should have openings and have had even in the last few years.
Here are some more websites where jobs are posted. If you find a history job, let me know. I've been looking for three years.....
A lot of times, though, you might just have to go district by district in a certain area to see their postings.
You'll be welcomed with a
3% pay cut compliments of the Michigan Legislature.
Not good for teachers
I am a certified teacher who has to sub because of the lack of jobs. The buy out that was offered wasn't as successful as it was thought to be and many older teachers(30+ years in) have stayed. I coach with 3 others guys who are all trying, unsuccessfully, to get a teaching job. Even getting interviews is difficult because most posted jobs have hundreds of applicants and if you do not know a person in a particular district, there's a good chance you won't be called in for an interview.
My advice would be to look online and see what's available. Maybe even apply online and test the waters to see if interviews transpire. Good luck.
"If they ever catch me, they can have 'em." -Denard Robinson
It's Brutal
Following up what others have said, yes maybe if you are science or math you may have some small shred of hope, but other than that its a morgue out there. Interviews are few and far between, and the competition is just brutal. The last few postings I responded to stated they ended up with several hundred applications for each opening...
Been looking for 1.5 years now...
This summer has been
This summer has been significantly better than last summer (thanks to the retirement incentive) - though at this point, a lot of jobs have been filled. Good luck!
One extra hiccup in teaching
One extra hiccup in teaching hires, at least in SE Michigan, is that details sometimes get nailed down LATE in the summer.
If a job becomes open (say, they decide to add a class because of demand, or someone retires) I believe that position is first open to people who are already teaching in the system. So that creates a little lag before it can be offered to a teacher from outside. And let's say an in-system teacher does take that job--well, that may create another opening, and the process repeats.
The upshot? it's not unheard of for a new teacher to hear on the Friday before Labor Day that they are, indeed, hired, and they have four days to prepare the academic year. On the one hand, that sucks, but on the other hand, it means you shouldn't despair if it's July and you haven't heard.
I feel bad for all of you who
I feel bad for all of you who are or have been looking for a long time. If you are willing to move, there are positions open (mostly in math, science, special ed) in Kalamazoo, Mattawan, and Vicksburg (all west side of the state schools). I know a lot of schools may not post positions until after the school year starts. Many schools are unsure of enrollment so they wait to see who shows up. If more kids show up then expected, they will open a position and fill it fast.
Wow, thanks for all the info
Wow, thanks for all the info everyone. It sounds as if things are worse than I expected. I'm a Social Studies/History/Philosophy guy so it doesn't seem as though I would have a good shot. I'm still just testing the waters at this point and I think I got all the info I need. Here in Omaha (well, NE as a whole actually) they're going to have a pretty big shortage of cash due to way less government aid the next two years and since my wife and I have been talking about possibly moving I thought I'd look into things in MI as I've been wanting to eventually move back. I might try to weather the storm here for a few years and test the waters again later in MI.
Best of luck to all of you looking for jobs. I know what it's like to not be doing what you want to do essentially due to no fault of your own. Just keep in mind that in 36 days our hearts will be filled with much joy!!
Whatever you decide to do, I
Whatever you decide to do, I can tell you that this is probably the best teaching-job website out there:
I was just looking at
I was just looking at websites in my area that have teaching jobs (I am looking for administration) and saw a posting for a social studies teacher in Otsego. I know that some of you said that this was the area you were trying to get a job in. If you are willing to move, this is a good school district. The job posting can be found on their home page or at www.greatschooljobs.com
Good luck on your search.
I think a bunch of older teachers were recently encouraged to take buyouts, as the state is trying to get younger teachers in the classroom. So I think there is massive turnover going on right now. It might not be a terrible time.
"A flute with no holes is not a flute. A donut with no hole is a danish"