There were a few opportunities for LBUSD's RIFFED Teachers to work during the first three years after being laid off. This was due to being on a mandatory "3-Year Rehire List" as stated in California Education Code 44956: Any permanent employee whose services have been terminated as provided in Section 44955 shall have the preferred right to reappointment in the order of original employment as determined by the board for the period of 39 months from the date of termination.
I said there were a "few" opportunities for employment because their "Rehire List" grew larger with each passing year! As a result, LBUSD's Rehire List following the third year of layoffs on April 30, 2012 indicated 561 Certificated Teachers still "waiting in line" for the minute possibility to be called back to full time employment. Consequently, teachers like me who were laid off the first year in 2010 stood very little chance of securing full time employment unless, of course, they have experience in the "preferred fields" of upper grade Math and Science and Special Education!
I understand California is not the only state where educators take a back seat. A July 12, 2013 Blog from The Notebook in Philadelphia cited, "3,800 teachers and support staff laid off in June still do not know whether they will be back at work in the fall" in their article titled, "For laid-off Philly teachers, it's a mix of waiting-hoping-and-leaving." Teachers here in Long Beach know this feeling all too well!
I said there were a "few" opportunities for employment because their "Rehire List" grew larger with each passing year! As a result, LBUSD's Rehire List following the third year of layoffs on April 30, 2012 indicated 561 Certificated Teachers still "waiting in line" for the minute possibility to be called back to full time employment. Consequently, teachers like me who were laid off the first year in 2010 stood very little chance of securing full time employment unless, of course, they have experience in the "preferred fields" of upper grade Math and Science and Special Education!
I understand California is not the only state where educators take a back seat. A July 12, 2013 Blog from The Notebook in Philadelphia cited, "3,800 teachers and support staff laid off in June still do not know whether they will be back at work in the fall" in their article titled, "For laid-off Philly teachers, it's a mix of waiting-hoping-and-leaving." Teachers here in Long Beach know this feeling all too well!
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| Waiting, Hoping, Leaving |
Those fortunate enough to be given full time teaching contracts within the 39 month time frame received "one year temporary teaching contracts" rather than permanent full time employment. During my first year of unemployment, I secured a position in a bilingual teaching assignment due to my placement on their BCLAD Rehire List. Lucky me, as it was the only time being Bilingual served a purpose in the Long Beach Unified School District!
Our employment didn't last long because, as with me, teachers investing their lives into these new positions lived with the inevitable fear of receiving yet another pink slip. And, as more teachers found themselves laid off at the end of that 2011 school year, I rose higher and higher into the rehire list. By the time 2012 came around, my number had risen to the rehire rank of 301 out of 561 potential teaching candidates and I knew my chances of securing work the following school year would be nearly impossible!
Our employment didn't last long because, as with me, teachers investing their lives into these new positions lived with the inevitable fear of receiving yet another pink slip. And, as more teachers found themselves laid off at the end of that 2011 school year, I rose higher and higher into the rehire list. By the time 2012 came around, my number had risen to the rehire rank of 301 out of 561 potential teaching candidates and I knew my chances of securing work the following school year would be nearly impossible!
