Contact your state board of education and educate yourself
- Research their policies – Do they have rules around layoffs
- Understand the states education budget
- How reliant is your district on that budget
Contact your local school district and stay informed
– Understand their budget, are they ahead -if so that is a positive and a layoff is unlikely,
- Are they behind? – If so what are the discussions around where additional funding will come from.
- What are their policies for layoffs.
- How did they handle the last layoff – Was it tenure based? – Was it performance based?
Stay abreast of news at your school
- What is the administration saying.
- What is the faculty saying.
- How is your schools funding within the district.
Silver Lining of Teacher Layoffs
Being laid off from your teaching job may not be as bad as it may seem, especially if you have the opportunity to use this time to invest in your future. The teaching profession is a career worth advancing by honing both skills and knowledge. Most teachers have accumulated a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in education before they begin to teach. Being laid off your current job may be just the opportunity to advance your present educational level by enrolling for a masters in education.
A masters degree in education will greatly increase your chances of advancing in your career for the future in addition to enriching your teaching skills. Acquiring a masters in education online can help save on costs while still completing the degree program you desire. Online education is very common today, allowing you to follow a flexible schedule and go at your own pace.
Alternative Teaching Jobs to Consider if You Do Lose Your Job
Another possibility to teaching full time would be to acquire a position teaching as a substitute teacher for the interim period, until you can secure a permanent position. Most all school districts require substitutes for when their regular teachers fall sick, take special leaves of absence, etc. Substitute teaching enables you to keep polishing your teaching skills while you are becoming acquainted with the administration of different schools. If you maintain a high standard in your profession while substituting, you stand a good chance of being one of the first ones they call in the event a position opens in the future. Keeping this in mind will give you the vision for excellence in your profession.
Specialization in Education can Help with Job Security
In formulating your masters in education program, you should take into consideration that there are many schools across the country searching for teachers with a specialization in specific subjects that are in great student demand. These subjects may include the fields of science, foreign language, special education and more. Acquiring a masters in education with one of these specializations may afford you greater opportunities of landing a better job with higher pay. The field of education can be quite competitive, especially for new educators; an online masters in education would help strengthen your position in the field, enabling you to advance substantially in your career.
Pursuing an extension of your education does not mean you have to go into debt. There are numerous other ways to acquire the funds you need besides applying for a loan. Researching online you will discover quite a few scholarship and grant programs available for those individuals who want to extend their education. Financial aid is available from state, federal and private sectors. The qualifications for these different types of financial assistance programs vary, so you would need to evaluate each one on its own merit. Taking your higher education to the next level by getting a online masters in education is a step in the right direction in securing your future.
Tags: masters in education careers, online masters in education, teacher layoffs, teaching career advancement