8/10/2017 | Another offer on the table.
Since being home, I've been wondering what I was going to do with my life. I had been thinking about continuing to teach - which resulted in being enrolled at U of M Flint - but wasn't sure of the prospects of getting a job.
The Monday or Tuesday after my U of M Flint class ended (so the 24th or 25th), I wound up interviewing at DPS for a middle school math position. This wound up being a result of Katie (formerly Myles) reaching out to me one night letting me know that she had a friend that was connected to the position somehow. Long story short, my resume wound up getting passed on to the powers that be and I was asked to interview, even though they had told me that they wanted to wrap up interviews on that previous Friday, which I had class.
I remember the interview pretty well: I had made it down there pretty easily since I had given myself extra time because I knew that I-75 could be a little chaotic. Even though that was the case, I was still getting a little nervous, as there were several times where traffic wound up really slowing down. Regardless, I was able to make it there with plenty of time to spare, which meant that I was going to get some time to sit in the car and think about things. One of the first thoughts that went through my head was that Megan wouldn't be wild about me taking a job at this school. I wound up heading in about fifteen minutes early, which allowed me to sit in the warm office. I did notice that I wasn't sweating though, which is something that was a little surprised with.
I felt that the interview had went well: I had said everything that I had wanted to. I was able to talk about building culture and sold them on how I could really help the students, as I had helped the students at Carver - against a lot of odds - and wound up making a difference in their lives. I had left feeling that I was going to be getting an offer. Even though I had noticed that there were interviews before and after me, I still felt that I had been the best.
On the way home I got an email from someone at the International Academy of Flint. She had asked me about potentially coming in to interview and had asked for a response or call. I wound up calling, as I was driving home on I-75 again. We originally decided to set up an interview for Thursday during the week. I would wind up changing it to the afternoon though, as I decided that since mom and dad were already there that it would prevent them from needing to come back later.
As I was getting ready for my second interview of the day, I got a call from Bethune Middle School, letting me know that they were going to offer me the job. I was thinking in that moment that I was likely going to be turning it down - the bombshell that I had not been expecting was that I would have to head back to Step III, which meant that I would be earning roughly the same amount of money that I earned at Iowa last year.. but was $12,000 shy of where I should have been. Even though the principal had nothing to do with that, I was not happy with it and I was pretty confident that would be the biggest factor in me ultimately turning the job down.
I had headed to IAF with those thoughts in mind. Again, I was there early, which meant that I had the chance to sit in the office again and check things out. I had actually not made the best first impression before that: I literally walked into a door, as I didn't realize that it had to be unlocked for me first. I'm not sure if that had any say in the interview or not.. but it was definitely embarrassing, although I got a a good laugh out of it.
I had mixed feelings when I had left the interview at IAF. The confidence that I had coming in - as I knew I was playing with house money - didn't seem to be anywhere near me when I was getting out. Although I had talked about everything that I had at Bethune, something that I had brought up near the end was the money factor. It didn't go over well.
Later I was informed by snail mail that I wasn't given the job, although I had been told that they were only interviewing for a candidate pool. To be honest, I had felt mislead with that. I'm not sure what had happened in the interview (as I obviously didn't get any feedback) but I have a feeling that it was over long before I had asked about the money.
Although I would wind up being 0-for-2 on jobs that I interviewed for, I still wasn't getting disappointed. I knew that I would be somewhat of a risk, as some schools might consider me a chance to hire because of my license. I would still wind up applying to a ton of jobs and was confident that I would get more interviews.
At some point while I was looking at indeed.com, I would come across a teaching job just up the road in Bridgeport that I was somewhat excited about applying to. I was pretty pumped, as it was a middle school math position. Although I had already interviewed for two of them, what had me excited about this particular one was that it's a public school. It also helped that I knew about Bridgeport.
I would wind up getting a call. Actually two. The first call I got wound up getting dropped, as I was down in the basement and wasn't in the right part for the service to continue to work. So, after going upstairs and not being happy with Megan, I was fortunate that I would wind up getting another call. I had been real nervous about it, as I had gotten a call earlier from Holly Schools but since I didn't answer they never called back. Fortunately, this was not the case with Bridgeport. Not only did they call back, they also asked me to come in and interview.
