Okay, this is kind of upsetting me. I'm going through a teacher cert. program at a community college and now I'm hearing some "not so great news" about laying off of teachers, or not even hiring teachers....even not calling in SUBSTITUTES (which is unfortunate because I was going to sign up for the substitute jobs to get a foot in the door and experience) HOWEVER, it seems this situation varies on a county-by-county basis. Some counties are needing teachers (like Miami) while others in central FL (Orange, Volusia, Seminole, etc) are not. BUT...apparently SOME counties aren't suffering as much from budget cuts. Even our own instructors for our teaching certification course asked us, "So when you get your certificate, are any of you concerned of even finding a job? Unless you're single and have no roots, can you relocate at least?" Of course...however, the media seems to "scare" us by a tendency to over dramatize the situation. And typically "Teaching" is one of those professions that WILL bounce back after this somewhat short "setback" Same goes for the laying off of fireman and policemen. Does anyone agree on this....just a minor set back? I mean, I wouldn't say NOT getting your cert. in teaching is a total waste, because ...well...there will ALWAYS be a NEED for teachers. Like we might come out of this after only a year I suppose....while other LESS recession proof jobs are hard to find. Feedback on this anyone? PS...ALSO....that this "Letting go of teachers" from what I hear is "forced retirement" of teachers who have been in the school system for 30 or 40 years or something like that. PPS - ALSO, if you are REALLY wanting to get the foot in the door....be a teacher in an LD Class
Hi and welcome!!! I don't think this is media hype. I think this is finally someone being truthful to you about the options available. I don't know the job situation in FL. But I did just read another post by a FL teacher, saying teachers were being asked to work 2 days for free in order to avoid layoffs. I haven't heard any economists forecast this problem as being short term; I think "a year" is being incredibly optimistic. And as to the old "they'll always need teachers" line.... I'm not sure I agree, at least not the way you mean it. Sure, we'll always have schools. But it's much cheaper to put a few more kids into each class than to hire a new teacher. And those people you're counting on to retire... many of them have seen their retirement funds disappear in the past few months. Don't count on them going anywhere. And I think we'll see lots of cuts to every sector of education-- from "specials" to just which kids qualify for Special Ed. I'm sorry-- I don't mean to rain on your parade. But I think you should give careful thought to the info you've been given. The bit about possibly relocating is especially valuable-- it might just be the thing that gets you the job you've been hoping for.
Urban counties like Miami are always going to need teachers. That area is continuously growing with immigrants from Cuba and Haiti. The biggest areas to stay away from - Tally, Jacksonville, Orlando, Gainesville, Tampa - big universities churning out new teacher grads. Small districts, like Volusia and Seminole generally don't have many openings - they aren't high-destination areas for people relocating. Coastal towns are high-destination - but they seem to be suffering the biggest budget cuts. Districts with large migrant populations are hiring - but you may get cut once season is over and the kids move on to the next job with their parents. And then you get into the nitty-gritty of the individual districts - even when they needed teachers, Indian River won't hire you unless you know someone in the district. Martin is extremely choosy about who gets to work there. I'm kind of in the same boat as you - I'm taking classes at a CC for permanent cert - and the professors told us our likelyhood of getting hired in the 4 county area are nil unless you're ESE. To be honest, I've been monitoring the job prospects here in FL for over a year. The places that I'm most likely to find a job are the ones I will least be able to afford. So... I'll be getting certification in another state.
I couldn't agree more, Alice. And Miami might have openings, but you have to be willing to work in inner city schools.
I live in Broward County and I can say the same here. I have only been called once since January and that's it. I see jobs posted on the site but all the principals say the same thing its the budget cuts. Well our two counties are suppose to get some help from the bail out money to build more schools and I am wondering to see what areas will get that money.
Earthdragon - that bailout to build bothers me. Yes, it'll create more jobs for construction workers, but my county was talking about CLOSING schools because they can't afford to staff the ones we already have. I guess keeping and maintaining educational facilities and staff aren't as important right now as creating new jobs in other sectors. I wonder - a few years down the road - what affect research will show that these trying times have had on our students' education!
From what I understand, not all teacher cutbacks are "forced retirements." A lot of new teachers, who have not yet made tenure are being let go in the counties near me. Also, working in ESE is not even a sure bet anymore. In my district, principals are still receiving 100-200 resumes for EBD and EMH postings. And, I think those are among some of the most challenging students to work with.
In my neck of the woods (panhandle) we are hearing layoffs, but nothing has been said specifically YET. Our district is closing schools and will have to move those teachers around. I'm still hopeful that there will be openings for new teachers due to attrition.
