The International Schools Review Forum

I am getting ready to go abroad next year and am currently preparing my resume: After many years of regular elementary school experience (in the US) I took some time off, breaking my tenure. I went back to the classroom when the recession hit, but due to my experience (which here is being counted against me as it makes me too expensive a hire) was only able to secure part time work at a high school. During one of those years I was lucky to secure a full time position on top of that, alas I knew from the start that this position was temporary.

My question is: How is this part time experience going to be viewed, given this is my only experience as a high school teacher? How about the year I did both (part time high school plus full time elementary)?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Probably not well, it would be different if you had several years experience and then could explain away the part time work, but with so little experience its not going to look good. Schools are likely to only give you at best half a credit, and many wont count part time, or substitute work at all.

My advice is to focus on a your years of primary school focus. Secondary was a professional growth period for you, that you persued to expand your skill set as a teacher. Developing a better understanding of adolescents gave you a new and better perspective of what your primary students were going into.