Laid Off Teacher from Cleveland

Plan A, Plan B, Plan C

Have tried all summer to find work at other districts, really the jobs aren’t there.  Tried looking at the ODE jobs page and K12jobspot.com, I even looked at individual district websites, however most of the districts around Northeast Ohio use Applitrack so instantly any open jobs are bombarded by 70 to 100 applications.  The Applitrack system is really nice since you can fill out one application and then reuse the data on other applications, so it is easy to mass apply to like all the districts and if you already have a generic essay that is easy to reword you can apply to all the districts in 2 days. The ODE Jobs Page is like an online post board where district can post positions but just like any community postboard where people can post ads at a store there are lots of OLD postings and other so generic they are asking for everything.

For One week things looked bright.  I had two job interviews.

I had a interview in Elyria for High School and it was a out of the blue since I had learned earlier that the position I was interested in was filled.  I had an interview and I was first called so I was hopeful for a hire.  Walking into the school I was excited because of the renovations and new construction I could smell the paint and drywall.  I thought I interviewed well, I would say I interviewed with awkward ease, my answers may have been awkward but I answered the questions with ease.  However a very quickly placed call literally 3 hours later quashed that hope.  They loved me but gave the position to someone else, the interviewer said he knows of positions elsewhere and would put in a good word, but the district is very far away and I don’t want to drive an hour to and an hour back for a half time job.

The day before my interview with Elyria I walked an application to East Cleveland instead of faxing their application and my resume.  I happened to meet with the head of HR and his eyes perked when I showed him my application and resume.  He asked me to wait and he went back to his office, when he came out he asked if I could interview tomorrow (the day I interviewed with Elyria) I said I could not tomorrow but the next day, and we quickly set up an interview for the day after tomorrow.  Got suited up and I mentally prepared myself I replayed my interview with Elyria in my head and remembered my strong answers and weak answers and how I can improve them.  I walked in early but had to wait at least 45 minutes for the interview to start.

During that time I totally lost it I was spiraling into despair.  I don’t know why maybe the gravity of the situation sunk in my mind.  I realized that this was likely my last interview for the season as jobs were drying up.  Maybe the despair of the neighborhood permeated through the walls of the school board trailer I was sitting in.  There were a few moments where I was tearing up.  

I was finally called up to interview and I was not focused as I had hoped in the end I was verbally told that I had the job if I wanted it.  They had me talk with the Superintendent of the district right after my interview and explained the situation that they were gun shy of hiring cleveland teachers because they have hired some and they left as soon as they were called back.  I told the superintendent that I would commit if offered the position.  I ended up waiting for several hours more as they tried to get my paperwork completed.  I ended up asking the Head of HR about what my wage and benefits are and he reluctantly gave me that information.  I had to leave because I need to discuss with my wife and get all the other paperwork completed to get the letter of intent.

I was in contact with East Cleveland for several days trying to keep them abreast of my progress in getting the necessary paper work in line but the Tuesday after the interview they told me that they gave the job to some one else.  I was furious, after this my wife discussed with me Plan C.  

So looking at my plans

Plan A:  Wait it out for a call back (Pro:  Stay in district have same salary, Con: #34 in Seniority in my subject area and 30 Jobs for my subject area)

Plan B:  Find work elsewhere  NO jobs left anywhere, had a job offer that was given in bad faith and got screwed!

Plan C:  Go to Grad School (Pro: More training and more pay, can get a big chunk in loans and grants that will be forgiven, time with kids, Con: money tight)

So the past several weeks I have been working on Plan C getting transcripts and working to complete my application to Grad School and taking a test for placement.

Now I wait again, hopefully I will be accepted.