Interview Questions

Its years away, but I can't help thinking about it already.  Hell, I'd be reading tons of education books (if I had time) and making rubrics if I could!

This is where I started my search of what to ask in a teaching position interview.  This is the top local college for teachers.  Next, I looked at a list of questions on Yahoo!  And then, I found this page, and I spent a lot of time reading and thinking about the sample questions that might be asked at an interview. 

Basic info about the position:
How many classes will I teach?
What is your average and maximum class size?
Do you use heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping?
If heterogeneous, can you describe the levels?
If homogeneous, what support is available for classroom teachers?  (GT advisory, aids, ESL)
What other duties will I have other than my class load?  (study hall, advisory, duties)
How long are class periods?  How do classes rotate?
What is the make up of the student body?  Particularly, ESL, "honors" and low income families. 
May I have a copy of the student handbook?
May I have a copy of the course book?
Do you use semesters or trimesters?
Do you send out mid term progress reports?
What is your administration's view on when a student should be sent to the office?
What expectations do you have for teacher-parent communication?

Questions geared to my teaching ideals:
Will I have my own classroom?
What is your support systems for teachers new to the school / district?
When is there collaborative time for teachers? 
Do teachers ever collaborate: interdisciplinary?  district wide?
How is standardized testing preparation handled?
What skills and initiatives has the staff been working on recently?
Is your report card traditional or standards based?  Is there any talk of it changing?
Do you have a literacy specialist?  What role does he / she play in the school?
How is literacy across the curriculum implemented?
Do you have a peer tutoring program?
What steps are in place for remediation?  (summer school, specific courses)
Do any of your teachers team teach?
Do any of your teachers loop their students?
What is your homework policy?



Other:
Do teachers new to your district have any additional obligations?  (such as perimeters at LAHS)
What technology will be available? (classroom use, lab, programs for students)
Do you have a venue for me to create a web site?
What training is available for me regarding technology I'm unfamiliar with?
What oppertunities are there in district for professional development?
Do you reimburse course tuition?
What are the large annual events at your school?  (Homecoming, arts festivals, etc)
When were you last accredited?  Is this or next year an accreditation year?
Do you offer AP courses?
Do you partner with any other schools to  provide additional educational opportunities? 
How are teacher observations arranged? 
How would you describe parental involvement at this school?
How do I order supplies?  Will I have funds to use during the school year? 
Does your school recycle paper?
What are the procedures for making student handouts?  (copiers, printers, etc)


Questions specific to ELA:
Is there a textbook?
Is there a prescribed reading list?
May I have a copy of available texts?
Will I have any department allocated funds for books or other materials?
How are the texts available distributed over the courses?
Do you use any common rubrics?
Do you use common assignments across the grade level?
How are research projects handled?  Is it mainly this departments job to teach research?
What work has the department been doing together over the last year?
Do you have a literary magazine?  (if yes, can I have a copy?)
Are there any mandatory assignments for the classes I would be teaching?
What is your approach to teaching grammar?
What writing courses do you offer? 
How do teachers approach writing in the grade level courses?
Do you have a drama department or does ELA cover those topics? 
What do the students leaving the middle school mastered and what do they need to most work on?
What does homework typically look like for teachers in this department?
Do you offer many electives?  Are they available for all grade levels?

Questions related to my family needs:
What is the schedule for after school meetings?
How many sick hours / days are available?
How many personal days are available?
May I have a copy of your pay scale?  Where is a copy of your pay scale available?

Still Three Years to Go ...

After five years, I really started to feel I knew who I was going to be as a teacher.  I was very happy with the direction my teaching was taking.  I had procedures and routines that worked well for me.  I started to establish solid beliefs about how I want to teach and on the direction of education in general. This is a wonderful place for a teacher to be as she enters into the "veteran" status. 

But, job hunting after seven years out of education is not just starting up another school year in September. 

Ideally, I want to find a school that matches me and what I believe and want to accomplish.  But, and this is a big one, I have other responsibilities now.  I need to find a job to bring us back to two incomes.  Sure, we saved and are getting by on one now, and could cut and manage for longer on one if we really had to.  But, we want to save for the kids for college.  We want to be able to take some real vacations as the kids get older.  And there is plenty of work on the house that we want done or that just keeps popping up needing to be done.  When I go on my interviews, my primary goal is going to be actually getting an offer. 

