Newark is are offering a sign on bonus as well…. If you can, she’s in the superintendent office and very chill, try and contact and speak to Miss Kathy Duke Ross!!! Was an 8th grade teacher of mine and now on to higher positions but she can def give you some info and inspiration

What other districts are you considering? If they offer a benefit in how close they are to your home, you should probably go there instead.

I teach at a magnet school and was Teacher of The Year in my school last year. This district can be great, if you get the right supervisor and Principal, but that is very rare. Most admins are absolutely ridiculous with their mandates (most are simply parroting demands from downtown admins), and I would say 80-90% of my colleagues throughout the District are experiencing extreme burnout. Burnout happens due to the never-ending list of new and ongoing asks from administration, and the nearly complete lack of autonomy brought about due to the punitive framework for evaluation and how it is used as a cudgel in the District. If you like to work for free after school, Newark can offer you that experience in unlimited quantity. If you want to get paid for your work beyond the school day, you should probably be ready for a fight.

When contract negotiations finish up in a year or so, then maybe Newark will move in a good direction. Until then, and likely even after that, most other nearby districts would be a much better experience despite the lower salaries.

Edit: If you want to know about a specific school, let me know.

Newark teacher here! I work at a charter school though. I will tell you first and foremost, do not work at my charter network unless you want to be exploited and ground down into dust, or any school that calls their students "scholars". If you see that, run the other way.

The Bad: Those signs promising $62k are leaving out a huge caveat: you're locked in at that salary for several years. Most schools, public and charter, are incredibly understaffed and some are cracking under the strain. To be fair, schools all over the place are suffering from this, but in Newark it's definitely exacerbated. In Newark though it's especially sad and frustrating because of how much progress was made in the schools here before COVID, and that COVID basically set Newark schools back a decade in terms of that progress.

The Good: The kids here genuinely kick serious ass. They want to learn and care about their futures. They know they're getting screwed and yearn for something to do about it.

Overall, I'd tell you to not become a teacher in general right now, but if you insist, the fact that you're working in New Jersey will mitigate a lot of the worst possible parts of being a teacher because we have it the best here in the United States. Work in a union school; if you're really curious about charters, do your homework first: there are good ones and bad ones, but know that you'll be an at-will employee and have no union protections or tenure (and usually get paid less).

Check out Chalkbeat Newark for good news on what's happening in the district.

> Most admins are absolutely ridiculous with their mandates (most are simply parroting demands from downtown admins), and I would say 80-90% of my colleagues throughout the District are experiencing extreme burnout. Burnout happens due to the never-ending list of new and ongoing asks from administration, and the nearly complete lack of autonomy brought about due to the punitive framework for evaluation and how it is used as a cudgel in the District.

Oh so it's not just us?

About 8-10 years ago, NPS decided to try to copy the corporate-style admin process and expectations from Uncommon Schools and Teach For America. Things have been even worse since then. That was made possible by then-Superintendent Cami Anderson, herself a heavy advocate for charters, TFA, and privatization.

Oh yeah I'm in one of these schools. It's fucking awful, and the school I'm in very well may not exist next year if everyone keeps quitting at the rate that they are. We've lost at least 4 teachers and 2 office staff since August, and I expect more to quit before winter break. We're on our 5th art teacher so far this year alone.

We also exploit Americorps Fellows like no other.

Family member of mine teaches in Orange, a neighboring smaller city. Same sentiment as discussed here. I believe their contract negotiations went through recently. Unsure if it’s enough to deal with the hardships of teaching. but I do know that the students have a loyalty and love like no other, family member been teaching over 30 years there and students have become our extended family at this point. Families of students in fact. It’s extraordinary to have them return and share their success, hardships, & advice.

Don’t go to Great Oaks, they lost 4 teachers within 4 months and they filter out students. I’ve witnessed multiple times the principal pressure parents that their kid can be in mainstream with “supports” without proper SPED class like what their IEP says bc they didn’t have a SPED teacher.

Also don’t go to Lafayette street School, it’s corrupt starting with the principal and their vice principals. They don’t follow through their 504 and took funding away from a reading specialist. There were multiple 6th-8th graders that cannot read on their grade level. Multiple teachers have sounded the alarm but they are often threatened with bad performance evaluations. It’s really sad.

Thank you for your response! I’m actually open to moving depending on which job I take. I have six real districts now: Hopewell Valley, Highland Park, Montgomery, Southern Regional, Newark, and Lacey Township.

