Transitioning to a new teaching area?

[Kholland]

Hi All,

I am a special education teacher with 7 years of experience currently in my second year at an international school. I am credentialed in special education with a masters degree in education. For the past several year I have been doing a lot of push in support in homeroom classes and had many opportunities to lead class lessons and co teach with teachers. In this process I realized that I would like to transition to being a classroom teacher. While I enjoy teaching special education there have been some aspects that have really worn on me and I feel I am ready for a change. I have begun an online course to become credentialed as a multiple subject elementary school teacher in addition to my current qualifications. I would like to apply for a classroom teaching position when I leave my current job but what are the chances of a school hiring me without the direct 2 years of experience? Will my 7 years of special education teaching experience help? I have also had PYP training as Im at a full IB school and extensive co teaching/classroom teaching experience. Is there anything else I could do to bolster my chances?

Thank you for your advice!

[wrldtrvlr123]

Hello. Fellow SPED teacher here. I would think that many schools would give you a look as an elementary teacher. It would be up to you to spin..er..I mean highlight your most relevant experiences for that role (e.g. co-teaching, inclusion, extensive experience with differentiation, experience with IB). If nothing else, the cynic in me says some principals might welcome a teacher upon whom they could safely dump all of the kids on that grade level with special issues.

Yes, there probably will be some schools that would be looking for someone with more direct elementary experience, but there still should be a fair amount of good schools out there that would give you a fair look.

[sid]

Often the easiest way to transition is to do it at your current school. They know you and are more likely to take a chance on you.