The Long and Winding Road, Part II

Note: If you haven't read Part I of the story, you'll obviously want to do that first. -M

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So now I had a mission: To submit the paperwork for the Alternative Route to Licensure (ARL) and begin seeking a job in education in earnest. It took a couple of weeks to get everything together. It wasn't a difficult process, but the expense was nontrivial, considering I'm effectively unemployed. I had to submit an application for a criminal background check ($69), after which I was directed to a local school district office for fingerprinting ($10). From there I just had to download and fill out the application form and mail it to the State with an official copy of my college transcripts ($5) and the processing fee ($50). Within ten to fifteen business days, I would have my response back.

While waiting for my answer, I started getting my supporting documentation in order. Most district applications that I looked at required three current letters of recommendation. I requested, and got, letters from my former boss at the call center, the principal at my favorite school, and the substitute teacher coordinator at my favorite district. I rewrote my résumé and updated my work history and my list of references to emphasize my work experience in education. I picked up an employment application for one school district, downloaded a second, and filled out online applications for two others. My attempt to download an application for a fifth district was unsuccessful due to technical problems on their web site. I began, little by little, to get my proverbial ducks in a row.

Then, on Thursday, July 9th, I got a letter in the mail from the state Office of Education. My ARL request had been approved! I was in business. Over the following weekend I finished organizing my stuff, filled out the applications I had, made copies of my ARL letter and my letters of recommendation, and printed out copies of my résumé. When Monday morning came around, I was all dressed up and ready to go.

I hit the road around 8:45 a.m. and headed north. My first stop was the Davis School District office, where I submitted my completed application and supporting documentation. The HR secretary reviewed my paperwork and confirmed that I had everything they were looking for. She said that she didn't know if they were screening ARL candidates at this time, but promised me a phone call if they were. I thanked her for her time. One down, four to go.

From there I mixed a little pleasure with the day's business. I was already halfway to Ogden, and not having seen Lord Mhoram in several weeks, I drove up and spent an hour or so with him. It was nice to just sit and chat and catch up with each other and our families. Good times.

Mhoram had to go to his job then, and I had to get back to mine. I drove back to SLC and made my way to the downtown offices of the Salt Lake City School District. Again, I turned in my application and other information. The secretary there stamped my packet and told me I'd receive a card in the mail once everything had been processed. Sure enough, I got a post card two days later. That's all I've heard so far. Two down.

It was just a short drive from there down State Street to the Granite School District offices. GSD is the district in which I've done the vast majority of my substitute teaching, and the offices are in the same complex as my favorite school. I had already submitted an application electronically, so I was there just to turn in supporting documentation. The HR coordinator for secondary schools, with whom I'd talked a couple of times before, thanked me for bringing in my stuff and told me she'd get the information out to the principals. Best news so far. Three down.

The Jordan School District office was my next stop. The Jordan District is only about half as large this year as it was last year; the eastern half of the district voted to secede and create a new district, the Canyons District (more about which momentarily). Part of the change involved moving the offices to a new location, a beautiful new building near the Jordan Landing commercial park. Anyway, I arrived at the office and told the secretary I was there to apply for a secondary teaching position. She put introduced me to one of the HR people over secondary teachers, and I explained that I wanted to apply for a position but had been unable to download an application from the district's web site. She were able to print off the application I'd submitted to Teachers-Teachers.com for another district and add the rest of my documentation to it. Then she asked if I'd be available to come in for a screening interview on Friday. Better yet. We scheduled the appointment for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, and I thanked her for all her help. On the way out, I also thanked the secretary for her assistance. Four down, one more to go.

My final stop of the day was the aforementioned Canyons School District. This was the district from which the HR Director I'd met at that Professional Network Meeting on June 8th had come. I also knew from Teachers-Teachers.com that they had posted openings for Chemistry/Biology teachers in two of the district's four high schools. So I was optimistic. I had a little difficulty finding the place; they had also had to establish new headquarters, which ended up being in one of the district's elementary schools (which, from all appearances, is no longer going to be used as a school). I talked to the secretary and told her I had submitted an application online and that I was there to submit additional documentation. She paged someone from HR, and in a few moments I was talking to a lady in the secondary department. She told me that the person I needed to talk to was out for the week, but that I could come in for a screening interview at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. I accepted, of course, and then asked if they were still looking for someone for those two positions. She said she didn't know, but added that they had done a lot of hiring in the previous couple of weeks.

