Update

Getting RIF'ed last year was rough. It's hard to know that you haven't done anything wrong, but that you're losing your job anyway. It's even harder when you keep hearing about the number of schools doing the same thing, and the number of teachers now in the job pool with you.

As it turned out, the months I spent job searching, filling out applications, and hoping and praying actually paid off. Despite hearing all kinds of depressing statistics ("oh, we had 400 applicants for those 3 jobs"), I landed a job for this year.

An ACTUAL job. As in, my own classroom kind of job.

I am extremely grateful to my summer boss. I've been his assistant coordinator for science camps for years now, and when he heard there was a position in this corporation, he decided to go in and vouch for me. It certainly helped that his wife had taught in the corporation for over 15 years, and that his neighbor worked in the central office, but from what I heard, the principal (who didn't know this guy at all) was simply impressed that someone had come in and so vehemently argued that she should take a look at an applicant.

She told him that she'd already decided who to interview in the first round, and he told her she was making a big mistake.

Gulp.

But as it turns out, something convinced her to give me a shot, and I was called for an interview with her and the principal at another elementary in the corporation. That other principal ended up liking me so much that she called me in for a 2nd interview with a panel of teachers, and soon, I was hired.

Amazingly, my new school is even closer than my previous school (which was only 15 minutes or so away from home). I am able to live in the same town as my husband, who's  finishing school. I didn't think there was ANY chance of that happening. I'd been applying to schools that were an hour or more away, thinking that was the best chance I had. Better yet, this is a great school corporation where I should have a bit more job security, at least for a few years.

It took about 6 months of agonizing over uncertainty, but everything fell into place. My summer was filled with working the science camp, applying to jobs, wedding planning, interviewing, moving, getting married, honeymooning, and setting up a classroom. Very, very busy- but seriously, busy for so many wonderful reasons.

Life is good- but, very busy. Even with two years under my belt as an assistant, my own classroom is still a big challenge. I think it would have been a much easier transition if I had kept the same reading and math series, but changing EVERY series I teach, along with moving to a new school, and being in my OWN room for the first time- it's a lot of change. But I'm in the same grade level, in the local area where I wanted to be, and I just plain have a job, so I really can't complain!