I was obviously excited about the interview until I had gotten a call yesterday (the 9th) from Port Huron to ask me about interviewing for an elementary position that I had applied for. The problem was that Port Huron wanted me to come in and interview today as well. I had told them that I was going to have to decline, as I had a middle school math interview. We also had talked about how I had applied for a middle school math position at Holland Woods, which the lady told me that she understood, the position would be closing the next day, and had hinted that they would be interviewing for that position on Monday.
I wouldn't leave as early for Bridgeport. That actually was somewhat of an issue before, as dad had told Megan that he thought that I was supposed to leave earlier, which resulted in her coming downstairs to wake me up. Obviously no one had known that I hadn't fallen asleep until 6am.. but it would wind up being okay. I would wind up heading out and - after a couple of traffic slow downs - make it up there in good time. I had been wondering if I was going to get a call from Holland Woods most of the time. My question would finally be answered when I was pulling in the parking lot: the Holland Woods principal called slightly before my interview to ask me about coming in next Monday at 10:15am. Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if he strategically waited until then, as he might have known I had an interview at that time, which he could have been told from the lady that called to ask me about interviewing for the elementary position.
Regardless, when I went inside, I found out (via one of the funniest secretaries that I've ever been around) that they were overbooked and they were running behind to boot. As a matter of fact, I was the third of three job candidates to arrive and was sitting in the office. After being treated to a comedy show from the secretary, the elementary principal emerged and asked me about going first, as I would be able to go from the elementary interview (which the middle school principal did tell me about) to the interview for the math position.
Even though I had told him that I was third in line, he insisted that I go. Both of the other girls had said that was fine and I would wind up going. To my surprise, I was greeted in the door by one of the teachers there that was very excited to see a male walking into the room. Originally I had thought that she might have known me.. but she was excited that there was another potential candidate that was male. That was the start of what I would've considered to be one of the best interviews that I've ever had. Again, like the others, I tried to sell them on coming in and building classroom culture and doing whatever it took for success. I had really felt that I had them sold and that I could get an offer.
Shortly after I would wind up on the other hot seat, after a much shorter stay in the office, with, ironically enough, another male teacher, whom I presume interviewed for elementary. Now I would be interviewing with the gentleman that called, who I felt I had a pretty solid rapport with already, especially since we already had some laughs together when he had called me back. This would be a good lead into this interview. I was already coming off of the other one, which not only had went well, but I felt that we had great conversation that was very laid back, which was encouraged by the principal.
For how good the first interview was, the second one was even better. Not only had I also sold them on the dream, we also were able to have some good laughs. I know that they had felt good about me being there. I could also see one of the ladies on the committee get really excited when I had talked about culture and mindset.. before really wowing her by bringing up Jo Boaler and Carol Dweck. I knew that I had impressed them when the principal had told me that I could hear from them on the same day about a job offer (just like Detroit). He had to confirm first that I was more interested in middle school than elementary though. As I told him, although I'm confident that I could do elementary, I'm going to be better for students in a middle school capacity.
As I was driving home, I was giddy because I knew I was going to be getting an offer and wouldn't have been surprised if I had gotten two. I was really intrigued as well. Although they told me that the pay was going to be slightly north of $36,000, I was still excited because I had gotten along with the committee and because it reminded me an awful lot of the staffs at both Niles and Red Oak, where I could tell that there were some good people on board.
When I got home I would wind up taking Josiah and Megan to turn in my project at U of M-Flint, which was what had kept me up so late. As we were driving there, I had told Megan that I would be stunned if I didn't get an offer - and could possibly get both. This would actually wind up coming true when we got back, as the principal would call and tell me that he wanted me to be his math teacher. He did go over the money thing again but also talked about the school day (7:10am-2:40pm) and also had brought up insurance, which is something else that's pretty important. Apparently it's good insurance too. I didn't write down the name but I'll have to look into it.
They also told me that I could look into coaching at Delta if I had wanted as well, which is something else that I was pretty pumped about. I'm glad to know (even though I did the CAP stuff) that I do have a couple of potential coaching opportunities. It looks like I might be able to be involved in coaching still this upcoming year.
I'm intrigued to see how the interview goes for Holland Woods, which the Bridgeport people know about (they asked before I left). Something that I haven't brought up yet is that I'll actually be interviewing at SC4 on Tuesday for an assistant women's basketball position as well. Those interviews are really important as well, especially since there's a good chance that I'll be able to come away with more financially. Hopefully I can sell them too.
If not, looks like I'll be going to Bridgeport. I'm really glad that they took me for my word that I'll be able to get my license taken care of by the start of the school year. I am going to be really upset if that doesn't work out, especially since I've done everything that I've been told to do - and have saved the emails.
