Elementary Teachers - Please tell me about your job.

[vettechick99]

Thanks for the advice. Can you tell me how your job came about? Did you just inquire about the position and apply or is there a need for that type of teacher in your area?

The Teacher Alternative Prep Program looks interesting. I'm going to see if Virginia has one. Thanks.

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a 1st grade SPED teacher at the elementary school and she was going on and on about how much she loved her job. I was quite surprised since you hardly ever hear that - especially from a 10 year veteran! So she said they needed another teacher for older grades at the school and I emailed the BOE - they called me that day to come in. It took several weeks of interviews, tests, and approvals, but overall it was an easy process.

You may have to take the Praxis I in math or english if you don't exempt it with your SAT scores. And once you get a job, you'll have so many months to take and pass the Praxis II in your content area. I had to take the SPED one and will take Elementary Education because I co-teach. You have to pass the P-II in order to work now (to be "highly qualified").

For TAPP, said friend is my mentor. She observes me and teaches me relevant software. She also helps me with lesson plans and any questions I have. I had several weeks to prepare my classroom and lesson plans and shadow a SPED teacher before I actually started with the kids, which is fantastic! However, I've read online about people having zero training and just being dumped into teaching. I'd definitely ask the school system their SOPs on that. If they dump, no way I'd work for them. A new teacher needs a ton of support!

Well, I rambled on and on. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Oh, GA has a website of jobs (teachgeorgia.com) - do a search for VA and see if they have one. GL!

Oh #2, if you think you might be interested in SPED, let me know. It's a great job - really, really rewarding!

 

[Miss Kelly]

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a 1st grade SPED teacher at the elementary school and she was going on and on about how much she loved her job. I was quite surprised since you hardly ever hear that - especially from a 10 year veteran! So she said they needed another teacher for older grades at the school and I emailed the BOE - they called me that day to come in. It took several weeks of interviews, tests, and approvals, but overall it was an easy process.

You may have to take the Praxis I in math or english if you don't exempt it with your SAT scores. And once you get a job, you'll have so many months to take and pass the Praxis II in your content area. I had to take the SPED one and will take Elementary Education because I co-teach. You have to pass the P-II in order to work now (to be "highly qualified").

For TAPP, said friend is my mentor. She observes me and teaches me relevant software. She also helps me with lesson plans and any questions I have. I had several weeks to prepare my classroom and lesson plans and shadow a SPED teacher before I actually started with the kids, which is fantastic! However, I've read online about people having zero training and just being dumped into teaching. I'd definitely ask the school system their SOPs on that. If they dump, no way I'd work for them. A new teacher needs a ton of support!

Well, I rambled on and on. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Oh, GA has a website of jobs (teachgeorgia.com) - do a search for VA and see if they have one. GL!

Oh #2, if you think you might be interested in SPED, let me know. It's a great job - really, really rewarding!

Thanks for all the information. I did check into it and Virginia has a program similar to Georgia. Unfortunately, I do not meet the requirements yet. Back to the drawing board.....