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Any current teachers on the Board?
Posted on 3/7/16 at 3:14 pm
Posted on 3/7/16 at 3:14 pm
I have a question regarding contracts. Still involved in student teaching but went to a job fair last weekend. Was recruited by multiple schools but really hit it off with one.
I was offered a pre-contract and I signed after reading over it. All it seemed to ask was if they could run some background checks etc on me. My fear hit right after when I got the feeling I had signed my employment over. Salary and hours weren't discussed and the contract was literally one page and not too official looking. I wish now I would have grabbed a copy but in the moment I wasn't thinking.
I love the school and I wouldn't mind working there at all BUT I have another job fair this weekend and it's closer to home while still paying the same. If offered in this area I may consider being close just for the sake of the commute. My fear is that I signed away my life. Any thoughts or knowledge on this?
Update***
Called the principal whose school I signed the contingency agreement and just notified him I would still be exploring other options. He had been pressuring me to sign a legitimate contract I feel like out of fear of another counties job fair. Long story short when I told him he sounded physically angry and I believe I may have dodged a bullet with this one. The other principal I told from a different school was understanding and professional. This guy seemed like he wanted to knock my head off.
I was offered a pre-contract and I signed after reading over it. All it seemed to ask was if they could run some background checks etc on me. My fear hit right after when I got the feeling I had signed my employment over. Salary and hours weren't discussed and the contract was literally one page and not too official looking. I wish now I would have grabbed a copy but in the moment I wasn't thinking.
I love the school and I wouldn't mind working there at all BUT I have another job fair this weekend and it's closer to home while still paying the same. If offered in this area I may consider being close just for the sake of the commute. My fear is that I signed away my life. Any thoughts or knowledge on this?
Update***
Called the principal whose school I signed the contingency agreement and just notified him I would still be exploring other options. He had been pressuring me to sign a legitimate contract I feel like out of fear of another counties job fair. Long story short when I told him he sounded physically angry and I believe I may have dodged a bullet with this one. The other principal I told from a different school was understanding and professional. This guy seemed like he wanted to knock my head off.
This post was edited on 3/10/16 at 6:11 pm
7
Posted on 3/7/16 at 3:16 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
You did not sign a term of agreement all you did was allow them to look in your past.
You are allowed to change your mind, but do it too much and you will get a bad reputation.
Also you did not meet with the Principal did you?
You are allowed to change your mind, but do it too much and you will get a bad reputation.
Also you did not meet with the Principal did you?
This post was edited on 3/7/16 at 3:18 pm
Posted on 3/7/16 at 4:29 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
You didn't sign anything binding. They just wanted permission to do a background check. Not a big deal.
Posted on 3/7/16 at 5:05 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
Never heard of a pre contract.
Posted on 3/7/16 at 5:09 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
You basically filled out the same thing as when you consent to a background check in an application. Don't sweat it until you've met with the principal and agreed to terms with him/her
Posted on 3/7/16 at 6:02 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
Not a teacher but work in education. If it was just the consent to run a check on you, then you should be ok. I've never heard of a pre-contract either. Here you typically go through HR (we're a large metro district) and have to verify a bunch of stuff before they even offer a contract.
Posted on 3/7/16 at 6:57 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
I teach.... but I've never signed an "official" contract either just a permission to run a background check.
Posted on 3/7/16 at 7:25 pm to tduecen
i have two questions that you may want answered as well...
Is there a proper way to bring up the salary prior to signing?
Say two schools offer you a job. What's the way to ask for more money as incentive to pick one school over the other? or is that frowned upon?
Is there a proper way to bring up the salary prior to signing?
Say two schools offer you a job. What's the way to ask for more money as incentive to pick one school over the other? or is that frowned upon?
Posted on 3/7/16 at 7:42 pm to DocHoliday11
Most school counties are set on a pay scale by experience so the more degrees the more room to negotiate.
Posted on 3/7/16 at 7:43 pm to DocHoliday11
Are you talking public? All first year teachers start the same unless you have your masters. There are pay grades. You can't really negotiate your contract.
Posted on 3/8/16 at 6:46 am to DocHoliday11
It sounds like your college of education is doing a bang up job of preparing you for the job market.
As for salary schedules, they're usually posted online. If the salary isn't what you want it to be, you might enquire about stipends for extra duties that you might assume at the school. I mean, don't say, "Hey, I want more money. How can I make it? but rather, "I'd be interested in helping out with extracurricular activities or duties outside the normal school day. Would that be possible?" When they've told you about it then you can ask, "And do you all have some sort of stipend system set up around those?"
As for salary schedules, they're usually posted online. If the salary isn't what you want it to be, you might enquire about stipends for extra duties that you might assume at the school. I mean, don't say, "Hey, I want more money. How can I make it? but rather, "I'd be interested in helping out with extracurricular activities or duties outside the normal school day. Would that be possible?" When they've told you about it then you can ask, "And do you all have some sort of stipend system set up around those?"
This post was edited on 3/8/16 at 6:55 am
Posted on 3/8/16 at 9:39 am to hogfly
Also need to ask what the school normally does or would be willing to do with regards to professional development. Some school systems are all about sending you off to get AP training or would be willing to chip in for you to pursue your Masters or Specialist degree, while others just don't have room in their budgets or expect you to work 10 years before you get those privileges.
Posted on 3/9/16 at 9:40 am to hogfly
i'm not in the school of education...was just curious 
Posted on 3/9/16 at 11:40 am to purplengold1
quote:
Are you talking public? All first year teachers start the same unless you have your masters. There are pay grades. You can't really negotiate your contract.
You can't negotiate but some districts pay more across the board on the pay scale than others. The district I have worked at in the past payed $2000 more on every level of the pay scale than the state minimum. There were reasons for that but not all districts are exactly the same.
Unless you have signed a contract with your salary on it then you are good. Pretty much until you sign that then you aren't bound to anything. In some cases, especially for coaches, if you sign a contract in May and get a job offer in June then they will let you out of it. Some principals are dicks but a lot of them will work with you if you have good reasons.
Posted on 3/9/16 at 11:56 am to DocHoliday11
My bad. I thought your post was also from the OP.
Posted on 3/9/16 at 2:15 pm to hogfly
Job offer #2 came yesterday and I told them I'd take the contingency contract into consideration.
No repeats of the previous fiasco.
No repeats of the previous fiasco.
Posted on 3/9/16 at 4:36 pm to dwgsfrlife7673
In Mississippi we sign a Letter of Intent around this time of year so that Personnel can plan on who'll return the following school year. It's not binding. In late April the contracts are usually issued and if you sign that, you're generally hooked. If you sign a contract and change your mind, they can either cut you some slack and let you out of it (like HT7 said above), but if they're vindictive, they can petition the State Board to suspend your license for one year and you're screwed as far as certified employment is concerned until that school year's up. If the school district is going to play that card, you'd have to honor the contract and stick with them for the year, unless you find a job teaching out of state.
This post was edited on 3/9/16 at 4:53 pm
Posted on 3/10/16 at 6:11 pm to CroakaBait
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