For teachers or education administrators only?

Question

I have applied for a teachers position for the upcoming school year (Aug 2007). I mailed my resumes in January. I know that the schools in this district send out their letters of intent to current teachers in March during Spring Break. Should I send a follow up letter to the school that I have already sent my resume to? Do I need to call them? And what should I say? Thanks for your help. Only answer if you are serious and know what you are talking about. Thanks

Answer 1

Yes. I am a teacher. I work in a high-profile district. Last year we had one opening in my department, and about 150 applications! The person who got the job was recommended through word of mouth. Her resume wasn't even one in "the pile". They called her, and asked her for one. So, with this said, I believe you should:

A. Play the "six degrees of separation game"! Don't be afraid to ask someone you know in the district to "put in a word for you", tell the principal or super about you.

B. Call the district office and make sure everything (all your paperwork) is in place. My district will not give someone a second glance if they are missing any part of their file.

C. Send a note to the principal of your target school, briefly stating your qualifications and why you feel you're a "match".


Best of luck! Be aggressive and polite. My fingers are crossed for you! :)

Answer 2

It doesn't hurt to call and ask about the status of your application, but if the current teachers won't get letters of intent until spring break, you probably won't know much about your application until later.

The current teachers have to have time to decide if they want to re-sign a contract with the school. If one of them decides not to, then once they let the school know, they can start looking at applications. Some teachers will go ahead and sign a contract, and then apply for a job in a different district. If they get it, they will try to get out of the contract they have already signed, so that could open up positions later in the spring and early summer.

I wouldn't expect to know anything until around easter, maybe even later. But, if you are wondering, you can call to make sure they received your application and that it had all the information they need. You can also ask when they will begin hiring for next year (but you will probably get an evasive answer right now).

Good luck finding the right job for next year!

Answer 3

I teach in Orange Co. Florida.
A follow up letter is a good idea or even a follow up email (everything's email these days). But in my county budgeting is done in March/April. There is a hiring freeze in April so that all current teachers are placed (like if a school had to cut positions, some of those teachers have to be placed in other schools before principals can hire teachers from outside the county). So, you can send a follow up note but don't be bummed if you don't get a call for another month or two. They can interview but not offically hire right now. I'd imagine your county is similiar but if then send their intent letters in March, they must have already done budgeting. They may have the hiring freeze in March not April maybe. Perhaps in your follow up note you can ask when they will be doing interviews just so you'll know and not feel like they're ignoring you or passing you up ya know?

Good Luck. We need as many good teachers as we can get....regardless of the county!

Answer 4

most schools/districts can only do their hiring after they know who will and will not be coming back...as a first time teacher you may not get a call until over the summer, my first year i got three calls during the first week of school after i had accepted a position somewhere else...if a school has not called you in for an interview then it probably means they are not hiring now...another round of resumes wouldn't hurt, but do not assume that they got or looked at your first batch if you sent them in january, you may want to indicate in your cover letter that you had inquired earlier...it does not hurt to stop by personally and ask to meet with the principal and give them a copy of your resume...keep looking online at your state's ed. web site and see if they have released a calendar or offer any advice on how to apply to specific districts or schools...you did everything right, now it is just the waiting game...

Answer 5

YES YES YES!! january was pretty early...but that's ok. first, you need to find out if the district does their hiring through the principals, or through the human recources department. you may be stepping on toes to call the principal if they aren't the one doing the hiring. if the principal DOES hire, call him or her, say something like, "My name is______. I sent our my application and resume in January, and I just wanted to connect with you again and let you know I'm still very interested, and I hope you'd like to set up an interview soon. Thank you so much for your time!" If it's human recources, you might actually GO to the office and present yourself. school districts, large ones especially, are HORRIBLE about hiring early on and making contact with early applicants. you have got to do the work.

that being said, the DAY BEFORE school started last year, i had 5 phone calls with job offers!!! people always say you WILL get a job, just be patient, but i know you want to put your mind at ease and get things settled. so by all means, make a call! send an email! stop by the district office! but when they say they will get call you, trust them, don't become a pest.

despite all the advice i just gave, i've never been hired like this...i've always had a contact, i knew someone who got me an "in." do you know ANY teachers?? anyone who works for a district?? just the tiniest contact could really help you out. i mean, even an old high school teacher you really connected with...anyone.

Answer 6

A follow up letter sounds like a very professional thing to do. You could also find out who the head of the Human Recource Department is a the administration building and give them a call to let them know you are still available and interested in the position. Better yet, make an appointment and stop by.

Answer 7

This depends on the size of the district. In very large urban districts, hiring is usually done through a central administration office, not independent schools. Smaller districts, the hiring may be done by the schools or the school board. Call up the district offices and make sure what their hiring and interviewing processes are, verify that they recieved your resume and ask when you will be contacted for interviews

Answer 8

I have moved from Fairfax Co. Va, to Lincoln NE to Northwest IA. These were all very difficult areas to get a good public school teaching posistion for someone who is qualified for only prek-6 with zero endorsements and only a BA. I tried to be VERY aggressive in getting my cover letter/resumes out for EACH teacher vacancy. I met with administraters whenever possible.

I ended up teaching one year for the DCPS (Washington DC- a difficult year of teaching!), a private school in Fairfax CO. and a private school in northwestern Iowa. I got all of these posistions simply because of networking.

There were a couple of years, after my relocating from state to state, that I had to substitute teach. It's not the end of the world if you too have to sub to pay the bills. It would be the best learning experience!

Good luck. Be aggressive if you are "competing" for a posistion. Contact the HR's, administrators and network, network, network!

Answer 9

I would call and ask if they had any questions about your application, ask what else can you do to ensure a position with them. Also you might want to visit a couple schools near you and introduce yourself to the principal. Tell the principal you put a resume in and would love to work at her / his school.The principal can then request your application.