Prince William County Schools (Manassas, Woodbridge: appointed, foreclosures, school districts)

[ameliav1]

I'm interested in relocating to the Woodbridge area. As of June of this year, I am certified to teach PreK-6th grade. For the past year I have been checking the PWCS website and have been surprised to see the number of open positions, even in the middle of the school year (Keep in mind I'm from a much smaller area where the positions are very limited and extremely competitive).
Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed. I've applied and sent in the proper documents. I've even called to make sure everything was received. Still, no call or interview.
Has anyone else had trouble? Should I have applied in the spring?
Help!

[tgbwc]

When you see a position posted that you are interested in, perhaps you could contact the school asking if it is still open, and tell them that you are interested in it. Let them know that your application is on file with human resources.

[knopfler]

If you're driveable to the area, take a morning off and go directly to the PWCS staffing HQ - I think it's at Pace East? You'll jump to the front of their list and you'll likely get hired on the spot.

In lieu of being able to do that, I like tgbwc's suggestion too. It's worth noting that there are all kinds of positions that aren't posted that are indeed available, so don't believe that the posted positions are the only positions out there.

[anpanman]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

When you see a position posted that you are interested in, perhaps you could contact the school asking if it is still open, and tell them that you are interested in it. Let them know that your application is on file with human resources.

I think this is a very good idea. We just lost a teacher who had to follow a spouse a couple of weeks ago (I'll PM you the name of the school and the grade level). In general, though, it is better to apply in spring, because that is when the hiring starts. At this time of year, you're hoping that teachers have to follow a spouse, or registrations go way up. Otherwise, you're stuck with a position that people are staying away from or a principal who is not on the ball enough to be staffed by now. (Unless you're SPED or ESOL...we're always short on that!)

This year it feels like the numbers are very unpredictable. Our area has been hit hard by foreclosures and somewhat by some immigrants leaving the county, and it's possible that other areas are the same, so I wouldn't be surprised if total vacancies are somewhat down this year.

[EMTnest]

Well, I know they have destaffed ESOL teachers at the elementary schools and other teachers have been destaffed at the middle school level. I think some of the principals are holding back on hiring staff because everything is dependent upon the numbers at the end of Sept. Last year, we had lots of destaffing including newly hired teachers because the numbers of students were lower than anticipated. What a bummer it was for them, as they were the last hired. Also the vacancy listing is not always accurate as I see positions listed and I know they have been filled already -- it takes awhile for them to take down positions.

[tgbwc]

Could you also apply with Fairfax and Stafford Counties? Possibly even Manassas Park and Manassas City?

[barryhussein]

Having had experiences applying for work with both MCPS and PWCPS, allow me to comment. I will give the HR department at MCPS an A-. They were prompt and courteous, and helped me make sure everything was in order. The minus is for losing one document, that I helped them find, and also, they were not forthcoming about pay for unused sick leave. You only get 2.50 per hour for unused sick leave at MCPS.
As for PWCPS, I give their HR department a D-. They drag their feet, and don't follow up. They finally called me in for an interview after waiting eight weeks. By that time, I had already been hired, elsewhere. I told them to please keep my file, as a may want to apply the next school year. Less than a year later, I went back to reapply. They could not find one scrap of the lengthy hiring process. Also, they seem to collude with other school districts regarding hiring from neighboring communities. They also, willingly use Substitutes, who only pocess a high school diploma. If you pay 4000 Dollars per year (in property taxes) to have your child instructed by someone with only HS; something is seriously amuck.

[anpanman]

Originally Posted by barryhussein

By that time, I had already been hired, elsewhere. I told them to please keep my file, as a may want to apply the next school year. Less than a year later, I went back to reapply. They could not find one scrap of the lengthy hiring process. Also, they seem to collude with other school districts regarding hiring from neighboring communities.

Just to give you another perspective, and perhaps some advice to future job seekers, you probably shouldn't have told them that you just got a new job in another district but would be applying the next year. I imagine they tossed your file. It's expensive to hire and train new teachers, versus retaining current teachers. When they heard that you were already planning to leave your new job after just a year, before you even started the job, they probably thought, "What's to stop him from leaving us after just a year and costing us a chunk of change?"

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

When you see a position posted that you are interested in, perhaps you could contact the school asking if it is still open, and tell them that you are interested in it. Let them know that your application is on file with human resources.

I was just in to my school yesterday. The principal is hiring a new p.e teacher. She said as soon as the position was posted she had 10 resume's and letters on her desk. She told one guy, "I had to go get your file", meaning she had to request it from Fairfax Co. HR, which she probably didn't really want to do. She would rather have the applicant contact her directly.

[barryhussein]

Originally Posted by anpanman

Just to give you another perspective, and perhaps some advice to future job seekers, you probably shouldn't have told them that you just got a new job in another district but would be applying the next year. I imagine they tossed your file. It's expensive to hire and train new teachers, versus retaining current teachers. When they heard that you were already planning to leave your new job after just a year, before you even started the job, they probably thought, "What's to stop him from leaving us after just a year and costing us a chunk of change?"

I was already a fully trained bus driver. The application process is similar, though. I would avoid PWCS, though. It's almost like people speak a different language, once you cross into PWC compared with FCPS.
The openings are likely to be on the east side of the county..........