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+--- Thread: Help Me Choose? (/showthread.php?tid=2091)
Help Me Choose? - WASailorGirl - 04-16-2008
This may be a "no-brainer" (also, I know which way I'm leaning), but would appreciate your feedback.
I've been offered a teaching job in SPED at Laupahoehoe Elementary School. I also have a web-based video conference set up to interview with Kamehameha Schools on April 29th for a Literacy Specialist position.
It sounds like KS contracts the position out to DOE schools (Pahoa, Keonepoko, Kea'au, and Mountain View Elementary).[?] I would be just at one school though - no traveling. I have a M.Ed. in Literacy and have found that most schools do not fund Reading Specialists or Literacy postitions. It's exciting to see that KS really cares enough about literacy education to fund these positions.
I don't know if I will be hired for the position after the interview. (You just never know). I think it's a perfect fit for me, but they may see otherwise. Do I take the sure thing, or hold out for what I really want?
My fiance and I would like to live north of Hilo on the Hamakua Coast near Ninole or thereabouts. Laupahoehoe was my first choice of DOE schools due to distance. I really wouldn't mind commuting to Kea'au, but definitely not to Pahoa.
Thoughts anyone?
Mahalo,
Beth
RE: Help Me Choose? - Guest - 04-16-2008
quote:
Originally posted by WASailorGirl
I've been offered a teaching job in SPED at Laupahoehoe Elementary School. I also have a web-based video conference set up to interview with Kamehameha Schools on April 29th for a Literacy Specialist position.
It sounds like KS contracts the position out to DOE schools (Pahoa, Keonepoko, Kea'au, and Mountain View Elementary).[?]
Beth
I don't believe KS contracts any positions out to DOE Schools.
I always believed a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.
Laupahoehoe would fit in nicely with where you are living.
KS also tends to want their teachers to have some knowledge of Local Culture and Hawaiian History.
Best of luck both places.
I can tell you that KS Keaau's campus is much nicer then Laupahoehoe... but what can you say.... KS (Schools) is the wealthiest School system in the Nation!
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The more we speak up... the more they will listen.
RE: Help Me Choose? - macuu222 - 04-16-2008
If current finances are a factor I would say go for the sure thing. It's better than nothing.
But if it was me...I would take the sure thing and also do the interview for the one you really want. And then if you get it....Your can pass the sure thing to the runner up.
RE: Help Me Choose? - WASailorGirl - 04-16-2008
When I asked for the location I would be working in, the recruiter gave me the name of those four schools (all DOE I believe). Doesn't KS just have one campus on the BI?
Also, they have my resume and references. They know the extent of my knowledge of local culture and Hawaiian History. I do believe it's a preference, but not a requirement (according to the posting). I'm hoping my qualifications in literacy education will be more important to them than my lack of knowledge of Hawaiian history. I do have a willingness to learn, and I'm a pretty quick teach! [
]Any feedback regarding DOE vs KS schools in particular on the Big Island?
Mahalo
RE: Help Me Choose? - Guest - 04-16-2008
quote:
Originally posted by WASailorGirl
When I asked for the location I would be working in, the recruiter gave me the name of those four schools (all DOE I believe). Doesn't KS just have one campus on the BI?
Kam has 3 high schools - One on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
"In addition to three campuses, Kamehameha operates 30 preschool sites enrolling 1,500 3- and 4-year-old children statewide; and serves thousands more students through community outreach and scholarship programs, and collaborations with educational and community organizations."
I think your thinking possibly of this outreach stuff...but it's not really Public DOE related.
More info here
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The more we speak up... the more they will listen.
RE: Help Me Choose? - Carey - 04-16-2008
We a have a friend who left the DOE system after ~ 15 yrs (HS math) to teach at the Kamehameha Keaau campus. He lost a lot of DOE benefits, but he says it was worth it!(has almost 5 years in now at KS...)
As others have stated, why not go with the "sure thing" with the DOE, and still do the interview & pursue the KS position?
The travel from Hilo/Keaau town to Lapahoehoe is not horrendous, but if you are renting, definately look for rentals on the Hamakua Coast if your job is there.... the road is narrow & a rock fall can really slow down the morning commute.... also the bus service is not geared for teachers hours there, so driving is the only way to get to the school (different story in Keaau....bus service is actually good!)
RE: Help Me Choose? - frossie - 04-16-2008
I can't advise you on the merits of the position; but I would recommend against commuting through Hilo. For one thing there are many choke points (eg. Honolii Bridge) where if there are roadworks traffic grounds to a halt. For another, why burn the gas? Why move to a rural island and then do a big city commute?
