A Happy Turn of Events
So, if you’re my friend (in real life or on facebook), you’ve probably by now heard that I finally was hired for a teaching job for next school year.
This comes after over a year of interviews, demo lessons, and sometimes just plain nothing in my job search. I interviewed for four positions, demoed for two, and, finally, was hired by Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera.
Though I was initially hoping for a high school job, I was never opposed to a Junior High position, and I’m actually really happy I’ve landed at MCDS. From the minute I walked on to their campus for my first interview with them, it felt like home.
A few things to note about MCDS:
- It’s on a huge property, overlooking part of the Bay.
- The property is large enough that wild deer walk around the hills, grazing on grass.
- There’s a charming creek that runs through the side of the campus. On my campus tour, I was told that a lot of students sit by the creek and read on nice days.
- The school hires outside artists to come and paint murals, make sculptures, and just generally decorate the whole school.
- The current visiting artist is a guy who builds “spirit nests” - which are actually massive tree houses. They’re big enough to conduct a class in.
- Maximum class size: 13 students.
- Tuition for freakin’ kindergarten: 21k. It gets crazier from there.
- Organic kitchen produces fresh food from in-house cook. Vegetables are grown via on-campus composting/gardening program. The food is fantastic, and, as a teacher, free to me for breakfast and lunch.
These are just a few of the reasons why I didn’t think too hard about signing with MCDS. I was still in the running for a High School job east of Oakland, but when they told me that they had more applicants than expected, and that they wouldn’t give me an answer until May - I decided to not take my chances in a shaky hiring environment and go for the school that actually seemed to want me. MCDS has a great reputation, the students I’ve met there are awesome, it’s unbelievably beautiful. I can’t ask for more than that.
And honestly, once I signed the contract, I breathed one of the biggest, heaviest and longest sighs of relief I’ve ever taken in and exhaled. To say that being unemployed sucks is an understatement.
