Easter in Canada

Of course it's snowing here before Easter weekend. I wouldn't have it any other way. We found these lovelies while perusing the Easter candy section at Wal-Mart, both of which are incredibly fitting, seeing that the Stanley Cup playoffs just started last night. 

Personally, I'd take the large Reese Egg below over a chocolate Stanley Cup.The only Stanley Cup I want to see is the real Lord Stanley's Cup raised over Joe Thornton's head in a month.

CBE -- that escalated quickly

In my first week I had three interviews for three very different jobs. The first was as a tutor with Sylvan Learning Center. They hired me and I've been working there a few nights a week. Next was an ESL teaching position, but I never got a call back. The third was for an aide at a special education preschool (Renfrew Educational Services), which I was offered, but turned down because I was hoping for something bigger. Something with the Calgary Board of Education.

The CBE is a monster. They are the only school district in Calgary, so they are huge. They actually do a good job at educating kids, but they have quite the bureaucracy, which always gives people something to complain about. Most teachers I have talked to say that it's not the best place to work for, but their compensation and benefits are incomparable. Apart from teaching at a special education school, this was my only ticket to teach in Calgary. It is very competitive to get on board with CBE. Here is the process:

1.     Apply online for a job as 'Teacher'.

2.     Get a screening interview. Your responses are typed out by the interviewer into a system that runs on a number of hoity-toity algorithms that will determine whether or not you are qualified to teach for the great and powerful CBE.

3.     You are sent a letter. If you pass the screening, you are added to their sub list. If not, you are not allowed to reapply for two years.

4.     Try to sell yourself to every school you sub at so they will hire you if they have an opening. If you do not sub, you are not known.

5.     Schools will choose candidates to interview from the pool of subs/applicants, favoring those they already are familiar with, obviously.

6.     Boom, you're in.

Creepy alien statues that make up the CBE logo

It's not exactly 'Boom, you're in', though, is it? I was lucky enough to know someone with a contact in recruiting and scored a screening interview. I went into a room where a man asked me questions and typed my repsonses. Hopefully the computers will deem me a worthy candidate, but I won't get my letter for two weeks. I feel like my interview went really well, but more importantly, apparently, is the fact that I am a man and can teach elementary (my masters degree qualified me for K-12. Ka-ching!). I've spoken with several teachers and administrators who all have said that any man in special education at the elementary level will be a shoe-in to find a job in the district. 

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I had seriously just written that when I received a phone call from my contact in recruiting who told me that they are officially hiring me. Apparently my offering was acceptable to their hiring gods (which are depicted in the statues in the logo), and the recruiter pulled some strings to make it happen for me now. I heard later from a friend that at her school a teacher couldn't get a sub and Lori had to call someone and tell them they could work even though their paperwork hadn't been fully processed. I really just feel blessed for what happened. Some people apply and reapply for years without ever even getting an interview, so this is exciting for me. I just have a lot less to write about getting a job in Canada.

Becoming a Teacher in Canada

It all started last year around this time. I started looking and applying for jobs in Calgary and the surrounding area. I applied for an Alberta teaching license online in May and hoped for the best. In June when we visited Calgary I spoke with people in HR for the four districts in the region and found out that they won't apply for work permits for foreign teachers, and that I'd have to wait until I had permanent residency. And the time ticked by...

In the fall, after we had moved to Canada, I called Alberta Education to check on the status of my application. I gave him the reference number and he told me that he didn’t have any of the required documents, nor the $200 application fee. And he told me all of this in a snotty French accent, which really made my blood curdle (but it’s something that you deal with in the bureaucracy because they need bilingual workers to handle the idiots from/in Quebec who won’t speak a word of English to save their life). I mean, I already did all of this, what’s the problem?

So I did what everyone does in this situation, you go to the supervisor. As it turns out, the reference number they emailed me was different than the one under which they had filed all of my application, and the money, which they had to have their boys in accounting track down. In November I was notified by Alberta Education that my profile was complete and that I just needed proof of permanent residency to get my license.

The Monday after I landed as a permanent resident I called AE to verify the document they wanted. Unfortunately, AE only accepts the actual permanent residency card as proof of residency, and I still have four to six weeks until that shows up in the mail. This was discouraging, but they do have a system in place for people like me to get a 'Temporary Letter of Authority', which would allow me to teach if a district wanted to hire me. So once I someone wants me, I can go ahead and work. Let the applications begin!