My family moved to College Station last month. We are excited to be in the area, and really love the town.
I ran across this forum, and have enjoyed reading some threads to get me familiar with the area.

My wife is currently looking for employment in the area as a teacher. She actually did the CSISD online application a couple of months ago, and the BISD application a couple of weeks ago. But we have yet to hear anything back.
I realize that jobs can be competitive. She has also applied to surrounding districts this week in hopes of getting an interview soon, as the school year is fast approaching.

I would like to pose a question to any CSISD or BISD administrators or teachers.
There seems to be a black hole when submitting the online application, as you really cannot follow-up after submitting the application. And it seems potential teachers are the mercy of HR picking their application out of a huge stack.

Would it be beneficial for my wife to make some visits to the schools and HR office? Since my wife does not know anyone in the district, it makes it difficult to get on.
Would a principal take objection to an unscheduled visit?
Would there be any reason to make a visit just to check on current openings or to talk to a live person?

My wife is in EC-4 group. But has some specializations in small group literacy, early childhood, etc.
Experience and personality are great. She is one of those people that would only help her chances with a face-to-face, as opposed to other people who might hurt their chances.

I realize this is a specific question, but I figure there are a few people on here with experience in the local education systems.

Thanks,
Jason

Jason, I can't answer your question, but I can maybe explain why you haven't heard anything. You said that the teaching jobs in the area are competitive, and you're right. Most of the jobs that come open are filled before the previous school year ends. My wife is a teacher in an area school district, and I believe they had two vacancies to fill in the elementary school. Both positions were filled before the end of May.

Unfortunately, you and your wife may be a little late in the process. With that said though, there might be some positions open in other areas that might not be at the "top" of her list. Being proactive in her search really couldn't hurt anything - what are they going to tell her? No?

Do some research on all surrounding school districts...don't be picky and be willing to drive 30-45 minutes from College Station if need be.

It is almost always beneficial to try and meet an administrator in person. I believe that both school districts, the principals are responsible for the interviewing and hiring, not the district HR office.

Couple of things to keep in mind.
1. It is the summer, the hours are shorter and there are vacations that are being taken.

2. There are almost always schools being remodeled/rebuilt, so double check so that you don't show up to a campus that is surrounded by a big chain link fence and bulldozers.

3. Look on the district website to e-mail/call principals directly.

Good luck! It's hard to get hired into education right now.

So, even if they are listed on the website/s as available positions, they may not really be available??

You could always follow up by emailing a resume or something to an administrator on the campus you're interested in. Best case scenario, someone notices, worst case scenario, it gets deleted.

You can also contact the private schools (Allen Academy, St. Michaels, St. Joseph, Brazos Christian, Cornerstone...) and BISD/CSISD regarding substitute teaching - at least it will get your foot in the door, so to speak.

As a teacher who has taught for both BISD and CSISD heres my two cents:

1. Send a resume to each school. When you complete the online application it gets filed and sometimes never seen. I applied to CSISD with just the online app and never heard a word. The following year I applied online AND sent a resume with cover letter to EACH principal and was hired. the prinicpal said my sent resume was what she noticed.

2. dont get discouraged. I have had two offers AFTER the school years start. Class sizes are bigger than projected, people move...LOTS of jobs are offered in Sept.

3. Alot of teachers in BISD dont put in their resignation until the very last minute because they lose health insurance when they do. (at least this was true about 5 years ago when i was there). the teachers would wait until the very last possible minute to resign (even though they had other jobs lined up) because they didnt want to lose their insurance (even for one month)

good luck!

Thank you so much for all the replies so far.

It is good to get some perspective on others' experience. Our main concern about contacting administrators directly was that we didn't want to go around the system and irritate anyone. But at the same time, we don't feel comfortable just sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring.

The area seems to be growing, especially in South College Station. So, it would seem that there would be a continued need for teachers.

Thanks again, and please feel free to offer any experience or advice, no matter how small.

Jason

Teachers who wait to resign due to health care concerns are foolish. Coverage continues to the end of the agreed period of time regardless of resignations. Terminating health insurance early because of a resignation would be the same as refusing to pay the rest of the agreed upon salary, even though the teacher had taught to the end of the year.

