Rural schools
- Thread starter CareerBoxer
- Start date
For those of you who want to try something new and serve their country, there is a huge teaching shortage in rural communities. Early into my career, I took a job teaching a combined classroom of 1st and 2nd graders under a STSP credential since I was credentialed in Math and not for elementary teaching. It was a school in Lassen County (image above). I wanted to share some of the things I've learned.
1) It really was a rewarding experience. The majority of kids were in serious need. Some students you can tell did not have basic needs. Some parents were struggling with substance abuse. A lot of the students were living in trailers. I myself had to live in a garage turned into a studio due to the lack of housing in the area. Seeing the kids enjoy my class was incredible.
2) You get much more job experience than teaching in any other school. Not only was I teaching two grades, I had a DAILY mentor that really became sort of my aunt at the time I was working there. She gave me so much insight into how education politics work too, like the history of the school on what chartering laws they had to overcome. These are things you would learn as an administrator, but given how small the school is, I got to learn it as a young teacher. I mean, the superintendent hired me and not the principal.
3) They may really try to sell you to work there, but the job is really tough. They paid for a flight there and a very nice hotel stay for my interview. But once working there it was like going to battle. The commute was 1.5 hours forward and back. The snow and open highway made it very unsafe. Teaching two grades at once was very challenging. I also had to do community events like plays which was very challenging. They did a few things that were a bit salesmanish to try and get me to stay or work longer.
4) STSP and PIP credentials are pretty tricky. If they hire you, they will have to make sure you are eligible for STSP and PIP. So don't think you are hired until these are fulfilled. You can look them up for more details, but I remember there were a lot of classes you must have taken in your undergrad in order to be qualified. They were trying to give me a PIP after my STSP expired (since it's only 1 year) so that may be an option if you need to teach for 2 years without a credential.
5) Make sure you like the mentor and make sure they have one that will be helping you every day. To be honest, I probably would have not survived without the mentor. This is much much harder than any teaching job out there. And I taught in a school later in my career in an urban setting too with a lot of TPT teachers (which is considered tough). It is like TPT but much much more difficult in terms of time, stress, and physical load. Whether it be the commute, work tasks, students, parents, and really almost in every way.
It was easily one of the most difficult jobs I've had, but it was so rewarding. It truly was a Forrest Gump chapter of my life and it really made my grounded. I don't regret it despite all the challenges.
From ChatGPT,
- Provisional Internship Permit (PIP)
- Issued to individuals who haven't met subject-matter competency (e.g., CSET exams) but have an offer of employment from a school district.
- Valid for one year and not renewable (unless an appeal is granted).
- Requires the applicant to be enrolled in a credential program or actively working toward subject-matter competency.
- Short-Term Staff Permit (STSP)
- Designed for districts that have an immediate need for a teacher when no fully credentialed teacher is available.
- Valid for one school year (expires at the end of the academic year).
- Not renewable.
- Does not require the teacher to be enrolled in a credential program but does require some progress toward meeting full credentialing requirements.
