A little update on me...

Some of you may know, some may not... but I am no longer teaching (at least temporarily). We moved 6 years ago from Buffalo NY to Memphis TN. At the time, it was a good idea. Over the 6 years I have wanted nothing more than to come home. The opportunity came for us to come home, and so we did. So on May 9, I said goodbye to my amazing kids and coworkers and started the long drive the next day (on my birthday... my 30th birthday... what a way to celebrate huh?!).

We have been in Buffalo for almost 2 months now, so I figured it was time to give a small update. The reason I am not currently teaching is because I can't. NY does their licensing a little different I guess. I held an initial license before we moved. In NY, you have 5 years to get 3 years of experience and a Master's degree in order to get your professional license. Well... I got the experience, however never got the Master's degree. I had full intentions of getting it (and still do) but the chance for us to move home happened faster than I expected. I originally thought I would be able to use my out of state license and get a temporary license based on reciprocity. I found out, that is not the case. Because I already held an initial, I am not eligible for anything other than professional. So... here I am.

SOME schools (private/charter/etc) are able to take teachers without their Master's. But they are few and far between. And because there are SO MANY certified but unemployed teachers in this area, most schools just require and hire licensed teachers. So where does that leave me?

Here- working on my mile long to do list for TpT of things that I thought of through the past school year that I wanted to make. Here- blogging (when I can) about things that worked in my classroom. Here- looking for some kind of profession that will work for me for now. And here- attempting to get ahold of NYS dept of ed. so that I can find out if the accelerated Master's program I want to enroll in will count so that I can get my license back.

I did just got some GREAT news though. My students last year ROCKED OUT on the TCAP. I mean... best scores I have ever had!!! AND.... with our new data from the test scores, I am, for the first time ever, rated a 5 teacher!! (A 5 is the highest you can get.) I was a 4 up until this point because they used predicted data based on last year's scores. But with the official scores I am a 5. And our school did AMAZING. I am so proud to say that all the hard work, sweat, tears, that we put into this year paid off.

I have full intentions of going back into the classroom (I am shocked to see myself say this because there were many times this past year I wanted to throw in the towel). But I have no time frame for that. I plan to share things along the way, ideas that I used in my class, ideas that pop into my head for when I have a class again, products, things I learn from my Master's program (once I get there), and more. So I sure hope you all plan to stick with me!

P.S. I am super close to 1,000 TpT followers, I have exceeded that on the blog AND my fb page. So once I get to the 1000 on TpT I am going to plan a giveaway. Just be on the lookout :)