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I just got back from our Officers meeting. As officers, we discuss club business. As teachers, we share information about teaching. How do the two work together? In ways to help our Pi Lambda Theta members benefit from our network of information.

We work at various schools in various districts, but our districts have one thing in common: declining enrollment. There’s a mass exodus of families who are looking for cheaper places to live. Several times a week, the newspapers publish stories about how expensive it is to live around here. Every school is losing dozens of students each year. For every two dozen students the school loses, they lose a teacher. LAUSD has year round schools switching back to traditional calendars because they’re losing students. This also means that they need to lose about a quarter of their teachers as well.

It’s not a rosy picture around here. If you want to get a job, you need to get your qualifications in order, and show people you’re worth hiring.

Get to know working teachers. Spend extra time at schools where you’re doing your observations. When I used to sub, I volunteered at my nephew’s school on my free days.

Get to know the other members in Pi Lambda Theta. Every year, we induct over 50 new members. About a quarter of our active membership will be ready to work at the end of this school year after they get their credential. Make sure you meet the members who have jobs because, boy, we have stories for you, and can help you learn what you need before schools will seriously look at you to fill a position.

Once you get hired, keep in touch because the working teachers in PLT have gone through the same thing and are eager to let you know what works, what doesn’t, and how you can cement yourself into a position as a highly effective staff member at your school.

The good news is that schools are always hiring. Make sure you’re the one they hire.