Teaching Outlook in St. Louis

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2005 : October : 10

Teaching Outlook in St. Louis
By Gloria

There are NO elementary teaching positions in St. Louis. Over 50 schools have closed in the last few years and there are hundreds of elemetary teachers that are unemployed. If you are middle school certified, there are
some positions. There are also Spec. Ed positions. Many positions are part time so little to no benefits. There are many subpositions NO BENEFITS $60-80 per day.

The reason is that there are about 25 colleges in Missouri that certifies teachers and and offer ed degrees. I would definately look at Moreap.net to get an idea of what is out there. Many schools are overcrowded so

there are large class sizes and many trailers at schools.

Also, our Governor has decreased funds for schools and many schools are laying off teachers too. They are getting rid of aids. Many school districts do not have money for basics and expect teachers to provide for themselves. EG: go to kinko's for copies, pay for supplies for the classroom, etc. Also be prepared to teach art, music and PE in addition to regular classroom duties.

There is an average of 250 or so applicants for any position that does open. Be prepared for 3-5 interviews with principals and faculty groups.
Also be aware of the neighborhoods that do have openings. Some of them you cannot be in alone after dark. That is usually where the jobs are.

Also, several St. Louis school districts are not accrediated so be careful where you teach because you could be out of a job in no time. We also have several charter schools. Many of them are also having difficulty and some universities are pulling out. This happened this year and a few are on the way out.

Yes, there are great Catholic schools, NO pay- I KNOW. THere are great public schools too. Be prepared to sub for a few years to get a teacher's aide job and then just wait to a real teaching position does open. I don't want to sound hopeless but realistic.