Dumb question: DCPS vs. DCPCS hiring

[Anonymous]

Friend was fired from a DCPCS a few years ago. She went on to teach semi-successfully in a small religious private. Her position at that school was eliminated. She now wants to get a job with DCPS. Beyond the fact that a glowing reference is not available from her last job, will DCPS hire her with termination from a DC charter? Are the two totally separate and DCPS won’t know the charter fired her if she never mentions it?

PS: yes, I am trying to discourage her. She knows the material but is disorganized to the point of losing assignments frequently and has zero classroom management. The private school was a very forgiving setting because she taught a singleton class. When she lost work, she just gave a A for completion. Students liked her because she brought snacks and didn’t call parents about misbehavior. If she doesn’t get a job this fall, her certification will likely lapse.

[Anonymous]

Maybe she should consider another career. If she is passionate about teaching she needs to join a patient district that is willing to adequately coach her. DCPS is not it.

[Anonymous]

I doubt they communicate u less she had a certification revoked. But they are likely to figure it out. Or she’ll just not survive the chaos once she is hired.

[Anonymous]

won't her resume include the DCPCS? If I were a principal, I'd be sniffing around that entry.

[Anonymous]

If I were her, I'd look for a district that is more desperate for teachers and not as interested in observations and assessments as DCPS. In DCPS, she'll either have huge classroom management struggles, PITA parents, or both. I've heard Charles County doesn't get as many applicants (since it pays lower and there are fewer people willing to commute there) so that might be worth a look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were her, I'd look for a district that is more desperate for teachers and not as interested in observations and assessments as DCPS. In DCPS, she'll either have huge classroom management struggles, PITA parents, or both. I've heard Charles County doesn't get as many applicants (since it pays lower and there are fewer people willing to commute there) so that might be worth a look.

100% this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:won't her resume include the DCPCS? If I were a principal, I'd be sniffing around that entry.

No. She left it off after MCPS and PGCPS turned her down. Right now her resume shows just her certification program, a semester of student teaching, and the private school. I guess a smart principal will ask about the gap.

[Anonymous]

You can't have a gap, unless you can credibly say you were a SAHM. And even they they may google you and find an old version of a school website or something. And word gets around.

[Anonymous]

I sat on a bunch of DCPS hiring panels, and I don't remember anyone ever asking about a gap unless it was after the most recent job. But that was at the school level, so these were people who had already gotten through the first round of screening and made it into the hiring pool.

But--DCPS is not for the faint of heart. Reading between the lines, it sounds like your friend has struggled in the classroom, and DCPS will very likely chew her up and spit her out. There are absolutely schools where administration will be supportive and will care about her development as a teacher--but those schools are far, far outnumbered by those that are sink or swim.

[Anonymous]

While it’s understandable that you want to help your friend, please consider that children will be directly affected if she is an ineffective teacher. Hiding information about a previously unsuccessful teaching job at a charter school from DCPS principals trying to make a good hiring decision is unethical. Maybe she should look for something outside the classroom directly but still in the field of education. She might find something she likes and it more successful doing. Lots of education-connected non-profits in the area.

[Anonymous]

DCPS won’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS won’t care.

But once she gets through the DCPS screen the individual, the schools who would hire her are likely full of high needs kids. Nothing you’ve described suggests she would be good at that job.

MYOB and let her figure out her career.

[Anonymous]

DCPS as an application screener won't care. The individual principals might care depending on which school she applies to. I was IMPACTed out, and my termination letter said that I was eligible for rehire after three years. I received an email from a principal I interviewed with years ago asking if I was interested in coming back since my three years are up.

This year alone, two of my coworkers quit mid-year to go work for DCPS without a recommendation from our principal. The principals they interviewed with asked if it was okay to call for a recommendation, and they told them no because they feared retaliation if they didn't get the job. These people weren't the best employees to put it nicely, but they interviewed well, so they were taken at their word.

Some schools are very desperate and will take what they can get. She may have a better chance applying around October or November when the first wave of teachers quit.

[Anonymous]

She sounds like a crappy teacher. It happens in many fields. Just because you studied and prepared to be X, doesn't mean you will be a good X.

Be blunt with her. Don't help her figure out how to get back in a classroom, for the sake of the kids. She should take her failures as a sign from the universe that she isn't meant to teach.

[Anonymous]

OP, I’ve taught in both DCPS and DC charter schools, they generally don’t care if you mention fear of retaliation. Also you’re more likely to get a job closer to August, although sometimes the pickings are slim. DCPS despite the facade that it puts out is in desperate need of teachers. Most school districts these days take what hey can get as the workload keeps increasing, pay stagnates and student loans will *only* pay off your entire debt if you work in a high stressed, highly impoverished school. As long as you don’t have any red flags in your background check you are pretty solid. I wish caution you about applying to DC charter schools. They don’t have many rights and are often at-will employees, I’ve seen people walked out at the end of the day with little warning about what they did wrong and without so much as a 30 intervention plan. Like all work places politics matter but teaching in DCPS is often a landmine. I would suggest that you try to get into one of the better DCPS schools. Now that IMPACT is gone you might have a little time for the school admin to allow you to grow into your classroom manangenent style.