Amanda Takes Off...

In a two-week period, I have had three job interviews. I'm interested in going into gifted education, but I simply can't move forward at my current school. Sure, I can take my graduate classes and teach the advanced math class, but that's it.

So I set up interviews for three school-based classroom positions and a resource teacher position in the county. (In a classroom position the teacher has a classroom full of gifted and high-ability students in one classroom. In a resource teacher position the teacher works with all of the gifted students in a school in a pull-out or push-in position. Often, resource teachers work in multiple schools. There are also schools made up entirely of gifted students, but none of them advertised positions.)

At one school I was told that the gifted classroom position wasn't officially open, but they wanted me. They offered me a regular classroom position. I stood my ground and told them I wasn't going to make a purely lateral move. I wanted a gifted position. They asked if they could call me in for another interview if/when the position opened. Of course.

I interviewed for a resource position and later found out that they had a fifth of the normal number of open positions. (Blame budget cuts!) Since I'm not coming in fully endorsed, and since most resource teachers come from gifted classrooms or gifted schools, it's no surprise I didn't hear back from them.

I interviewed for another school and was offered a job in record time (excluding Korea, where being an English-speaker and preferably white is qualification enough). It's for a lower-grade position. I consider myself an upper-grade teacher. However, I know someone at the school and she loves it there and the panel thought I'd be a good fit for third grade. I said I'd consider it.

The fourth interview was lined up for next week.

Well, I considered and considered and I've accepted the primary gifted education position. The transfer has been approved, so starting in the fall I will be at a new school, in a new grade, as a classroom-based gifted teacher.

I always knew I'd get endorsed in some area, but for the first three years I debated between going into gifted education and going into English as a Second Language. I've had experience in both and I know that, domestically at least, my heart is in gifted ed. And now I'm moving forward!

I am so excited!