Career Change: The Job Offer (Part 2)

You know that old saying "Good things come to those who wait??"  Well, that is definitely the case when it comes to my career change.  I have very exciting news, but first...

Let's review where I was on the job situation:  I had been hired for an ESL position in Revere, but due to not passing the ESL MTELs, I was unhired, for which I was relieved as I didn't feel qualified to do that job.  For the past couple of weeks, I've been going on a flurry of job interviews, which ran the gamut from higher elementary grades (5th and 6th) to high secondary grades (11th and 12th) from as far north as Lawrence to all the way down to Somerville (a town just outside Boston) and everywhere in between.  Today I went on my final job interview.  Why final? Because today's interview resulted in a job offer!!  YAY!!

My new teaching position is perfect and is exactly the kind of job that I was specifically looking for.  I have been hired by one of the high schools in Lawrence, MA - the Business, Management & Finance High School.  A little background about the Lawrence school district:  this district is a Level 5 turnaround district, which means that it has been taken over by the state and is in receivership.  There has been a huge turnover in personnel and it was the one school district that I was itching to work for because of the exciting changes going on and that it is a TFA partnership district that is the closest proximity to my home (a mere 30 minutes away).  The campus of Lawrence High School (pictured above) actually houses 6 different high schools - my new high school is one of them. 

At 8:00 am this morning, I went on a job interview with the principal of BMF High and it went extraordinarily well.  By 11:30 am, she had called me and offered me the position.  I went back this afternoon and got a chance to see my new classroom.  No chance for any grass to grow under my feet, as new teacher orientation starts at 8:30 am tomorrow morning.  Whew!  

My new position is:  teaching 2 classes of Freshman (1 reading and 1 writing), 1 class of 11th grade honors and 2 classes of 12th grade college prep.  The 12th graders are probably going to hate me because it's World/British literature.  According to one of my colleagues whom I met this afternoon, the 12th graders typically do not like British lit.  That's just a sad state of affairs for them because it's my favorite, which is why they're going to hate me!  :-) 

I am truly excited and thrilled for my new position. So much so, that I spent a good portion of the day celebrating, which included eating 2½ pieces of disgustingly greasy, yet oddly delicious pizza and an obscene amount of candy. I get to meet all my new kids next Monday.  I suspect that each class will have anywhere from 20-25 kids per class.  This promises to be the most challenging, exhausting and totally thrilling job that I've ever had in my life and I can't wait to get started.  I'm sure I'll have days that I just want to sit and weep and other days I'll think are the best days of my life.  It's going to be a great adventure and I can't wait to begin.  Again, stay tuned for future updates!

Wish me luck!