Since Miami's been brought up, I'll pipe up with my thoughts..... Miami-Dade County (Miami is the name of a large city in miami-dade county, formerly known simply as dade county) has been hit HARD. It is the county that Alice was refering to about the two days no pay business...though that's deferred pay, not no pay. The situation here has roots longer than I pine tree. Several years ago, the state re-did the way it allocates money. In times past, the large urban counties got more money (per person) for their payroll departments from the state. The reasoning behind this is that the urban counties had MUCH higher cost of living and needed to be able to pay their employees more than the smaller, more rual areas, who's cost of living was much lower. Well, the smaller counties protested that was unfair, and they won (I dissagree). Well, the large counties, who'd been paying their teachers more (though still less than the smaller counties once you adjust for cost of living), couldn't just make everybody take a pay cut. They still had to pay people what they'd been earning, and even give them raises if that was contracted (and the current raise "controversy" is not included, in my mind, in that...we agreed to the "if the money is there" stipulation, and now we're stuck, so we need to stop complaining). Then, of course, the economy started tanking. Florida funds education primarily with local dollars generated through property taxes. With the housing market taking a nosedive, and people being forclosed on, property tax revenue has gone down dramatically. There's no money from the state to replace that. Most of the money we get from the state comes from lottery sales, and even that's taking a hit. The state ALWAYS cuts education from the general budget because we "have lottery money". What a joke. Anyway, we've suffered a double whammy, and we're drowning. To top all that off, the Jessica Lunsford act has made contracting even the simplest of jobs far more expensive than in the past. We must ensure that every single person who MIGHT come within a certain distance of the school pass a criminal background check. This law was worded badly and even forced Bell South and Florida Power and Light to fire or re-assign employees who've never even set foot in a school because they "might". That costs money, which the contractors pass along in the form of their fees. Long story short, Miami-Dade isn't the place to be looking for work. Most of the large counties are in similar straits. There ARE jobs, but they're hard to find and are at schools like Miami-Edison, which is smack in the middle of a neighborhood even cops don't like to enter. Your professor was being real. Times are tough, and state/county employees are probably in a tougher spot than most. NOTHING is recession proof. Hopefully, we'll all make it through this in one peice. Times will get better, but we're in for a rough road for the next few years.
mmswm - Thank you. I hadn't realized just how bad things were down south (I mean, they're bad everywhere in FL, but Miami always seemed so... um... I almost sad bullet-proof, but let's not go there!)
:lol: The sad part is, from what I have heard, that is a pretty accurate statement about Miami-Dade County schools.
I guess after reading this since I live in Broward maybe my teaching dreams are slowing blowing out the window. If I go get certfied and can't find a job I really don't see why I should do this in the beginning.
No one said to give up without trying. For starters, we're talking about how things are right now-- in the midst of the economic downturn. By the time you graduate things may have improved. And who knows how things will be elsewhere? Is relocating a possibility? I wouldn't be so quick to give up my dreams. But we do want to dispell the myth that there's a teacher shortage, and that jobs are easy to come by. Teachers get hired every single year. But it may take some skill, some connections and some luck to be one of those teachers this year.
Thanks Aliceacc I needed to hear that...I guess after I started reading all the stuff here I got really depressed. I could relocate if I needed too. Not sure where I would go but anyway I digress. Thanks again ...
I felt the same way so don't feel bad. The problem is that like a previous poster said that the administrator are looking at thousands of resumes for the job. I am in a rough spot myself. I am a heck of a pc tech and I wanted to get into teaching computers, but right now it doesn't look that good. I have been given a chance to interview for a job at the university I graduated from. If I get I will take it and work on my masters. I can still teach, but at least it will be at the college level. Any don't stop working on your dream, sometimes just looking at another silver lining is the best route for some. Stay positive is the key
Jobs in my area (Tampa Bay) are pretty much non-existent. I have my master's, experience and ESE, ESOL and K-6 certification. Here I sit looking. The stimulus includes some nice chunks of change for Title I and IDEA that can only be used in those areas. It may help the situation but we won't know for some time. Even ESE positions are getting multiple candidates applying. All you have to do get your ESE cert is pass the test. It's very easy to get additional certifications in Florida. If you have a temporary or a permanent makes a difference in your marketability. Our state universities churn out teachers each semester. USF alone graduates thousands a year. With the push towards inclusion and the use of RTI, ESE is more paperwork than anything else. There are very few self-contained classes. It takes longer to get a kid services under RTI. The result is the need for less ESE teachers. I would say the job market outlook is blah
I'm in Orlando (Orange County) and job prospects here are incredibly grim. I've been looking for a little over two years and I highly doubt I'll get a position for the coming school year. As with any profession, the tide ebbs and flows, and unfortunately right now with the economy, the tide is going to be out for a while. Eventually *fingers crossed* I'm hoping ALL of us here in Florida will have the teaching jobs we've all been working so hard towards obtaining.
