the new job. . . an update and a really big error

So I began half time (and subbing half days there) December 9th. Up until Christmas break pretty much all I did was test kids. I was eating, sleeping, and dreaming Dibels and Diagnostic Decoding Surveys. That was good for my intervention team because I got a lot of testing done while they were still having their small groups. We got back into the swing of things on January 6th, taking the data collected from testing to start putting new small groups together and targeting what their instruction and curriculum should be. It was a very methodical and lengthy process. I started full time officially as an Intervention Specialist on January 13th and had my first day of meeting with my groups on the 20th.

My day typically looks like this. . .

• 7:50 - arrive & planning time
• 8:55 - 2nd grade intervention, a group of 7
• 9:30 - 1st grade Readwell, a group of 5
• 10:15 - 2nd grade Readwell, a group of 7
• 11:00 - 3rd grade CORE Reading, a group of 5
• 11:30 - lunch/planning
• 12:30 - 3rd-5th grade interventions (math fact fluency), a group of 7
• 1:25 - 4th grade CORE Reading, a group of 9
• 2:15 - 4th grade Reading extension, a group of 10

On Thursdays I do kindergarten reading centers during their fine arts blocks. The two teachers team teach, so they use those two hours as common planning time. I get each class for an hour.

I love working with the small groups. It really is like a best case scenario when you are working with struggling kids. I meet with my groups in the cafeteria, the library, and in a couple of classrooms. I'm kind of all over the place and drag my stuff around with me. I have a desk in the intervention room, Panther Pride, with the rest of my team.
There are four of us and I love working with them. They were really instrumental in putting a bug in the principal's ear to get me this job.




So I've been keeping busy with learning a lot of new stuff and goal writing and trying to figure out new curriculum and learning targets and success criterion. I feel like I know nothing. Everything is so different from what I've done previously. There's definitely a learning curve.




Then there's also the information I'm still trying to process regarding my certification. I found out on the 20th in a meeting with HR that my Washington certification was given to me in error 7 years ago from OSPI. It's a long and complicated story (and has definitely put a damper on my desire to write blog posts), but when HR was checking all my documentation and transcripts when I started this job, they discovered that the accrediting agency of Tennessee Temple University from back in 1995 was not recognized by the state of WA. Someone back when I transferred from Ohio didn't do their job and gave it to me anyway. But now, beyond the end of this school year, it will no longer be good in any school in WA that receives federal funding. When I left the meeting that afternoon, I wasn't even sure I'd have a job the next day. Fortunately, the powers that be in Olympia let me slide under the Highly Qualified status for the rest of this school year because I have a bachelor's degree, a state teaching certificate, and I passed the Praxis II exam.


Here's the really bad news. In order for me to continue teaching in anything beyond casual subbing (which means no long term jobs or anything over 20 days in the same position) after this school year, I will have to get a 2nd bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. I seriously had to have the HR lady tell me twice because it was so much to wrap my brain around. She told me that in 10 years of doing this job that she's NEVER heard of OSPI making any sort of error in issuing certification. Until now. . . with me.


My original certification was in Tennessee, then I transferred it to Ohio. I renewed once in Ohio. Then I moved and transferred it to Washington. I've taught for 14 years. And now it's no good. Yeah, that was a little bit devastating.


So now I'm in the research stage of trying to find out where I can transfer as many credits as possible and take as few credits as possible to get a stupid second bachelor's degree. At this point, I have no idea what that's going to look like. I'm almost afraid to find out.