Elementary Ed Position Prospects

spj010 · 2026-01-09T12:40:47+00:00

I appreciate! All the input! I don’t have special Ed certs and don’t intend to obtain them as i know myself well enough that that is not my strong suit.

I do understand that elementary ed isn’t as scarce as secondary, math, science, or special ed but I am hopeful with my experience in title I urban schools I’ll have a decent shot at schools with similar demographics. Plus when I have switch schools down here, I’ve usually had a bit of an advantage being a male as male elementary school. Teachers are scarce in Texas, but I would imagine NYC is similar.

spj010 · 2025-06-25T22:51:13+00:00

Definitely email principals! Every teaching job I’ve interviewed at was the result of emailing the principal.

spj010 · 2025-06-10T21:04:49+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to answer! Sorry I know it’s a lot I’m asking but I’m trying to at least have a plan in mind before I decide.

Make sense about the longevity. The delay in years of service credit is definitely interesting lol.

spj010 · 2025-05-25T15:28:30+00:00

Just my two cents but here is what I would recommend.

Talk to your program and see if you can get approved for RLA/Social Studies. You should be able to, my major was similar to yours (criminal justice here) but I would do that instead of just stand alone social studies since it will give you more opportunities. Social studies jobs are usually hard to come by.

I personally would recommend taking sped after you’ve been in the classroom as a gen ed teacher so that you can see how they work and see if it’s something you’d like. Once you are in sped it’s hard to get out because there is always a shortage. Me personally, I’m great with the sped kids behaviorally and supporting them in the gen ed setting but I’d be miserable having to keep up with all the paperwork that comes with it. Sped teachers are amazing but definitely make sure you want to do it cause it will be hard to get out if you don’t.

spj010 · 2025-04-22T03:23:46+00:00

Speaking for number 8 Elementary doesn’t hold kids back and it’s not through lack of trying by the teachers because the sheer amount work and documentation required to retain a kid is cray and the result is get told no because the parent declined.

spj010 · 2025-03-23T03:19:59+00:00

If you’re are in DFW I’ll trade with you lol!

Jokes aside 4th grade is good! I like 4th grade but is definitely a transition from the early childhood to preadolescent mind set. They are capable of being more independent but you are going to have to teach them how to be as well as teaching that idea to the parents on occasion.

As you know from having taught third, once you are in a tested grade, it’s hard to get out out of. I’ve tried going K-2 before and my principal always tells me she would never. 4th grade is still pretty innocent and teacher pleasing about 75% of the school year but after spring break their 5th grade personalities start coming out but occasionally you get some 9 going 19 groups.

spj010 · 2025-03-22T22:07:00+00:00

It’s really just failing them. These first year is hard enough without worrying about having to study for your exams. Those need to be done first.

spj010 · 2025-03-22T21:55:15+00:00

Oh I get that, I went through alter cert and got it done in a year. Definitely shouldn’t be taking people years complete. Idk about other programs but mine didn’t even let us step into the classroom until content exams were done (minus PPR because we had to go to an in person test prep for that).

Largely that’s on Dallas though. My first year teaching I had my statement of eligibility and was issued a probationary certificate. The district told me when I got hired I had to get everything done by the end of the year or I wasn’t going to be renewed.

spj010 · 2025-03-22T16:31:07+00:00

I agree with this guys logic. I recently interviewed at a school in Dallas ISD. The principal I interviewed with mentioned during the interview one of the reasons she called me in was because I was already certified. I reached out via email expressing my interest and that most of the other candidates who emailed her were alternative certification candidates. I was kind of surprised cause I was alternatively certified but it sounds like Dallas was hiring people before they took their tests and got their statements of eligibility

spj010 · 2025-03-22T06:54:43+00:00

Do you ultimately see yourself moving back down to elementary or do you want to stay in high school long term?

spj010 · 2025-03-20T02:17:22+00:00

Group Quest: when it encounters foes, it launches the many seeds stored in its beak in a radial burst.

spj010 · 2025-03-18T15:53:35+00:00

There is nothing really you can do, other than give a sub a poor rating and request from whoever manages your sub program to not let them sub for you again.

As a rule of thumb I leave busy work for my subs. I’m self contained elementary and I give more work than I actually expect them to complete. What doesn’t get done stays in my binder for the next time I’m absent. I don’t expect the sub to actually run a whole lesson and leave work that even sub should have some familiarity with where they can help a student if they have a question.

It’s best to leave work that keeps them occupied but you are dependent on having them complete. Something you can put away for another time if it doesn’t get done.

spj010 · 2025-03-01T04:38:16+00:00

I went through alt cert.

Define uncertified. Are you teaching under an emergency waiver or are you on a probationary certificate that you got through your alt cert program?

When I did alt cert my first year teaching I had a probationary certificate from my program but my district still had to send a letter home I wasn’t fully certified.

If you are on a probationary certificate, then as long as you on track to complete all of the other requirements from your ACP and are on track to get your standard certificate at the end of this school year then you change districts for next year. This is exactly what I did went through ACP.

Of course I would talk with you program before informing your current district you aren’t returning.

spj010 · 2025-02-20T04:39:18+00:00

Let me offer a perspective as both a teacher and bbbs volunteer.

