Last summer I sent emails asking to stop by three several schools to see the campus. One school politely declined, another didn't respond and the third offered me an interview with the principal. I don't think reaching out to a school, especially in the summer when there is a lull in recruitment, hurts -- you might meet someone who can help your future application. I ended up not visiting the school because I was out of the country by the time they got back to me. However, I got the sense that if I had met the principal, he may have given me a job on the spot.

Will

Also -- I'd echo what others are saying. Add as many certs as you can. I teach ESL in the states but I will be teaching ELA next year. This opportunity opened up because I added the ELA cert along with Social Studies and Special Ed.

I took the same route both of you are hoping to take. I taught in Taiwan for 2 years... got into an alternative teacher program a la Teach For America (The New Teacher Project). I am now completing my MA online through Johns Hopkins and finishing up my second year teaching at a domestic school. Over the winter, secured a teaching position at an upper tier school in China. No one batted an eye-lash at my degree being completed online and my 2 years as an ET in Taiwan proved I could hack it in Asia. If you can give up two to three years to head back to the states do it. There are lots of great alternative certification programs/lateral entry options in many states. However, if you can't bring yourself to leave the life abroad (I don't blame you) there are options available to get your certification which have already been mentioned. Once you have the cert just find third tier school that is desperate. Either way, you will have to slum it for a year or two until better options open up -- it's up to you whether the slumming will be in the States, with lots of support but decidedly less exotic surroundings -- or abroad, with all the risks of ending up in a really undesirable situation.

Good Luck!

@psyguy

Isn't it common for countries to have the same visa requirements for international schools as their own public schools? I'm genuinely curious about this. I would find it bizarre otherwise. As far as I know, in Taiwan, you should be able teach at an international school with just a state substitute license - a credential that is much easier to procure than full licensure.

You can teach at a public school in Taiwan with only a substitute licensee from the states.

Sounds like a lot of expat stories coming out of SEA. What makes this one different is that the victim and suspected perpetrator are both licensed educators. If they were Russian businessmen, career backpackers, or washed up junkies it might make more sense. Hope they catch the guy, though, it's been demonstrably easy to 'disappear' into the crowds of Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam for decades.

Pretty crazy. I find unbelievable that the board did so little homework on who they were hiring. Scamming schools in certain countries, while unethical, might be possible, however, it was very audacious of her to try that in the US. I suppose after decades of living the lie abroad she started to think it would work anywhere.

ELA/ESL/Humanities

@Nathan61

Mostly agree with your post despite some forgivable hyperbole at the end.

@Blinky

I suspect there will be more "lower end" IT jobs as the number of schools, and consequently, the number of positions available increases. However, the core of solid relatively well-paying gigs should remain. The rich will always have kids and want to pay top-dollar or be seen paying top dollar for education.

Just got an invitation to interview with an elite tier school even though I accepted an offer at another school months ago. I'm very happy with my original choice, however, it did make me think 'what if?" Anyway, for anyone who is still looking, there are certainly big fish still swimming around.

Most schools I dealt with this hiring cycle got back to me promptly. The one school that missed the deadline they had set to follow up with me e was waiting to interview a few more teachers before they gave me an offer. I ended up settling for an offer that was on the table instead of waiting around for the "perfect" school. Shoot them a message -- if they aren't going to offer you the position then you haven't lost anything but, if they are going to give you the job, a follow up email certainly won't dissuade them!

That's fair. I'd certainly agree with that.

@psyguy

I absolutely agree. Few schools would be interested in the pedagogical experience gleaned from teaching in a cram school. However, OS living experience is part of the ET experience... I haven't met many ET's teaching here in the states, though ,I've been to some parts of West Virginia that could probably use them. Spinning ET experience into OS living experience is just one example of what I meant when I said to market yourself. Though, I think we're stuck a bit in semantics. My original feeling was, during an interview, its easier to smooth over the transition of ET to certified ESL teacher than from ET to social studies or other unrelated subject areas. For that reason, I thought ESL might be a good route for the OP, but apparently, Utah doesn't offer that option. Best of luck teachjzy.

@wrldtrvlr123

"That sounds interesting but I would have some of the same reservations. How do you ensure that those roles go to great teachers and not just the favorite teachers/yes men of the ones doing the hiring (since we all know the best teachers certainly don't seem to go into admin, in many cases)? Also, many teachers do not want to have to take on coordinator duties in order to increase there salary"

Teachers apply for the roles but are only allowed to take on the position if they demonstrate significant student growth over 3 -5 years (or something in that ballpark) as measured by a teacher value-added system. Most of the MCL's I have worked with have been very competent -- one has not been. Some use it as a stepping stone between the classroom and admin but other genuinely want to stay as close to the classroom as possible. MCLs spend most of their day teaching despite their other roles and this is attractive to a lot of educators. Here is a link if your are interested in reading more. Towards the bottom of the page they list some of the new blended classroom/admin positions that are available.

http://www.projectliftcharlotte.org/opportunity-culture

@psyguy

"Of course they showed interest, what else where they supposed to talk about? They are making small talk as part of the social contract."

I suppose I was vague in my original reply but when I said that they "showed interest" I don't mean that they asked me for recommendations on a good noodle shop in Taipei. I mean they told me explicitly that I was an attractive candidate to them for several reasons, one of them being that I had experience living and working in China/Taiwan. Obviously, one of the most difficult aspects of teaching in China is, well, the China part. They had teachers who signed on in the past but couldn't deal with the pollution and cultural differences that come along with living in the Middle Kingdom. Knowing that a teacher wasn't going to jump ship by xmas gave the admin some peace of mind I suppose. This view is certainly not held in all HR/Admin offices however ET experience is neither useless nor a black mark on a resume if you know how to market yourself.

To the OP... bottom line is you're going to need to make yourself standout, unfortunately, your ESL experience isn't going to do that on its own. You will probably need to supplement it with something more substantial than a credential.