My impression of how things work: when a school is ready to get ready to interview, they import the online applications and go through them to decide whom they will talk to. In school systems the size of BISD or CSISD this may mean sorting through hundreds of applications (paper or digitally). If there are more applications than experience tells them they need to sort through, they will only grab a portion of them. Administrators do not necessarily have enough time to sort through two hundred applications to find the perfect four people to interview. So your application may or may not be seen, and it really has nothing to do with HR.
I would email principals with resumes attached. Can't hurt. If you can some how determine who is directly tasked with filling the position (an assistant principal? a department head?)send them an email as well.
Applicants who land jobs in April are probably student teachers or substitutes. Substitute pay is dreadful, but it is a way to get a foot in the door.

I don't work in education, but as someone who hires people, I prefer a nice email and a resume that introduces the person to me, and tells me why I should hire them. Then a follow up call or email 2-3 days later shows me that they're really interested.

I had an applicant send me a hand-written thank you note for my time a couple of days after an interview as well. That's the kind of stuff that I like. Just my $.02


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You could also research and apply to local charter schools. We have a couple here in town. One that I know of specifically, The Brazos School for Inquiry and Creativity, is looking for a 3rd/4th grade teacher and a P.E. teacher. The TEA website lists charter schools. They too are required to hire NCLB highly qualified teachers just like the ISD's.

As a sub, I highly recommend subbing while you look. You will be known by the administrative staff and have a chance to prove yourself as worthy, learn about openings from teachers and about long-term subbing opportunities, and you will also learn more about individual schools.

I agree with what has been said. The principals I know like getting emails (with resumes) from people desiring positions. The email addresses can be obtained from the campus websites. If she doesn't have a job before school starts, sub! As previously stated, you get to know the schools and they get to know you. A great sub is in high demand, and being known makes it easier to get a job.

In the meantime, I would look to area districts within driving distance from CS such as Hearne, Navasota, Caldwell, etc.

Many need teachers.

JTH, welcome to the area and to MyBCS!

The thing for her to do is go to tasanet's site. This is where many educational jobs are posted.

Do a basic search in our region, Region 6. Most all available public education jobs will be listed there. Check back often even through September, as vacancies will sometimes show up on a daily basis.

At the moment, I see 107 teaching positions posted in Region 6 on tasanet's database. Of course not all of these are in her area of certification but she can run a refined search.

http://www.tasanet.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20747&Itemid=1018

Second, I'd recommend she go to ESC Region VI's website and check out their district employment posts as some districts may choose to post here instead of on tasanet. I saw some from Allen Academy, which is an elite private school in Bryan.

http://esc6.net/info/employment/employ_district.aspx

Also, they have a place where she can enter her credentials and principals looking for teachers in her field may check with ESC VI this way to find candidates to interview when trying to fill a vacancy.

I have a couple of relatives who have found jobs via both ESC VI's site and the tasanet site. Both seem to be good tools and seem to be the way many teachers in our area find work.

I would take a look at the map before interviewing. Conroe, for instance, would likely be too long a commute for her. Buffalo and Rockdale might be do-able, but will still be an hour plus on the road one way. Montgomery, depending on how far south in College Station you live, might be an hour. Several smaller districts are within a half hour from BCS. Best regards, and holler back to let us know how she does.

Thank you all so much for the replies. We have gotten some great ideas, and it is nice to hear from those that have been down that path.

We have been working on contacting other districts as well as some direct contacts here in town. Nothing has opened up yet, but we are in better shape than we were.

The summer is growing shorter, so we are hopeful that something will open soon.

Thanks,
Jason

senecation- I quit my school district job a few years back and they paid me my entire summer salary on the next pay day, thus terminating my insurance. It does happen.

Jason, I would also recommend stopping by the schools. Go in, ask for the principal, tell him/her you just wanted to drop off a resume, and introduce yourself.

I have also had former principals call principals with openings just to give me a personal recommendation. Sometimes that will get you in the door.