And so began the final stage of Lisa's employment search. Being an elementary school teacher with advanced specialized certification makes the task a little easier than my job search. Although it is easier, it is no less stressful. Here is how it all went down.
After a district-level interview last Friday, Lisa mailed out resume packets out to the schools that had openings or the schools where she was interested in working. She even called a couple of schools, leaving messages about her district interview and stamp of approval.
The calls began rolling in Monday, starting with a problematic elementary school approximately 25 minutes away from where we would like to live. There seems to be some upheaval in the administration, and there will be a new principal next year. And it looks like a lot of the teachers will be leaving with the old principal. However, this school will offer the exact grade and teaching style that Lisa prefers.
On Tuesday, another school calls after opening Lisa's application packet. They are very interested, says the principal. This school doesn't have a position open at the time, but they could have one open in the next few days. Although a better school than the first, it is still 20 minutes away from our planned home. Lisa schedules this second interview Friday morning, with the other interview in the afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon, a third elementary school calls Lisa's mobile phone. They are very interested in Lisa. This is an academic magnet school -- generally a good place to work because the students are the cream of the crop -- and it is a little closer to the planned homestead. Maybe slightly less than 20 minutes. Would she be interested in an interview Friday? Of course, responds Lisa. How about midday? They agree, and we have three interviews booked for Friday. This principal calls back later in the week and asks Lisa to not make a decision about any job until she interviews at her school. Nice to be coveted, eh?
At this point, my head is already spinning. Being that I'm going to be the chauffeur and security blanket, I'm trying to grasp the logistics of three interviews all over a city that I'm not familiar with. Then more interviews come in.
Lisa decides to call some of the other schools she sent information to. Most don't return her call, but one very close to our planned home contacts her late Thursday morning. At first, they weren't even planning to interview anyone until next week (which might be too late if the other schools offer her a job), they call back and schedule an interview for Friday morning. So we're now at four interviews.
Finally, on our way to Florence, my cell phone rings. Our Realtor knows some one at another school close to our intended home with an opening. This is arguably the best school in the district and literally 5-6 minutes from most of the homes we have been looking at. Although a great school with a wonderful administration, she was offered a special ed position. Lisa is wary of getting back into that field, but she is not ruling anything out.
So that makes five interviews in one day. They all went well, and she was offered a position at four of the five schools (the other school is still interviewing). I got to sit in the car all day -- listening to Sirius and trying to read a terrible book I'm supposed to review for Against the Grain. Honda's lower end vehicles are not known for their creature comforts, like seats that a human being can sit in comfortably for a couple of hours. My hamstrings are killing me.
Well, now she has some decisions to make concerning her employment. The excitement never ends around here, does it?
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