If you want to live on the Hamakua coast, work on that side of town. If you would prefer to work in Puna, live on this side of town. Then proceed to spend the extra hour plus that you save on the commute on something you really enjoy.
RE: Help Me Choose? - Hotzcatz - 04-16-2008
You will always be able to get the job with the Hawaii Department of Education teaching SPED kids. You will not always be able to get the Literary Specialist job with Kamehemeha Schools. So, take the SPED job and try for the job with Kamehameha schools if Kamehameha Schools is your preferred job.
Laupahoehoe is not just an elementary school, the school is from elementary to high school, all in one building. They are a very small rural school and you will probably know the name of every kid in the school by the time you are done teaching one year.
Kamehameha Schools does not contract any teaching position out with the Hawaii Department of Education. They have very little interaction with each other other than sports teams.
Kamehameha Schools has a lot more funding than the Hawaii Department of Education. To the level of having school books with the position. If you want books, go for Kamehameha Schools, if you don't need school books, then you can work for the Hawaii Department of Education. It would seem that the major drawback to Kamehameha School is that they are not near your choice of living area. There are nice areas to live near Keaau and you can always drive up the coast when you want to see Laupahoehoe.
Hawaii is a small rock in the middle of a very large ocean and we are on the wrong end of a very long supply chain. Gasoline is very expensive and isn't going to get any cheaper. Since at this moment you don't have a household established nor even a specific job location, wait until you find out where your job will be then get a house as close to that as possible. The amount of time you save in transit as well as the amount of fuel saved will amount to a sizable chunk real quickly. The commute will be at least an hour if not longer each way so that's two hours a day dedicated to your employer yet not paid for. Also if you have any after school hours events and you live an hour away from school, that will be a problem, too.
It is not a good commute from Laupahoehoe to Keaau since there are many places on the road (it is generally referred to as "the road" since there IS ONLY ONE ROAD) where if there is a landslide, rockslide, accident, washout, etc., the detour is about 120 miles long. (back up to Waimea then over on Saddle Road to Hilo) It is a two lane road with the highest posted speed limit of 55 miles an hour and frequently the posted speed is significantly less. There is usually several places where the road is being worked on, too. The road along the Hamakua coast is dangerous to drive at night because of (among other things) the lack of streetlights, wild pigs on the road and rocks falling on the road frequently.
So, if you want to live in Laupahoehoe, then teach SPED kids for the Department of Education. If you want to teach at Kamehameha Schools, then live in Keaau.
That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it!
RE: Help Me Choose? - David M - 04-16-2008
We have a friend who lives in Laupahoehoe and taught school in Mountainview. I don't recall her ever having anything nice to say about the commute. Next year, she is teaching in Laupahoehoe - 5 minutes from her house. If you want to live there, probably best to take the position there.
David
Ninole Resident
RE: Help Me Choose? - WASailorGirl - 04-17-2008
Thanks for all your replies. I appreciate the input.
I do want to clarify though, I don't necessarily want to live in Lapahoehoe. I would like to live closer to Hilo but still on the Hamakua Coast. (No farther North than Ninole). I wouldn't ever consider driving from Lapohoehoe to Kea'au. I thought it might be more manageable from Ninole. We like Honolii and Honomu as well.
I'm an ocean view snob. [
] I figure if I'm going to move to Hawaii, I want to have an ocean view, and a good one - not some little speck or none at all. We don't really want to live right in Hilo though. We are really looking for some peaceful country area with a view. I would rather be happy with where I live beyond any other criteria. Any other ideas for a great ocean view closer to KS Schools? (in a relatively peaceful area) I'm a "want it all" person - can't you tell. [
] I just want to be happy with where I live and where I work. That shouldn't be too much to ask for - right? [
]Also, we would like to build and have found some land we really love. (in Ninole with county water, electric, driveway, and house pad - nearly ready to build on. Lots of fruit trees too - yum!)
Another clarification point - I'm not teaching High School. This is an elementary ed literacy position. The names of the schools they gave me are DOE schools. So this must be some sort of contracted position? I'll find out more on the 29th. (The job posting also mentioned 'Extension Education') Some of you said they don't contract out positions. I'm not sure why they gave me those four school names if they aren't contracted.
I do appreciate all the info. especially about drive times and DOE vs. KS as an employer.
Mahalo Much,
Beth