Teaching Jobs at YRDSB and TDSB

[Survivor2008]

Does anyone have any insights on the best way to get into either school board? Its seems like both are nearly impossible to get into.

[espx]

-do well in teacher's college
-do well on your practicum
-have good references
-having relevant experience is always good
-spend time on your applications

tdsb is in the process of interviewing applicants already and as far as i know, will be done in the next week

[Survivor2008]

Do you think it makes a difference if you did your Education degree in Buffalo as opposed to York or U of T ?My husband has a letter from the (Dept. head of the) school that he did his student teaching that basically says they would like the board to interview him so that they can offer him an LTO and/or supply teaching. So far no interviews....

ps - He was an "A" student

[killoverme]

I'm not sure if buffalo or a canadian based degree matters but I know many teachers and principals think that US ones accept pretty much everyone. Not that there are good teachers there but many of those people who go there might not be "good".

anyways, Is he looking for IS or P/J?

Well if its J/P, i dunno, since districts are looking for primary guys


Maybe his experience wasnt up to par, anyways, he can still supply teach wihch would give him experience, so maybe he should be going to schools to get experience and such

[JumpinBug]

What's his teaching area? That greatly affects how quickly you can get a job.

Phone calls from principals can help, but if they're not interested in your teaching area / age range at the moment, that doesn't help.

[Survivor2008]

He is qualified to teach high school + Intermediate (7 & 8) English. He will be taking his French test this Spring and is registered to take his the FSL course from May- July. Right now he is supply teaching for a private elementary school (General studies and French.)
The problem is that he needs to get the interview with the board. If he doesn't get the interview he won't be on their prefer to hire list. Unless he is on the list schools apparently cannot hire him for LTO or supply teaching.

[JumpinBug]

Just English at the middle and high schools likely won't get him an interview any time soon. He'll probably have to wait until he's done his French testing and training. There are a lot more teachers graduating than retiring or leaving the profession, and when you add in those moving from other areas, it makes things tough.

Now if he did Elem, as a guy he'd be snapped up in a hurry. And as soon as he's done French, he likely will be.

You do indeed have to be hired by the board for supply teaching, if I recall correctly, Toronto and many other Ontario districts use a central automated call out system, meaning teachers call in to request replacements, and the system does the callouts. Unless it's a really small district, this is usually the case (or as in my district, we still use a real live person to make the calls and offers - one person does the few dozen schools in the district).

It can take a few months to really work as you have to get known and have people start requesting you. It takes a few months of calls where you weren't requested before requests become common.

I'm surprised that you have to get on a list just to apply for any contracts that become available, although I guess it does restrict access which might be in the current contract.

[Survivor2008]

Thanks for all the info. I will def. have my husband add some more ref. letters to his applications which was suggested by ESPX. I had no idea it was so complicated - just the process to get an interview. Had I known maybe we would have thought twice before spending all this $$ on Teacher's college. I think its hilarious that McGuinty just announced an iniative to fund retraining for people who have been layed off or out of work. How about $$ for job creation??? Very frustrating!

[killoverme]

He is qualified to teach high school + Intermediate (7 & 8) English. He will be taking his French test this Spring and is registered to take his the FSL course from May- July. Right now he is supply teaching for a private elementary school (General studies and French.)
The problem is that he needs to get the interview with the board. If he doesn't get the interview he won't be on their prefer to hire list. Unless he is on the list schools apparently cannot hire him for LTO or supply teaching.

ah french is always the way to go lol. I wont have that luxury, but i'm sure after he has that he'll get one soon.

[Survivor2008]

I heard today from a friend that Principals can interview candidates for teaching positions (LTOs)- can anyone confirm this? I seem to be getting some mixed messages.

[JumpinBug]

The way it usually works is that you apply through the board, who forwards all applications on to the principal, and then the principal does the interviews and chooses the winner. This is normally the case for everything but supply/substituting, which is done by the board as the person will be working at so many different schools.

One thing that you'll run into... you'll need to know about teachers on recall, how many contracts and their length before you get to recall, and how/if seniority works in the district.

[Survivor2008]

I've also heard conflicting view on volunteering - some principals like it others don't. My husband was thinking of talking to a friend of his that is a teacher and seeing if he can volunteer in his class or maybe help with coaching. What do you think of that aproach?

[Survivor2008]

Aritizia I wish you good luck - please post a follow up if you do get an interview with TDSB. I wish we knew some principals to help us get somewhere...
Any alternate ideas? Have you had any success contacting the unions to hear their ideas?

[Survivor2008]

He has applied to TDSB but actually he did his placement for YRDSB and unfortunately did not get to know the principals at either school. Both were hardly ever there. He did get a letter from the English dept. head of the schools that basically says they'd like to hire him for an LTO and Supply teaching.

I watched Randy Pausch's lecture and I agree it is quite moving. Pertaining to teaching though its just so frustrating because there does not seem to be a lot of choices.

[jraja]

I've been working for YRDSB & TDSB as a supply teacher for over a year. I applied and got the interview and then went in. Haven't tried applying for an LTO or permanent position.