Oh, yeah, I'm back in the game!

Since my temporary teaching permit came the other day, I've been trying to get back into the subbing pool with the two districts I worked in before being hired by (ugh) Marysville. The district I'd rather get most of my work in, as it's the one I live in, the one I hope to work in, and just an overall cool district to work for, is going to take some doing, as I essentially have to go through everything to open a new application, including a letter, resume, letters of reference, etc., which is going to take a while. And since the last day of school before break is this coming Friday, I don't think I'll be able to get a job there before the new year starts. But the other, neighboring district, which is also a nice place to work, said, "Sure, come on in, bring your permit, we'll have you fill out some forms, and you'll be set." So I went in this morning, and they weren't kidding! Within about half an hour, I was back in the system, I got my new substitute's handbook and an ID badge, and I was scheduled for an orientation session next month. But they need subs so bad (as do most districts, actually) that they said I could get started now. So once I got home, I called up their phone-based sub computer and entered my information, then got onto their website and snagged a job for the first day back after break! (Yes, this district has a web-based subfinder system, where you can go in and snag whatever job appeals to you. Only trouble is, you have to be quick, as others are doing the same thing...) They even had a half-day job this afternoon, and my mouse hovered over it for quite a while, but I eventually decided not to take it, as I have no work clothes ironed and ready to go (but guess what I'll be doing this afternoon?), and as I haven't had lunch yet, it would mean no food until I got home from tutoring tonight!

It's not ideal, as I'm back to work days that last twelve to fourteen hours, no benefits, and no guarantees, but at least it ought to keep our bank account from hemorrhaging, and I won't be getting so restless. The most important thing, however, is that I'm teaching again! Of course, I only have the chance to teach for two days before winter break, but it's a start. And yes, I'll be spending much of my time over break applying for the other district (and working -- tutoring only has one week off, so I still have work in the afternoons next week).

All right, then, back to work!

My permit arrived today. Essentially, this is the temporary certificate that allows me to teach now while I await the state to issue me a permanent substitute teaching certificate, which should be coming soon. So, in theory, I could go into a class and substitute tomorrow. But since I still have to go through all of the hoops of applying and getting in all of the paperwork and such, it still won't happen any time soon. Yes, I will start on the whole process later this afternoon, or tomorrow morning at the latest. But I hope I can at least get a day or two in before winter break. No matter what, it looks like I'll be able to start 2005 off on the right foot, for once.

Woo-hoo!!!

I just got a call from someone at the state professional practices office. No problem, she said, you should get your initial permit next week and your permanent substitute certificate not long after that. Sounds like a pretty straightforward case that snowballed, actually, we're glad to certify you.

And it gets better. Since this is a permanent substitute certificate, I won't ever be asked about character issues and the like again, which is what put me in this limbo in the first place. At least, I won't be asked about it again when applying for a certificate, even if my continuing ceretificate lapses again (which is not likley to happen again!). Applying for jobs, that may be a different story...

So now, I can get busy with the job of applying to substitute again. I'm not looking forward to twelve-to-fourteen hour days again, but at least I won't be hemmoraging money again, either.

And now, the waiting game starts

That's it, I'm done with that class. I managed to finish it all off the other day, printed everything out yesterday, and went down to the post office to send everything off today.

But it wasn't quite that simple, of course. First off, I had a personal problem (nothing I need to go into here) that kept me from finishing my final paper as quickly as I'd have liked the other day. But finish it I did. The big problem came yesterday, when I tried to print everything out. I had some weird printer problems that resulted in nothing printing. It took a bit of detective work and guessing, but I finally tried a new printer driver for my machine, and that seemed to do the trick. Then I noticed how faded the print was looking. Oh, shoot! One trip to get a new ink cartridge later, and I was back in business at last, and everything else printed just fine. So I put everything together and got it ready to send off... only to discover that I was missing one key piece of information for the cover sheet! Aaaaaaaargh! Oh, well, I poked around on the university's website a bit and found an e-mail address that I thought would do the trick, and called it a day, as I had to head to Sylvan. So much for getting it in the mail yesterday.

Things went much more smoothly today, fortunately. I got the information I needed and was able to get everything sent off this afternoon. Walking back from the post office, I actually felt like a great weight had been removed from my shoulders. So now, all I need is my transcript with this latest class on it (with a good grade, I hope), and I can finally apply for my new continuing certificate.

Which brings me to the other bit of good news I got today. I contacted the state Office of Professional Practices to check up on the status of my application for a substitute certificate, and lo and behold, someone actually called me back! This is the first time someone from OPP has actually contacted me in response to one of my inquiries! Anyway, she told me that they have everything they need now, and they're going to review my case early next week. So by this time next week, I may actually be a certificated teacher again! Just in time for me to apply for my continuing certificate...