Looks like I'll be returning to the classroom in the fall!
The Monday or Tuesday after my U of M Flint class ended (so the 24th or 25th), I wound up interviewing at DPS for a middle school math position. This wound up being a result of Katie (formerly Myles) reaching out to me one night letting me know that she had a friend that was connected to the position somehow. Long story short, my resume wound up getting passed on to the powers that be and I was asked to interview, even though they had told me that they wanted to wrap up interviews on that previous Friday, which I had class.
I remember the interview pretty well: I had made it down there pretty easily since I had given myself extra time because I knew that I-75 could be a little chaotic. Even though that was the case, I was still getting a little nervous, as there were several times where traffic wound up really slowing down. Regardless, I was able to make it there with plenty of time to spare, which meant that I was going to get some time to sit in the car and think about things. One of the first thoughts that went through my head was that Megan wouldn't be wild about me taking a job at this school. I wound up heading in about fifteen minutes early, which allowed me to sit in the warm office. I did notice that I wasn't sweating though, which is something that was a little surprised with.
I felt that the interview had went well: I had said everything that I had wanted to. I was able to talk about building culture and sold them on how I could really help the students, as I had helped the students at Carver - against a lot of odds - and wound up making a difference in their lives. I had left feeling that I was going to be getting an offer. Even though I had noticed that there were interviews before and after me, I still felt that I had been the best.
On the way home I got an email from someone at the International Academy of Flint. She had asked me about potentially coming in to interview and had asked for a response or call. I wound up calling, as I was driving home on I-75 again. We originally decided to set up an interview for Thursday during the week. I would wind up changing it to the afternoon though, as I decided that since mom and dad were already there that it would prevent them from needing to come back later.
As I was getting ready for my second interview of the day, I got a call from Bethune Middle School, letting me know that they were going to offer me the job. I was thinking in that moment that I was likely going to be turning it down - the bombshell that I had not been expecting was that I would have to head back to Step III, which meant that I would be earning roughly the same amount of money that I earned at Iowa last year.. but was $12,000 shy of where I should have been. Even though the principal had nothing to do with that, I was not happy with it and I was pretty confident that would be the biggest factor in me ultimately turning the job down.
I had headed to IAF with those thoughts in mind. Again, I was there early, which meant that I had the chance to sit in the office again and check things out. I had actually not made the best first impression before that: I literally walked into a door, as I didn't realize that it had to be unlocked for me first. I'm not sure if that had any say in the interview or not.. but it was definitely embarrassing, although I got a a good laugh out of it.
I had mixed feelings when I had left the interview at IAF. The confidence that I had coming in - as I knew I was playing with house money - didn't seem to be anywhere near me when I was getting out. Although I had talked about everything that I had at Bethune, something that I had brought up near the end was the money factor. It didn't go over well.
Later I was informed by snail mail that I wasn't given the job, although I had been told that they were only interviewing for a candidate pool. To be honest, I had felt mislead with that. I'm not sure what had happened in the interview (as I obviously didn't get any feedback) but I have a feeling that it was over long before I had asked about the money.
Although I would wind up being 0-for-2 on jobs that I interviewed for, I still wasn't getting disappointed. I knew that I would be somewhat of a risk, as some schools might consider me a chance to hire because of my license. I would still wind up applying to a ton of jobs and was confident that I would get more interviews.
At some point while I was looking at indeed.com, I would come across a teaching job just up the road in Bridgeport that I was somewhat excited about applying to. I was pretty pumped, as it was a middle school math position. Although I had already interviewed for two of them, what had me excited about this particular one was that it's a public school. It also helped that I knew about Bridgeport.
I would wind up getting a call. Actually two. The first call I got wound up getting dropped, as I was down in the basement and wasn't in the right part for the service to continue to work. So, after going upstairs and not being happy with Megan, I was fortunate that I would wind up getting another call. I had been real nervous about it, as I had gotten a call earlier from Holly Schools but since I didn't answer they never called back. Fortunately, this was not the case with Bridgeport. Not only did they call back, they also asked me to come in and interview.
I was obviously excited about the interview until I had gotten a call yesterday (the 9th) from Port Huron to ask me about interviewing for an elementary position that I had applied for. The problem was that Port Huron wanted me to come in and interview today as well. I had told them that I was going to have to decline, as I had a middle school math interview. We also had talked about how I had applied for a middle school math position at Holland Woods, which the lady told me that she understood, the position would be closing the next day, and had hinted that they would be interviewing for that position on Monday.
