Turns out, when this district hired me, they didn't do their homework. Illinois has some wacky laws in regards to teaching certificates and what a person has to have in order to be able to teach. I find a lot of it ass backwards. For example, a person can be a substitute teacher for an extended period of time with a bachelor's degre.....in anything. On the other hand, someone who has been working in special ed for almost 11 years (like me) can't do so without three little letters attached to my certificate. Those letters are LBS.
It stands for Learning Behavior Specialist. For those of us who graduated prior to these letters, that means Resource Teacher, or pull out teacher.
Because I don't have these nice little letters, the district is not getting funding for me through the state. It turns out that they are losing about $8000. Which I guess is a pretty hefty sum.
I am now in a mad dash to acquire those little letters. And getting them doesn't bother me. If anything, it allows me more flexibility with my job positions and should I choose to change districts I have more options. However, one thing the district didn't consider, was the cost of my taking these classes.
I made sure that it was brought to their attention that if I go after this certificate, the classes that I need to take will be put towards my Master's degree. So in the long run, they will end up paying 80% of my tuition. The completion of the certificate entitles me to more hours of Continuing Education, thus bumping up my pay. Once the master's is acquired, I move to a different pay lane completely.
In the long run, they will certainly lose more than $8000 in this deal. And I will only benefit from it. But in the mean time, I am so irritated with the whole situation.
1 comment:
gotta love education! I understand your pain, if I can't totally empathize!
Hang in there!
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