hey. i am in the same boat. I emailed docs to a friend back home. They got the notarizations and mailed them directly to the school for me.

Hi teachers,

I am looking for online courses that will apply towards renewing my Florida teaching certificate. Does anyone have any leads on accredited online classes that are cheap, easy, or both?

Thanks!

Dude

Hi folks,

I am certified K-6th in the state of Florida. The renewal requirements are pretty difficult to meet for a teacher living overseas (PD doesn't count for our continued ed. You must be logging some university classes every 5 years). I have heard that it is possible to apply for a New Jersey cert, which does not expire. I read through the NJ state site (http://www.state.nj.us/education/educat ... e/teacher/) but it seems too easy. Am I missing something here? If I switch over to a NJ cert and let my Florida one lapse, will my NJ cert expire? Anyone have any experience with this?

Also, for what it's worth, I am not doing this out of sheer laziness. I enjoy growing as a teacher and do a few Pd workshops every year. But to renew my Florida certificate I must take some specific classes that are not at all applicable to teaching at an international school. I would much rather be free to choose what to focus on.

Thanks!

It might be a bit late to start signing up for search, so using TIE is a good option. I was in your boat 2 years ago. I applied to 75 or so positions (basically everything that wasn't in Saudi). I got a handful of interviews and offers, mostly for mediocre schools that were ok hiring someone with only ESL experience. I accepted the one that seemed the least terrible, and it has been a fine experience. Finishing my second year now and just got hired at a much better school. I initially used Search Associates though, which opened a few more doors than TIE. But if you apply to everything and are ok putting in 2 years at a school wit hsome problems, you should get your foot in the door.

i'm at a tier 2 school in SEA and our school provides PD funds. But like others have said, most people don't do it. In my two years here I have gone to three workshops abroad though. I also take some personal days attached to PD trips so I can check out a new city.

I am at a tier two school, going on my second year. Two people were fired during my time. One gave high school students the keys to her apartment while she was away so they could have a place to .. The other lied on his resume, which led to a step up on the pay scale. The school somehow found out (I think they were checking up on him for some reason) and fired him that afternoon. Two more had contracts not renewed for various reasons.

I have a pretty similar career path to what you are describing. My wife and I taught in a university for six years before realizing that we enjoy teaching younger kids way more. Went back to school to get a K-6 teaching certification and are now living in Southeast Asia. I had some ESL experience and included it in my resume. But like the other posters said, it really isn't too helpful. I tried to focus more on my student teaching experience in an international school that I had while getting certified.

When it came time to look for my first position my lack of experience was a huge limitation. We ended up at a school with great pay offset by a ton of serious problems (read lower tier 2). I put in my two years and just signed a contract for a much better school. If you are ok spending your first two years at a mediocre school like I did, then finding a position is no problem. Finding a school that will hire you AND give your child a descent education will be a bit tougher.

My wife an I applied to 20 or so schools (we are both elementary teachers). Had 4 interviews and 3 offers. But one of our top picks just sent us contracts so we signed can thankfully avoid the job fairs.

I teach elementary art. And my certification (from the state of Florida) is for KG-6th grade. It's for home room teaching, but it covers art as well. As to why there are so many positions open, I would guess that we are a shifty bunch, prone to moving more often. And as schools grow, they shift from one art teacher for the whole school, to a dedicated elementary art teacher.

I do look at the package first when evaluating a school. But there are a lot of other small details that can add up to a make a tier one school as well. I just interviewed with a what I consider to be a tier one school. They mentioned that teachers are given joint planning time with their entire grade level twice a week, that the orientation process continues for the first 4 months, that you are given a curriculum mentor and a different mentor to help with life in that country, etc. Aside from earning a lot of money, these things keep teachers content. And a big factor in making a tier one school is that the teachers stay a while and make the school better. So I would suggest looking at the package, but see if there is anything beyond that as well.

there are quite a few mildly sketchy international schools on Jeju Island in SK (no personal experience, they just have a lot of negative reviews on this site). A couple of them have already posted positions on Search. If you don't mind working at a less than perfect school for a couple of years, they might serve a stepping stone to something more long term in Korea.

I think the danger of urging a school to move along the process because you have other offers is that they might feel like you are giving them an ultimatum. Regardless of how tactfully you phrase it, they might just wish you the best of luck with your other offers. If you want to see where you are at with a school, say so, but I would leave other offers out of that conversation.