Experiences of Teacher Job Seekers on RISE
RISE helped Jenny Kellard as she moved from Chicago to the Bay Area to find a teaching job in a school where she could be successful. Read how>>
Paul Ferraris found a school through RISE that served the population he wanted to serve and empowered him to be an effective teacher. Read how>>
RISE Job Seeker 2007: Jenny Kellard
Kindergarten Teacher, Oakland, CA
When Jenny Kellard found RISE she was moving from Chicago to the Bay Area and looking for a teaching job. Her commitment to social justice through education made RISE a natural fit and simplified her job search from across the country.
The schools listed on RISE were the kinds of schools I wanted to be working in. The fact that RISE focuses on low-income schools was a significant factor in my choosing to use it [as a resource in my job search].
What was your experience with RISE?
My experience with the RISE Network was great. Applying was easy because everything was done online. I could work on my application, look at school profiles, and apply for jobs without having to deal with fax machines or door to door school visits. After being accepted on RISE, principals began reaching out to me and, in the end, I had three offers. It made the process of looking for a job in another city quick and simple.
Tell us about the school you found through RISE.
My experience at my school has been phenomenal. The administration is incredibly supportive, teachers are very empowered, and there’s so much collaboration. I’m doing three times as much work in half the time as I was in Chicago because I’m not working by myself any more. We do all of our lesson planning together.
Everyday after school we’re talking about our kids’ writing or what they’re doing in math and comparing what we’ve been doing. I think that’s what makes people stay around, even though they’re working really hard. In a school where you’re isolated, that’s just not going to happen.
How does this impact your students’ learning? Out of my 20 students, 17 are non-native English speakers, all but one of their parents has been born out of the country. I really believe that all of them will go to college and be able to do whatever they want. That’s not the opportunity that every kid is getting. I think it has to do with the school culture of high standards and holding everyone to it – the kids and the teachers.
RISE Job Seeker 2007: Paul Ferraris
High School Digital Media Teacher, San Francisco, CA
When Paul Ferraris found RISE, he was finishing his eighth year of teaching and looking for a school that served a low-income community but empowered its teachers to make the best decisions for their students.
I was frustrated by my last school which was in its 5th year as a program improvement school. This year there would be no more electives. A vast portion of the students would only be allowed to take math, English/Language Arts and physical education.
Why RISE?
I didn’t want be in another program improvement school but I did still want to help this kind of population. RISE has that niche. When I started looking, I basically only looked at RISE. You target the only population I want to teach.
What was your experience with RISE?
RISE is a great tool. I got four calls or emails shortly after signing up, and it was that a RISE staff member that matched me with my current school and a couple of others. The information about schools on RISE was useful. I was inspired by my school and decided to take the job.
Tell us about the school you found through RISE.
I’m able to teach, to collaborate and do all these great things that I wasn’t able to do before. At my last school, we didn’t have time to collaborate. There wasn’t time scheduled for it. And we had to follow standards and frameworks so closely, it almost didn’t even allow for collaborating. Here we do a lot of collaborating…You get to know all the other teachers and you have a say in almost everything.
Compared to my last school, leadership is also so different. At my last school, the principal used to lead almost every meeting and would do 99% of the talking. It was more like he was talking to us. Here, it’s always a teacher who leads the meetings and we discuss things. That’s a great thing.
How does this affect you as a teacher?
I do a lot more work than I ever have as a teacher, but there’s nothing I can weed out that isn’t useful and effective. Everything I do and everything I’m asked to do seems to be useful and helpful for me and the students.
We have two professional development days before Thanksgiving. I was frustrated having to come in, but it is so useful – it’s always useful. It helps me to do better. In my old school I was frustrated too because there were hours wasted on professional development.