who has done it? who is doing it now? i understand some people don't like to disclose information such as their location online, but you could PM me and that would be great. i have JUST been offered a contract for the district and i am so distraught on what to do. i don't know if i should be excited or scared about my job offer. i have heard horrible things about the county. most people say "oh i'd stay away from there..." or that the "school's are horrible." i live in PA right now, and there are NO jobs...not going to happen. i know a few people i graduated with who have relocated south to find teaching jobs. i figure this is a perfect opportunity to gain some experience, and who knows, i might love it down there and want to stay. so i have no idea. basically all i want to know is- are there are any MD teachers out there?! and HELP!
I teach in the county directly north of PG. You can PM me if you want, and I can give you more details. I know, at our school, we've hired 2 teachers this year alone from PA, so I do think that you're right about more jobs to the south than in PA. Is it an "open contract" that you've been offered? That would scare me. Some areas of PG are actually nice, but some on the border of DC are pretty scary, and, with an open contract, they can place you wherever the need is. I've heard (heresay only) of the district holding those open contracts until they've placed everyone else - so other people are actually interviewing at schools and have the choice of saying yes or no to a particular school - and they, of course, choose the most desirable ones - leaving those with an open contract in wait to fill all of those positions that no one has chosen. I have two friends teaching in my district that relocated from PG, and they both said that they loved the feeling of helping those who were the most needy, but were burned out within a couple of years. The communities that border DC are very much an urban environment, keep that in mind. Kim
I'd be one of those people saying Stay away from PG County!! But I'm in DC right now and I survived. I don't know how the northern end of the county is, but I know the southern is pretty bad, particularly the parts close to SE DC. Even further south of that, closer to Charles county might not be too bad. I have never worked in PG county so I can't really give any insight into how the system works. I did have a friend who taught music there for a year and had NOTHING to work with. She bought her curriculum on ebay with her own money just so she'd have something to do with the kids. I think I'd RATHER teach in DC than PG County mostly because DC is trying to get its act together. And there are decent parts of DC that may end up being better than what you'd find in PG. What kind of job are you looking for?
Kim - I'm actually not sure - but i would assume it's an open contract, since they haven't discussed which school I'd be in. They actually just mailed it out to me yesterday, so until I receive it in the mail I'm not too sure. I'll keep you updated though! I've applied to some of the MD schools that don't require you to have reference forms filled out. PA schools don't require them, and I really don't have a FABULOUS relationship with my cooperating teachers. I almost don't want to bother them with forms. I regret not keeping in touch, but oh well. sk8en - see I'd be afraid of dc too! but I'd be teaching art - where supplies are kind of necessary, so it does worry me about what they will actually have in the school for me to use! this whole process is so frustrating. plus it's early in the game, and I've applied to about 170+ schools across PA, only 1 interview from around here, which didn't end up in anything. blah! thanks for both of your input!
I am from PA and taught in PG for 6 years. As you said there are some good areas and so not so good areas. I taught at two different schools and both of them were fine. I got a lot of good experience. There were not a lot of materials. You can pm me if you want more information.
I've taught north of PG county in MD ...and I've taught with a few individuals who have taught there...like everyone says, there are certain areas to stay away from. Since you teach Art it may be harder to get a job then say...elementary or sped so it may be a good idea to teach there and if you don't like it you can always apply to a different county for the following year. I taught in Frederick Co. MD (my school was a nightmare though) and moved from PA. I ended up finding a great job in VA in a county bordering DC. PG county seems to always be hurting for teachers, I see ads to teach there all the time. One girl I know taught there because she couldn't pass her Praxis tests.
