Orange County Schools Job Market

[MovedfromFL]

Originally Posted by annerk

And that is different from any other job how? Why do you think that teachers should have special perks taht anyone working for XYZ Company doesn't get?

Is XYZ company going to automatically lay off all first year employees across all departments if they run into financial trouble?

My point in the above post is that even as an experienced teacher who is returning to the same county, I would risk being fired for no reason other than being the newest person on the job. No consideration given to merit, job performance, etc. Of course there have been layoffs in this economy, but most people weren't cut simply because they were the most recently hired (as is the case with teacher jobs). There was usually some consideration given to other factors rather than just chopping all first year employees across all departments. That would be like hiring the best Manager you can find, and then having to tell him he's fired next year just because he is the most recent hire, even if he is doing a fabulous job.

You claim to be against tenure, yet you criticize my post because you want me to see that teachers have to live in the "real world". Sure, I would love live in the "real world". In the event of a layoff, get rid of teachers based on performance reviews, not years on the job. What that means for my family is that even if I do the best job ever next year as a teacher and raise scores to the moon, I will still be first in line to be cut. How is that fair?

The post above about the Seminole County teacher being let go because he is the newest employee in that dept is the same thing. His principal said he was doing a good job but was forced to let him go over all the other teachers in the dept.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

I worked in the corporate world (human resources) for many years before becoming a teacher. I knew who was hired and who was fired (and why).

Companies didn't just run around firing workers for no reason. My point in the above post is that as a former teacher returning to the same county, we would risk being fired for no reason other than being the newest person on the job. No consideration given to merit, job performance, etc. Of course there have been layoffs in this economy, but most people weren't cut simply because they were the most recently hired (as is the case with teacher jobs). There was usually some consideration given to other factors rather than just chopping all first year employees across all departments. That would be like hiring the best Manager you can find, and then having to tell him he's fired next year just because he is the most recent hire, even if he is doing a fabulous job.

You claim to be against tenure, yet you criticize my post because you want me to see that teachers have to live in the "real world". Sure, I would love live in the "real world". In the event of a layoff, get rid of teachers based on performance reviews, not years on the job. What that means for my family is that even if I do the best job ever next year as a teacher and raise scores to the moon, I will still be first in line to be cut. How is that fair?

The post above about the Seminole County teacher being let go because he is the newest employee in that dept is the same thing. His principal said he was doing a good job but was forced to let him go over all the other teachers in the dept.

And in the real world, it very often is last hired, first fired.

[Granny Sue]

Let's get it back on topic folks.

[katyberry]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I've been able to get a bit more information in the past few days, and it seems like next Friday is the big day when I will be able to find out a bit more about openings for next year, at least publicly.

Can some of you teachers give me a little bit of information as far as what is the expectation as far as approaching principals, etc.? Do most principals prefer to hear about interested applicants through online application submission, cover letters & resumes being sent directly to the site, or both?

Thanks for your help!

[boy3365]

Well, let's delete all the posts that are "off-topic" then...


Anyway, if you are applying in Orange, it is okay (and probably necessary) to mail/email your cover letter and resume to each school in which there is an opening. This is in addition to applying for jobs online. I'm sure the OCPS online application system will crash like it always seems to do every summer. In Seminole County, everything is handled through the district office. When I asked HR if it was okay to contact the schools, they told me not to do it.

[annerk]

In Lake County you have to send references with the application, so you need to send hard copies.

[katyberry]

Does anyone know anything about Oak Hill Elementary? I've done some research online, but would like some thoughts from residents in Orlando!

After working on job applications, etc. for almost two months, I finally have my first interview. Hoping for more soon.