Our first round of early placement interviewing starts this week. ENC has two rounds of phone/skype interviews before induction, a full day of interviewing before we leave for Institute, and then more phone/skype interviews during Institute if we haven’t been placed yet.
I have three interviews this week, all with middle schools. When I was accepted to TFA, I was placed in Elementary education, however I also took the Praxis in Middle School Math so I would have a back up. My regional director told me that middle school math is typically one of their highest need areas, so I’m not surprised I’m interviewing at only middle schools. To be honest, I like the idea of being with older kids. I would have liked to preference high school but my mom – who I was already fighting with about applying for TFA – didn’t want me working in a high school right out of college. So middle school interviews are great!
However, I’m realizing that even after the conference call and presentation we had about the placement process, I still don’t fully understand it. Do I have any say in where I go? Or will my region just plop me into a school? Normally in interviews, I treat it as if I’m interviewing them as well (in my head, at least). I wouldn’t want to work for a school
My understanding of the process is that you get hired by the school. You have the right to refuse a job if you don’t think it is right for you. You will get hired by the school/school district, and TFA doesn’t really have that much of a say in it, except for helping connect you with the schools where you are interviewing.