Career Corner

One of our readers asked about adding to an MA in Educational Leadership and finding the mentorship opportunities in order to move up to a superintendent's position.

Emily (Pennsylvania) wrote in about requesting a transfer in the district, especially the timing of such a request. To address this question, I turned to AAEE’s President and President-elect for their opinions. Doug (Colorado; human resources) responded: “In considering a transfer request, you should probably know what the school district does in terms of procedure. Do internal transfers occur prior to vacancies being posted to the outside? Do internal transfers have a small window that you need to be aware of for notification? The discussion probably is never too early but the reality is some supervisors might be upset if the discussion is prior to the work that will be done for planning the next years staffing. Depending on the size of the school or district you may want to consult with someone in Personnel or Human Resources prior to talking to your direct supervisor. This might help in understanding how the process works so no one feels offended.”For a second perspective, Dawn (Illinois; career services) writes: “Administrators try to begin getting their staff members in place in early spring. Many start their recruiting efforts in January, with the hopes of having schools fully staffed by the end of the semester. If you are certain that you want to transfer, I’d let your supervisor know as soon as possible. Even January is not too early. Certainly, you would want to do so by March, at the latest. Your supervisor, principal and district administrators will all think much more highly of you if you give them plenty of notice in your request for a transfer. One final note: do you have a transfer site in mind? Have you spoken with the principal there? You might want to know that you have options before you make your final decision.”

The New Year is often a time that you begin thinking about changes in the coming year. The holiday break gives time to reflect and often the new year brings about thoughts of a new career direction. For those of you thinking about a K-12 position beginning in August, it is not too early to begin those plans.

Michelle --- being a teacher assistant, a substitute teacher, a long-term sub, a teacher's aide, etc. are all good alternatives to full-time teaching, if you can survive financially. Your academic achievements and volunteer experiences are excellent building blocks, but subbing, etc. places you directly in a public school classroom environment with 20-30 kids, other teachers, and administrators. So, the comparability to a full-time teaching position is very close. It is your job never to let someone make you feel like a second-class citizen. When you are serving in these alternative titles, the district depends upon your commitment and excellence just as much as if you were the full-time teacher. Try to meet the principal, the other teachers, the school secretary, and others who can remember you and your availability. Working only in one district allows you to deepen these contacts; however, it will limit your range of opportunities, so I would always suggest diversifying among at least 2 or 3 districts.

To the reader who commented anonymously on the difficulty of getting administration positions. You are correct in many items you bring out in your posting. It''s so true that grades, GPAs, etc. etc. do not guarantee employment in education or in educational administration. It sounds like you were willing to make the changes in districts and positions in order to pursue what you wanted. Another comment made me think of what I used to say to education graduates at Ohio State when I worked there: "It's Who You Know" --- but in a positive, proactive way. No employer is going to hire someone he or she does not "know," so either they are going to know applicants ahead of time (through referrals, collegial acquaintances, social contacts) or they will get to know them during the interview process. So, approach #1 would be: get to know as many people in education as possible; join local or state associations; discreetly let people know that you would love to move on into a position in ___________. Then approach #2 would be: reflect, research and plan for outstanding interviewing.

I want to respond to the commenter who wrote that she is losing hope of ever landing an ed admin. postition. It's tough to hear the discouragement after your posting. However, I have a few ideas I'd like to run past you. First of all, is it absolutely necessary to stay in the same district? In most locations around the country, there are usually more than a dozen school systems within commuting distance from someone's home. Nationally, there is a strong need for school administrators, so opportunities may be nearby but not in your district. Also, some ed admin opportunities will not be listed as far-and-wide as teaching vacancies, so you need to get your network of friends "listening" for vacancies in nearby districts. Openings appear on the Agent K-12 website if you are willing to move further than commuting distance. One more idea—stay the five years until retirement for your benefits, and then take a new position in your state or another state! A retirement adventure! Many states now have the retire-rehire option, and I've seen many instances where individuals can retire from one location and move into a new position elsewhere. Does any of this help?

Welcome to the Career Corner! I'm BJ Bryant and as the Executive Director of the American Association for Employment in Education, it is exciting to be a partner with Agent K-12 to discuss the issues of careers in education and of employment in the teaching profession.