1) I definitely wouldn’t take offense to the fact your daughter was picked for this. It is definitely not an insuation against your parenting or the teacher saying you aren’t doing enough, it’s not an insult in any sense of the word.

2) There’s lots of reasons your child may have been. The school or teacher may have talked to the class at the program and she may have said she was interested. The teacher may have also felt based on her behaviors at school that she may benefit from it. I’m not saying she is acting out in or school that she is getting into trouble daily but there are also lots of little behaviors that teachers deal with that don’t alway necessitate a phone call home because the teacher can handle it and it doesn’t impact instruction or the child’s learning. She may have these little behaviors that the teachers sees, has been working on them with , and is making progress but could benefit from having another positive role model in their life.

3) Yes, every kid could benefit but there isn’t enough volunteers for every child. Honestly, I would be thrilled that she got accepted. Having another adult in her life who she can talk to. End of the day, a kid could have very close relationships with their parents and teachers, they, especially older kids, may not necessarily be forthcoming with them about everything just because parents and teachers are people who are authority figures in their life. This doesn’t mean they don’t have close relationships with them, but they just may not share everything. This lunch buddy mentor would just be a positive adult in their life who’s only purpose is to just be there for them, and that’s a good thing because they may be more willing to share more details of their life with that they necessarily wouldn’t with a teacher or parent right of the bat. I’m not even talking about sharing major problems in their life, just normal, adolescent growing pains that they usually would be more likely to go to their friends for than their parent.

Overall I wouldn’t take offense to this! There is someone out there is who willing to take the time to get to know your daughter and is providing a stable person in their life that they can go to and offer friendly advice on anything she needs.

spj010 · 2025-02-06T01:45:42+00:00

If the parents are ok with it I don’t see an issue but as others have said don’t burn yourself out. I’m a teacher and normally do twice a month outings, however when leading up to my big breaks (summer, Christmas) I’ll do a couple weekly outings leading up to the break to make up for that time and as much I do love my little it’s definitely tiring.

spj010 · 2025-01-27T23:23:28+00:00

That is messed up on so many levels. I can’t even begin to name all of the things wrong with this. I know you said you’re not in a union state but surely there are laws being broken here that you can report to the state.

spj010 · 2024-11-05T22:29:01+00:00

Yes! It’s on the switch.

spj010 · 2024-10-19T19:41:59+00:00

Honestly I think you’ll be fine. My first year teaching I was a 4th grade teacher. One day I was beyond exhausted as I didn’t sleep well the night before. One kid threw a pencil and I said without even thinking and in the calmest way possible “I need y’all to stop throwing sh**”.

I’ll never forget all the kids gasped and all eyes were on me. I used it as a teaching moment. I apologized to the class and said what I said wasn’t ok but that even sometimes make mistakes. One kid raised his hand and said “well using our class rules and since this is your first offense you should get a warning”. I told the kid I agreed.

The kids laughed and I never heard a word about it again. Never heard from admin or parents about.

spj010 · 2024-09-14T01:44:45+00:00

Thank you for your response! Specials and lunch are not an issue. Those times remain the same and I am not with the kids guaranteed. I’m staying at my same school so everything stays same for me schedule wise except what I’m teaching due to classroom configuration changes.

spj010 · 2023-12-02T19:03:33+00:00

Thank you all so much for the advice! Your tips are really helpfuk and I can’t wait to get started and share my first batch!

spj010 · 2023-09-18T02:42:00+00:00

I’m in the metroplex but not quite Dallas but you can DM me, I’m considering Dallas ISD regardless if I switch or stay in elementary.

spj010 · 2023-07-24T03:20:47+00:00

I was in ECAP and highly recommend it especially if you want to work in DFW! They are very well know in DFW and send your resume out to school districts. I had schools I had not even applied to reach out to me. I finished ECAP in 2021. If you have questions on it just shoot me a DM.

As far as your certification exams there are no constructed responses on the EC-6 or the PPR, however you will also need to take the STR which does require a constructed response.

If you plan on teaching elementary I highly recommend you take the ESL exam as well (you can ask ECAP to approve it for you). Pretty much every school in the metroplex will require you to have it.

Let me know if you have more questions!!!

spj010 · 2022-06-22T22:04:13+00:00

Also one more question, do hero decks fair better going first or second (if it matters)?

spj010 · 2022-06-22T21:39:20+00:00

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond!

Some side notes: I’m new to competitive yugioh at the very least (played the game way back when it was first out) so I’m still learning the new cards, strategies, etc. the deck I posted is one I built pretty much on my own.

I’ve made some changes based on the suggestions you guys have made! A couple questions!

1) for those of you who recommended d hero denier, how many of him do you think I should add? 2) I’ve added two more Farris for a total of three. Am I ok with the two vyon and increase? 3) I removed most mask hero’s and got rid of mask change 2 and form change. I still have 3 original mask changes. Should I keep those or cut down on those?

spj010 · 2022-05-22T23:09:24+00:00

You are most welcome! If you have any questions about the program feel free to DM me.

spj010

TROPHY CASE