I wouldn't leave as early for Bridgeport. That actually was somewhat of an issue before, as dad had told Megan that he thought that I was supposed to leave earlier, which resulted in her coming downstairs to wake me up. Obviously no one had known that I hadn't fallen asleep until 6am.. but it would wind up being okay. I would wind up heading out and - after a couple of traffic slow downs - make it up there in good time. I had been wondering if I was going to get a call from Holland Woods most of the time. My question would finally be answered when I was pulling in the parking lot: the Holland Woods principal called slightly before my interview to ask me about coming in next Monday at 10:15am. Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if he strategically waited until then, as he might have known I had an interview at that time, which he could have been told from the lady that called to ask me about interviewing for the elementary position.
Regardless, when I went inside, I found out (via one of the funniest secretaries that I've ever been around) that they were overbooked and they were running behind to boot. As a matter of fact, I was the third of three job candidates to arrive and was sitting in the office. After being treated to a comedy show from the secretary, the elementary principal emerged and asked me about going first, as I would be able to go from the elementary interview (which the middle school principal did tell me about) to the interview for the math position.
Even though I had told him that I was third in line, he insisted that I go. Both of the other girls had said that was fine and I would wind up going. To my surprise, I was greeted in the door by one of the teachers there that was very excited to see a male walking into the room. Originally I had thought that she might have known me.. but she was excited that there was another potential candidate that was male. That was the start of what I would've considered to be one of the best interviews that I've ever had. Again, like the others, I tried to sell them on coming in and building classroom culture and doing whatever it took for success. I had really felt that I had them sold and that I could get an offer.
Shortly after I would wind up on the other hot seat, after a much shorter stay in the office, with, ironically enough, another male teacher, whom I presume interviewed for elementary. Now I would be interviewing with the gentleman that called, who I felt I had a pretty solid rapport with already, especially since we already had some laughs together when he had called me back. This would be a good lead into this interview. I was already coming off of the other one, which not only had went well, but I felt that we had great conversation that was very laid back, which was encouraged by the principal.
For how good the first interview was, the second one was even better. Not only had I also sold them on the dream, we also were able to have some good laughs. I know that they had felt good about me being there. I could also see one of the ladies on the committee get really excited when I had talked about culture and mindset.. before really wowing her by bringing up Jo Boaler and Carol Dweck. I knew that I had impressed them when the principal had told me that I could hear from them on the same day about a job offer (just like Detroit). He had to confirm first that I was more interested in middle school than elementary though. As I told him, although I'm confident that I could do elementary, I'm going to be better for students in a middle school capacity.
As I was driving home, I was giddy because I knew I was going to be getting an offer and wouldn't have been surprised if I had gotten two. I was really intrigued as well. Although they told me that the pay was going to be slightly north of $36,000, I was still excited because I had gotten along with the committee and because it reminded me an awful lot of the staffs at both Niles and Red Oak, where I could tell that there were some good people on board.
When I got home I would wind up taking Josiah and Megan to turn in my project at U of M-Flint, which was what had kept me up so late. As we were driving there, I had told Megan that I would be stunned if I didn't get an offer - and could possibly get both. This would actually wind up coming true when we got back, as the principal would call and tell me that he wanted me to be his math teacher. He did go over the money thing again but also talked about the school day (7:10am-2:40pm) and also had brought up insurance, which is something else that's pretty important. Apparently it's good insurance too. I didn't write down the name but I'll have to look into it.
They also told me that I could look into coaching at Delta if I had wanted as well, which is something else that I was pretty pumped about. I'm glad to know (even though I did the CAP stuff) that I do have a couple of potential coaching opportunities. It looks like I might be able to be involved in coaching still this upcoming year.
I'm intrigued to see how the interview goes for Holland Woods, which the Bridgeport people know about (they asked before I left). Something that I haven't brought up yet is that I'll actually be interviewing at SC4 on Tuesday for an assistant women's basketball position as well. Those interviews are really important as well, especially since there's a good chance that I'll be able to come away with more financially. Hopefully I can sell them too.
If not, looks like I'll be going to Bridgeport. I'm really glad that they took me for my word that I'll be able to get my license taken care of by the start of the school year. I am going to be really upset if that doesn't work out, especially since I've done everything that I've been told to do - and have saved the emails.
Looks like I'll be returning to the classroom in the fall!
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