Just had to get that out of the way. Just two short weeks ago my boyfriend James popped the question, and ever since then I've been totally 100% on top of my school work because planning a wedding in six months is not hard at all.
"Sike, naw," as my students like to say.
We decided to get married sooner rather than later, so we're getting married in Philly on Halloween! It's super exciting, and James has done a lot of the heavy lifting to lock down the church, reception venue, caterer, and photographer, but there is still a lot to do which is why I spent a few hours last Sunday designing our Save the Dates instead of updating this blog or, oh yeah, DOING MY TERM FIVE ASSIGNMENT.
The Term Five assignment is my Portfolio, the culminating project at the end of my grad school career. I graduate on May 16th, which is less than a month away. It's hard to believe that I'm working on my last assignment for Penn when I can easily cast my memory back to when I was working on my first one! One year programs are intense, but even now, as I sit here at my desk which is super organized because I have a bad case of stress-cleaning, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel extremely prepared to have my own classroom, and I am so proud of how much I've learned and how far I've come in such a short time! So let's ignore Term Five for now, since I'm sure I'll write another post about it once it's over, and let's focus on the fun stuff. Job searching!
My job search has been focused on two areas of the state: Philadelphia and south-central PA. Let's talk about Philly first. I have wanted to teach in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) since I moved here, so I have actively been pursuing a job with the SDP. I started the online job application in late February; the application was very lengthy. A week later, I scheduled a phone interview. After the phone interview, I had to wait a couple of weeks for them to send me the final stage of the application, which was an online activity about reading and interpreting student data. Hopefully within the next week I will hear back about whether or not I make it into the final pool of candidates. Once that happens, principals across the city will be able to see my resume and decide whether or not they want to invite me in for a site-selection interview. Throughout the process I just described, I also attended two principal/candidate meet and greets at the SDP's headquarters. I was really nervous at the first one and probably didn't put myself out there as much as I should, but I tried to make up for it at the second meet and greet. After the meet and greet, I sent out emails to principals and teachers I met who worked at schools I was really interested in. I heard back from one school, and I spoke with their Director of Operations yesterday as a sort of pre-site selection interview conversation. I was nervous, but I think it went well (fingers crossed!). I'm debating whether or not to attend a third meet and greet. I probably should, but we'll see how things go this week. I'm also looking at some districts that are in the Philly area, though I haven't yet applied to them.
The other area of the state I've been focusing on is south-central PA, which is where most of my family lives. I check job postings for school districts in this area, and that's about it. If James ends up getting a job in that area of the state (before I get a job in this area of the state), then I will be putting more energy into applying.
To close out, let me try something new:
Looking forward to: Finishing Term Five, hearing back about job interviews, and graduating!
Looking at: Pictures of wedding dresses and cats on the internet.
Listening to: Matt & Kim, Beirut, the Beatles, and Spotify's "Intense Studying" playlist.
Listening for: The ice cream truck to roll down the street, because it's spring time now and that means ice cream cones whenever I want!
- Rachel
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