Job Security

A few weeks ago, my principal made an announcement that radically changed what I knew about educational policy in Tennessee.  She informed us that once every three years the state of Tennessee publishes a report listing the 25% of lowest-performing schools.  Apparently this year they released the list a year early and chaos ensued.  Many of the lowest-performing schools were in Memphis and had been taken over this past year to be reformed.  That meant that several schools in Metro were now in the lowest 5%.  These schools--schools where I had done practicums like Inglewood--were to be closed and all of the principals and teachers fired.  The teachers could reapply to the charter schools that would take their place, but it was very unlikely for them to be hired there because the charter schools wanted young teachers who did not require a great deal of monetary compensation.  Additionally, if any of the teachers from the failing school had a 1 or 2 on a section of their evaluation, they would be forbidden from working in Metro ever again.

When my principal told this news to my school, many of the teachers were terrified. Their students were primarily ELL and since the test was based solely on achievement, they would soon be in the lowest 5%.  And many good teachers had received 1s and 2s in their evaluations because of their students' low achievement.  Since then, the fourth grade teachers have been in TCAP-prep mode, but have also still been worried about how to best teach their students.  The principal often speaks candidly about how the future teachers she hires will have to work harder at Tusculum than at any other school because this threat is looming over their heads.

I have wanted to work at Tusculum since I got there because I love the students, the community of teachers, and the diversity of the school.  However, my boyfriend does not want me to apply there because of its lack of job security.  People I talk to, however, keep telling me that the risk might be small because of the national shift towards more growth-based assessments.  That makes me wonder if I should risk it and apply anyway?  I love working hard to help students who are overcoming enormous obstacles.  That was always where I felt called to be.  And yet, as I go in tomorrow to interview for Metro schools, I keep asking myself where to apply.  Should I listen to my boyfriend and go somewhere "safe" and "easier" for my first year of teaching?  Or should I go somewhere where I will work a great deal, albeit passionately?  What have your experiences been thus far in thinking about where you will end up?