So I’m all over the place. It sounds like a lot of what Newark is dealing with in regards to admin demands eating into time is happening in a lot of places. My student teaching district is having this issue. I appreciate the advice! It is definitely something to keep in mind!

I was not planning on working at a Charter school. I’m a big Union guy myself. I saw the salary schedule, and as you mentioned raises don’t start until like year 7-8. With the shortages, theoretically one could negotiate there starting step, but you never know how well that goes. I definitely have better offers from other districts.

Your point about the kids is really what draws me. In most of the schools I have been in, the kids are wildly unmotivated for any tasks. I have been chalking this up to Covid, but if Newark students can be motivated, mine should be too. I think that is a big reason why I want to leave my current district, it’s very unrewarding.

I’m graduating with secondary Social Studies and Special Ed and I love it, so there’s no turning back now! Thank you for your advice!

That kind of community is what I’m looking for, and it is what has been drawing me towards Newark! Thank you for sharing!

Okay, I will have to look into contacting her! Thank you for your recommendation!

What presents as lack of motivation could be anything from lack of ability to not seeing value or a point in what we're trying to have them do. In Newark in particular, you must first convince the kids that you care about them if you want them to work for you. If they don't think you care, then they won't perform.

100%, but it’s pervasive throughout our district. I know in our classroom we’ve tried a ton to get kids to buy in, but they just won’t. I think not seeing the point is a big part of it. Lack of direction and experience, and being able to do very little and pass. Why bother doing the work when you really don’t have to. I don’t really blame them, it’s just tough for us

Those are some nice sounding districts, everything from well-off rural to solid middle class to urban poor. I think it's great that you want to teach to a disadvantages population...but I would definitely have to think it over given your other offers.

Thank you. This is the dilemma I’m facing!

Everything you just said is 100% true

Which teacher school are you in? I saw you were doing social studies and special ed?

Oh man I have a lot I could say about this one… This comment is about Newark Public Schools, not the charters. Personally, I would avoid the charters like the plague.

Pros:

• The salary is decent compared to surrounding districts. Currently you would start at 62k, 64k if you have a masters. Plus a 4K signing bonus if you’re in a critical area.
• The students and families are great. I actually think you get less helicopter parents working in this district. Many of them really value the education their kids are getting. Of course you do get some absentee parents which is depressing.
• If you do a good job, you really can make a difference in a lot of these kids lives. Not that you can’t do that in any district, but in Newark a lot of the kids aren’t getting the support at home that kids in the suburbs are. They need and want good teachers.
• Fellow teachers (at least at the schools I’ve worked in) are very supportive of each other and willing to share resources. There is a feeling of being in the trenches together.

Cons:

• administration, administration, administration. As other comments have said, unfortunately most administrators in Newark were not teachers for long, and after a few years in admin seem to completely forget what is necessary for good teaching. Expect lots of pointless paperwork, meetings, and wasted time. Some admin teams are worse than others. Feel free to DM me for info about specific schools.
• general lack of organization and resources from the district (though I admit, the amount of resources we have has been better since Covid began)
• curriculum changes almost every year

If you’re thick skinned, you can survive and even thrive here. But be honest with yourself, because if you have low patience/are easily frustrated, Newark is not for you for a multitude of reasons. But we do need good teachers, and depending on what school you’re at it can be a good place to work. Like I said, feel free to DM me for more details.

Good comment

I'm not a teacher, but I'm a member of AFT and have a lot of teacher friends that I talk to about teaching... what you're saying really sounds like just... teaching, at least in the US. I hear it about all sorts of districts (I don't actually even know anyone who teaches here; it's pretty much all suburbs).

That you think it's normal is exactly the problem. Teaching in Newark is not normal; rather, it's becoming normal. That's why there are 3-10 posts a day in r/teaching about the entire profession coming down. If you were a teacher in Newark, you would know how fast burnout sets in and how few newer teachers initially recognize the symptoms. Obviously, respect for teachers is at an all time high with non teachers telling us all about our job...

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I don't think you understood the intent of my comment. I'm not telling you that that's how teaching should be, or that it's OK. I'm just saying what you're saying that is wrong with teaching in Newark sounds like teaching in a widespread way in the US, not just in Newark. I have no doubt that it's even harder in Newark, but I've heard same complaints from people all over the place.