That was the last one. I went home, having put in a pretty good day's work for someone without a real job.

So, to summarize my day's travels:
* From our house to the Davis School District headquarters: 25.9 miles.
* To Lord Mhoram's home: 17.9 miles
* To the Salt Lake School District headquarters: 33.9 miles.
* To the Granite School District headquarters: 4.0 miles.
* To the Jordan School District headquarters: 13.1 miles.
* To the Canyons School District headquarters: 12.9 miles.
* Back home: 10.4 miles.
Total distance: 118.1 miles^†, give or take, in a period of about 5½ hours. Five districts visited, two interviews scheduled. Fair enough.

Wednesday afternoon brought a welcome surprise. One of the schools in the Granite School District—the same school at which I'd substituted for six weeks this spring, in fact—called to ask if I could come in to interview for a Chemistry position the following morning at 10:00. Nancy had her sixteen-week doctor's appointment scheduled at exactly that time, so I asked if I could come in earlier. Sounding rather surprised that I'd actually be willing to come in early, the secretary told me the Vice Principal could meet with me at 8:30 a.m. I told her I'd be there.

So I made my way to East Side High School (not the school's real name) early the following morning. I was met by both of the school's Vice Principals and invited to come into the office. As it turns out, I interviewed for the same job I'd substituted for in March and April. That teacher had taken a higher-paying administrative position in another district, so they were looking for someone who could teach Honors and AP Chemistry. One of the questions they asked me was whether I would feel comfortable teaching Chemistry at that level. I assured them it would be no problem at all. I spent about half an hour with them, and they seemed to like my responses to their questions (even if though I felt like I was babbling a bit at times). I left feeling very confident about how I'd performed during the interview. Still, I knew they were interviewing at least two other candidates. They said they'd be making the final decision on either Friday or Monday. I was cautiously optimistic.

Friday morning's interview was rather interesting. First, because I neglected to bring (or even look at) the reminder note I'd written on Monday, I arrived at 10:00 instead of my scheduled time of 10:30. Second, when I got there, there was already a guy sitting in the lobby. We started to talk, and I found out that he was the 10:00 appointment and that he was seeking a job teaching...you guessed it, Chemistry. He mentioned that he had been at another interview the previous day...you guessed it, at East Side High School. Freaky. Anyway, we had about eight minutes to chat before he was called in, and we talked about our respective job searches. He, too, had graduated in Chemistry and was looking for a position through ARL. We compared notes and commiserated a little. He's a nice guy. I hope he finds something he'll like.

As I waited for my turn in the interviewing room, the secretary (a different one than I'd met on Monday) remarked on how patient I was. I responded with something like, "Well, if you don't have the patience to wait for an interview, you'll never survive in a classroom." She agreed.

Anyway, my turn came at last. The nice HR lady spent about half an hour with me. She spent the first ten minutes pitching the district to me: talking about the schools, the neighborhoods, the rapid growth the area was experiencing, the district's compensation rates and benefits packages for teachers, and so on. The next fifteen minutes were spent in a Q&A, where she asked me about everything from education philosophy to classroom management to how to control unruly students. And in the last five minutes, she told me that the district wasn't hiring any secondary science teachers right now, but that they would keep my application on file for up to two years, and that if anything opened up, they'd refer my information to the principal(s) in question. I thanked her for her time and drove home. An eventful interview, to be sure, but not quite what I'd hoped for. Still, I had that screening interview with the Canyons district on Monday morning to look forward to, so I couldn't complain.

Finally, my week's efforts ended on a definite upswing. I got a call from the secretary at East Side High School on Friday afternoon. The Principal, who had been at a conference all week, wanted to meet with me on Monday afternoon. That's right, loyal reader(s). I've been called in for a second interview!

So it's been a long and winding road, both literally and figuratively. Where will it lead? I don't know. Time (and patience) will tell, I suppose. Any and all prayers, well-wishes, and/or positive vibes would be greatly appreciated. I'll let you know how it turns out.

And now, if you'll pardon me, I have some thank-you notes to write.

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^†Mileage estimates via Mapquest.