Now, this is really scary for me.  Right out of college, I applied for maybe twenty jobs.  I got one offer.  At the time, this concerned me, but now it is frightening.  What if no one wants to higher me?  I've been told that my lack of offers previously was mostly likely because I was from "away" as Stephen King will tell you Mainers call non-Mainers.  While you need to live here for like 50 years to finally be called a real Mainer, no one will know I'm from Massachusetts when I send in my applications this time.  My undergrad degree is from Framingham (not Farmington), but many kids go out of state to school. 

I also shouldn't sell myself short.  I know have five years experience.  And it will be clear I chose to leave, and was no asked to resigned.  Additionally, I have a new degree: my Master's in Literacy Education.  Sometimes I feel guilty that my old district paid for 90% of that degree and then I left, but they did get the benefits as I was learning.  In fact, it was pursuing that degree that made me a better teacher.  My undergrad work taught me how to survive teaching, but it was my grad work that taught me how to flourish. 

Other stay at home moms who are / were teachers (are you ever not a teacher once you've become one?), worry me about what my resume will look like when I return with a huge gap in emploment, particularly away from education.  This worries me, too, and it increases every time one of them mentions it.  I'm also worried about explaining a lapse in my license.  Maine has a law that all teachers must take a specific course on special needs.  I never received any notification from the state saying I needed to take the course, so I assumed that a similar aspect of a course in my undergrad work out of state fit the requirement.  Then my application for renewal came back six weeks before William was born.  After crying over the phone to someone at the department of education, I was told that it I just need to take the course, submit the transcript, and my license will be renewed.  Well, its a year later and I'm just looking into taking the course.  Breastfeeding William exclusively has hindered my ability to take a class.  I still worry how Mike will get them both to bed alone if I were to take one this fall. 

At the root of all this worrying is that I need to get hired to help take the financial pressure off of Mike. 

But that isn't the only way this job search won't be ideal.  Before, I only had to worry about myself when getting a job.  I wasn't yet married or even engaged.  I didn't feel any obligations to Mike that would restrict where or how I worked.  This is completely different now.  Just yesterday Mike and I were trying to figure out how we will get the kids to and from school five says a week.  I used to stay after for hours since Mike didn't get home until much later.  Now, I'll be running out the door to meet the kids on the bus.  I used to get to school half an hour before my duty.  Now, I have no idea how it will work, not to mention where the kids will go when I have to stay after roughly once a week.  Any new job I have is going to have to be able to meet the family's needs before my preferences. 

Yet, even if I took away my obligations to my family (both money and time wise), where I am as a teacher makes finding a job harder now than it did fresh out of college.  When I graduated, I was happy to get any job.  Now, I know what I want.  I am very worried that I will have a difficult time finding schools that match me as a teacher.  The first time around, I asked no questions during the interviews, but I'm already thinking about what I will need to ask when I start searching.  (Which is the idea that got this post started). 

Ultimately, I'm worried about having to settle for a position that I know I will dislike to tide us over until I can find one I do like.  I want returning to work to be positive and exciting, but if I know it isn't going to be a good match, I'm afraid dread will be my main emotion.  With all its hassles and headaches, I enjoy teaching and want a job that will allow me to keep enjoying it, but even more so, now that I am a mother, I want a position that will not make me feel like I am wasting my time.  It will be seven years since I taught when William starts Kindergarten; just in the three that have already passed, I identify myself as a mother before anything else.  Teaching, especailly ELA, is time consuming and potentially emotionally draining.  I do not want to take the time and energy away from the hours I have at home with my children for a job I dread going to every morning. 

Time Saver: Absent Folder

I LOVED this idea once I put it into practice.  Most of my school's math department used it, and after visiting their rooms during standardized testing, I decided to give it a try. 

For each of your class periods, post a folder.  I actually stapled file folders to a bulletin board to make pockets, but you could use a different system such as stacking bins, a binder, or other folder system. 

During "attendance" collect a set of the day's handouts for each student who is absent.  If there are multiple handouts, paper clip them together.  Write the students' names on the handouts / groups of handouts.  Then put these into the folder.  Whenever a student is absent, it is his job to go to the folder to get the handouts. 

Here are a couple ways to make it work even better:

• Put paperclips on the edge of the folder to hang notes to students who are out. These notes could be about a missed test or quiz, a reminder to turn in textbooks, or a note to see you to pick up graded work.  
• You can put graded work in the folder, but stick to work with only feedback, not actual scores.  The only time I broke this rule was if I found the work on the floor. 
• Write up a summary of class or type up notes.  Print copies for absent students and put them in the folder.  (You can make this a student's job each day, too).  Having notes and summaries like these are also useful for students with certain learning disabilities, helicopter moms, and a binder you keep in the classroom for you and your students to reference. 

