HALLELUIAH!!!

FINALLY! I have found a job! After months of searching in both Illinois and Minnesota and nine interviews, I have landed a teaching position in the 'burbs of St. Paul. Here's the story -

About two weeks ago, I interviewed at a public K-8 charter school in St. Paul. While the building was very beautiful and "old school" - tall ceilings, hardwood floors, big windows - the school and people themselves were a little chaotic and unorganized for my taste. My interview (with the dean of students and one of the social workers) consisted of them asking me two questions, then saying, "Do you have anything else to add?", without even describing the job. As I drove home from this highly unusual interview thinking, "What the hell just happened?" and talking with my school consultant Cin, she decided that "Kukoo School" would certainly hire me, due to my bad luck with interviews. Sure enough, I got a call-back to meet with the principal, and back I went. While the principal is great, and there were certainly pros to the position (bargaining my own salary package, creating my own curriculum, working in a more relaxed environment), the negative part of the job was not so great - working with poverty-level kids in the inner city, far job commute, teaching K-8 without an inkling of what had been done in the past, therefore creating lesson plans from scratch. It was a daunting task, but I stayed positive when they offered me the job because, frankly, I needed it. We scheduled a meeting for Monday to discuss salary before I officially accepted the position.

In the meantime, the assistant principal from Spartyville, a southeast suburb of St. Paul, called me to see if I was interested in interviewing for their part-time 6-8 choir & general music position. I almost said no, and even thought about canceling the interview after I had scheduled it for Monday after my meeting in St. Paul, but figured I had nothing to lose. It was only part-time, after all. Well, my meeting in St. Paul got cancelled (the principal was still out of town and needed to re-schedule until Thursday), so I went to the interview, and really liked the school. #1 Rush Fan called me Tuesday to let me know they were checking references, and I went in yesterday to talk with them after they had called me with the offer. I just called this morning to accept. :)

A lot of parts of this job will be similar to Morris, at least, all the good parts about my job in Morris. I'll be working with a team of three other music teachers - two band directors and a general music teacher - and we are housed in a BRAND NEW music wing of the junior high - the facilities are absolutely stunning, and I'm really excited about moving my stuff in. I really like the administrators I will be working with, and one has previously taught in the fine arts, so she understands their importance in the building. I am thrilled to be out of the high school and into a junior high again. While some people can't stand that age group, I find them to be quite endearing, once you win them over. The demographics and size of the school are similar to what I'm used to. The area in which Mitch and I are looking to buy a house is about 15 minutes away from my school, and it will be a ten-minute commute for him. The only thing that makes me nervous is that choir element - I have only one section of it - but I keep reminding myself that I taught it in Florida, and I can do it again. The most important thing, though, is that with this job I'll get my life back. This may sound silly, but if you knew the hours I kept while working at Morris, you'll understand. No more marching band, pep band, jazz band, Booster meetings, extra rehearsals....the list could go on forever. This job will allow Mitch and I to have the life that we've been wanting for the last three years. I'm so excited.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying and sending positive vibes my way - it certainly worked! I am a believer in the "everything happens for a reason" concept, although at times in the past few months I certainly questioned that. I feel like I've been saying that for the last three years! But, if the principal in St. Paul hadn't re-scheduled our meeting, I may have never gone to this interview.

So - my days of lunching, shopping, and relaxing are numbered. Sorry to my Illinois teacher friends, who I've been giving a hard time for having to go back to work already - I'll soon be joining you, as new teacher orientation starts next week!