Be vewy, vewy quiet... I'm hunting a job

This spring, as I finished my third year of teaching (the second in a self-contained special education classroom), I found out that I would not be coming back in the fall. The numbers in our special ed. department had dropped, and there were not enough students enrolled to support two self-contained classes. This news hit me like a Mack truck. For years, I had been trying to find what I was supposed to be doing, and I had finally landed in a job that I loved with kids I loved even more. Then the rug got pulled out from under me.

I got this news on Friday, May 13th. You read that right. Friday the 13th. In addition to losing my job that day, I was headed to Orlando to attend the state Special Olympics Games. We had two students competing in track and field. As it turns out, a four hour drive can do you a lot of good. I was so excited to watch my kiddos compete. Even though I was all over the place emotionally, I was reminded just how much I care about my students and their success.

The rest of the school year, needless to say, was awkward. I was walking a tightrope between loving on my students as much as possible and feeling like a social outcast among my colleagues. No one knew quite what to say, so most people didn't say anything. I made the decision not to tell my students or their families that I would not be back in the fall. I wanted to be sure that the end of the school year was focused on them, not on me.

In addition to not having a job for the fall, I was left without a job for the summer. I had planned to be teaching the summer session for my students, but that position had been filled. The day I found out that I lost my job, I went to Jen's school to tell her face-to-face, and I left with a job for the summer. I am teaching a class of high school students with severe and profound disabilities. I am being stretched and challenged in lots of new ways!

Along with summer school came the inevitable job search. I was in a tough spot with this as well. I am not yet on a continuing contract with our district (I will be eligible after completing three years- the district counts my two years and eight months as only two years...), so I couldn't go to the district's transfer day. I knew a couple of people who were attending transfer day, and I also knew of a couple of potential openings that I would be interested in. Once the dust cleared, the couple of people I knew got the couple of jobs I was interested in. I was happy for them, but now I had to start over.

I started applying for any job that came available under my certification areas (although I'd rather clean toilets than teach a fifth-grade class). There were a few special education positions open, and I got called for interviews just the other day.

I had an interview on Tuesday at a middle school here in town for a position teaching study skills to low-performing students (I think middle schoolers might be even worse than a class of fifth-graders). The interview went o.k., although I didn't have much to say, having not worked much with that population.

The second interview I was called for was at the elementary school two blocks from our house. The position was in a classroom much like the one I had taught the last two years. The teacher who had been there retired at the end of the school year, so I knew that this position would be open, but I thought it would get filled at transfer day. Plus, it would be too perfect. Right down the street with the same population I have been teaching.

I interviewed with the special education team rather than the administration. It was nice to be able to communicate my skills on a collegial level rather than having to rely on formal interview-speak. The interview went well, and as I was walking to the front office to sign out and drive home (Yes, I drove the two blocks to the school. It's summertime in Florida, and I was all spiffy.) I heard an announcement over the intercom. I wasn't sure what was said, but as I signed out, the secretary said, "I think they just called you back to the interview."

So I turned around and went back into the media center, where the administrators were sitting with the special education team. The principal offered me the job on the spot. After I picked up my jaw off the floor, I accepted gladly. I don't think my feet touched the ground all the way home.

Graham was down for a nap when I got home, so when I told Jen I got the job we had to do the Happy Dance in total silence! I can't begin to describe the overwhelming sense of relief that has swept over our house. I know that this job is an answer to prayer, and not just on our part. Many friends and family have been praying for us through this whole ordeal.

I know that this job will not be perfect. I know that there will be tough days and politics to deal with, just like at every school. I know that there will be times when I am ready to pull my hair out, but all that is overshadowed by my excitement and joy at the way God provides for us. I had been praying for a job, yes. But more than that, I had been praying for understanding in this whole situation. While leaving the students and the school I loved is still very hard even to think about, I am buzzing with anticipation for what lies in store (quite literally- it's four in the morning in the middle of summer!).