Time Saver : Hall Passes

Permanent passes are not a new idea, but depending on your school's pass protocols, they can be a huge time saver. 

The idea of a permanent pass is that you have an object that stands for the pass so that you don't have to write passes during the class period. 

I used to have a pass for the boy's bathroom, the girl's bathroom, and for general hall travel.  If the pass was missing, then the student had to wait until whoever had it got back. 

If your school is really lax, than these probably won't be necessary.  If your school is extremely strict, than these will not be good enough. 

If your school requires a pass with the exact date, time, and location written on it, here are a couple of ideas. 

• have your class procedure be for students to write the pass and you just sign it.  This interrupts your teaching the least.  
• photocopy passes that have as much information filled in as possible.
• make permanent passes that have a way for entering this information.  Maybe an area to write the date and time with wet erase marker.  This allows you to change that info quickly and easily, but is harder for students to alter it in transit. 

Time Saver: Grade Book Tips

Paper Grade Book:

• Skip a line between names, or even two lines if a class is small.  That way you have room to add in new students alphabetically.  
• Don't set up your grade book until the second week of school.  Too many class changes happen before then and you might have to go a whole marking period with mistakes or redo it.  
• When an assignment is missing, outline the box.  This makes missing work stand out at a glance.  
• When you enter scores into the computer, highlight them in your paper book.  Then you will immediately know what needs to be entered when you open your grade book.  
• If you give homework passes, write "pass" in the spot the student chooses to use it or you might lose track if its been used or not.  
• If you want to keep track of who has handed in an assignment, but haven't yet graded it, here are two ideas.  Make a separate column for handing in the assignment.  (Sometimes I would could turning big in on time as a homework grade).  Or, put a small dot in the boxes of students who have the work.  Then go back and outline the boxes without dots.  I found this allowed me to quickly look at the grade book rather than locating and flipping through a file of work. 

Computer Grade Book:
I have only one real tip for your computer grade book, but its a big one.  It might depend on the program you use for it to work.

Creating grading codes is a great time saver for you.  It might take you a little bit of time to enter the codes, but it will save you time dealing with students and parents.

Here's the idea.  Create some codes that represent typical situations that students and parents ask (or nag) about.

For example:

NHI = not handed in

NGY = not graded yet

These two are very helpful to show parents in particular that either yes or no to if you have received certain assignments. 

When you use these codes all the time, then any zeroes in your grade book will only represent real zeroes earned on poor work or work that will no longer be accepted.  (Actually, you could come up with a code for a closed assignment, too.  I used to use ND = not done).

Time Saver: Reusable Rubrics

I used this idea for daily class participation rubrics, but really it can be used for any form you use frequently. 

Instead of having students use a new form each time, laminate enough copies of the form for two days.  Then, stock up on dry erase markers. 

If you are using the form daily, make it part of the class procedure for students to pick up their rubrics and markers and to fill them out and return them to a set location. 

After you have recorded the information on the form, erase the rubrics. 

After a while, the rubrics will get a bit dirty.  I more than once had detention or study hall students with nothing to do wash my rubrics with a cloth and board cleaner. 

I often considered using this for rubrics I filled out while grading, but never did it because I wanted the students to have to copy of the rubric with items circled to provide the easiest feedback as to why an item earned the score it did. 

Time Saver: No More "Take One, Pass it Back"

I remember being taught during student teaching to hand out papers with "take one, pass it back" or to the side or around or whatever.  But in  practice, this still means you have to count out the papers for the rows and wait for them to get back to the back of the room.  I used a lot of handouts, so this was a significant waste of time for me and disrupted flow making transitioning harder. 

I soon decided to put all my handouts for the class period in one set location in the room.  Students quickly learned to pick up their handouts as soon as they entered the room. 

Occasionally, a student would forget to pick them up, but then that student just got up and got what was needed. 

When I grouped work for absent students, I just picked up one from each pile and paper clipped them together. 

Another idea for saving time with handout distribution is to make one big packet of handouts for a whole unit.  I did this once or twice and really liked it.  But, there are two downsides.  First, you have to plan it out well in advance to get the copies made in time.  Second, students can easily leave the packet at home and not have any of the handouts needed for the day.  This second problem can be addressed by having classroom copies available that students borrow during the class period and return before leaving.  I used to keep this stuck to the white board with magnetic clips.  When a student borrowed one, he would write his name under the clip.