North to Alaska

Here's how I came to sign a contract with the Copper River School District to teach K-12 music and theater at Glennallen, AK:

First, I had been applying to at least a job a day from mid-January to April. My record for job applications in a day was 18! I knew I had to go where the jobs were and I had to make myself available. I joked I had applied as East as Maine and as Far East as Singapore. It was funny cause it was true.

By the end of April I had 3 job offers on the table. Singapore, Mellen, WI, and Glennallen, AK all offered me positions. As encouraged as I was by my multitude of friends who went or are going abroad, I decided I couldn't handle Singapore on my own and declined their offer. This left going home or seeking more adventure. In the end, Glennallen offered me a much better package and I verbally accepted the position. Maybe it was the thought of adventure, fame, and fortune that led me to my decision...maybe it was that I thought I was going to be trapped in Wisconsin if I went back...whatever it was, I took Alaska.

However, as I alluded to in other posts, I held off on signing my official contract because there were open music positions in Boulder Valley School District I wanted to apply for. Also, my contract got lost in the mail and I wasn't able to pick it up until about a month after it was sent.

I applied for the position I had been long-term subbing for and made it past the first round of interviews easily. It helped that I was familiar with everyone on the panel. It felt more like a discussion about my philosophy of education than a real interview. We were all good friends. The second round consisted of teaching a 30 minute lesson to assorted high schoolers. I decided to tailor my lesson to the skill of sight-reading and used the music as a vessel for such. I was very pleased afterward. In the back of my mind though, I knew these interviews were just formalities. They were either going to side with Experience and hire Clare Church, a very talented jazz musician who has taught in the district for the past 8 years, or side with Budget and hire me as the cheap option. In the end, Experience won.

The silver lining behind coming in second for this job was that the administration made a personal call to Louisville Middle School to endorse me as their candidate for that position. This led to a private phone call in advance of the interview with the principal and a nice confident feeling heading into my last chance to stay in Boulder for another year.

I nailed the interview. Effin' roundhouse-kicked it in the face! I honestly believe it was my best interview to date. However, a week later I was the second choice for the job again. This time, the principal said, "After we interviewed you, I wanted to hire you, but after I interviewed the other candidate I wanted to hire her." Basically, he knew that he was getting a quality teacher with either of us. However, she has 3-4 years of teaching experience and is finishing up her doctorate at CU-Boulder. It's hard to compete with that.

In the end, both administrations praised me for being such a talented young educator. They all think I will be a great teacher someday and they all wish me the best. I hope it is a situation where I could come back the next time there is an opening.

So, I faxed in my official contract last Monday and have been working on finding a place to live in or near Glennallen, AK. My lease here ends on July 31 so I figure I will just start driving soon after that. It would be nice to have a week or so to get settled before my New Teacher Orientation on August 17. Sometimes, I get really scared about going up there and not knowing anyone and having to build relationships all over again. Sometimes, I get really excited because I will finally have the opportunity to teach a subject I love in the way I want to and have some really cool adventures at the same time. Also, Alaska is paying me over $40K to teach up there. More than anything, I'd love to be able to save some money AND make the right steps to getting out of debt.

Don't worry friends! I will be back! Plus, I haven't even left yet! I have a lot to do in Colorado in the next month and I am making one more trip back to Wisco for my cousin's wedding at the end of the month. The ZZIPA will still be in effect too!

Also, if you have any questions about this or would like to know more details, call me up or comment! I'll let you know all about it!

I do hope to keep posting more. Also, my camera got busted on the Brewers trip which is why I haven't posted pictures in a while. I do hope to have some up and running soon though. Keep checking back and keep on keeping on!