I'm going into my 4th year teaching. Last year I had a particularly difficult class and my admin wasn't very supportive. It was such a rough year that I spent a lot of time thinking about leaving teaching. Over the summer, the district got a random very large increase in funding that is going to my school due to student needs and the community we're in. From this, my principal created a bunch of new positions, random things that we've never had before like family outreach coordinators, teacher mentors, resource specialists (going into classrooms to help trouble shoot with behavior problems), etc... I was so excited, and applied for everything I was qualified for, but now i'm suddenly paranoid that it "looks bad" to my principal that I've only taught for 3 years and i'm already trying to leave the classroom. Is there a certain amount of time that you are "expected" to teach before trying to move to a different/higher position? Do you think a principal would question a teacher's dedication who applied to multiple non-teaching positions?
I think it would just depend on what specifically you applied for and how you feel you're qualified. For example, if you applied for the family outreach coordinator, and you have, during your 3 years, had great relationships with parents and the community despite struggles in the classroom, then I would think that's a good fit. If you applied for the resource specialist position, but you have struggled during your 3 years with discipline, then I would not be impressed. You know what I mean? That's how I would look at it...
No, this will be my tenure year if I'm rehired at the end. But most positions said "3 years experience" I didn't struggle with discipline. My classroom was made into an EBD room this year. I did well and my kids made great progress, I just felt it was much more stressful than my traditional spec.ed. classrooms in the past.
I don't think it's looks bad to move into a different position after three years in the classroom. I would be concerned that you applied for "everything [you] were qualified for" though. I would expect you to apply for a position or two that you had a passionate desire to do, but applying for any and everything does make it look like you just want out of the classroom. On another note, I'd be hesitant to move to one of these positions, especially without tenure, as it sounds like it might be temporary funding. What happens if you get one of these positions but then it's eliminated the following year due to lack of funding? Would you be out of a job, or would they find another place for you?
Bella made some good points. Another thing to consider is how difficult it will be to be in a position where you may be coaching or being put in some sort of observer/supervisor role over teachers that have far more experience than you. Even if your coaching advice is solid, the reality is that a lot of veteran teachers aren't going to want to hear it from someone with only 3 years of teaching experience. I would imagine that you would deal with a lot of disrespect from other teachers. I know our psych struggles with this when giving teachers advice for behavior issues in their classes. The teachers either gripe that she doesn't get it because she's not a teacher or that she's too young/inexperienced, and she has 15 years in! Our staff is on the much older side so maybe my experiences aren't the same as other schools, but it's something to consider. At the very least I'd think about how you will handle interview questions about coaching people that are more experienced than you are.
