Hello,
I would like to ask for help financially me get through my first year in my alternative teaching licensure.
I have worked in the STEM non-profit for the past three years. That was until the pandemic did not allow the organization that I worked for to teach in person classes. I taught in libraries and schools in the rural areas surrounding a wealthy ski area. However, the organization I worked with allowed me to try online summer camps. Which I did and did it successfully. And although we did not have the enrollment from the wealthier families of the area, we saw an increase in our lower income rural communities. Which was great! As I felt I was giving to the communities from which I came from. Every week I would create a bag of supplies the kids would need to do the weekly experiments and pick up the previous weeks materials.
When summer came to an end, I thought we could continue to offer online programming in the same format. However, schools struggled to be in person and often moved from online to in-person or vice versa right off the bat in fall. So my class enrollment was low to non-existent due students having spent the summer on Zoom or spending their first part of school online. So my boss encouraged me to take on substitute teaching part-time as a means to make ends meet and she would fill in where she could.
A week prior to the fall semester I received a phone call from a local principal, whose school I had taught after school STEM programming in. They were looking for a substitute until the teacher was released by her doctor to teach. That substitute position went from temporary to full-time and year round by December. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement! I found that as much as I loved my STEM after school and summer programming, I loved this more! I loved the kids and the ebb and flow of the classroom and it’s schedule. And I had a class historically known for their talkative nature and enthusiasm. The class started out with only 16 kids but jumped to 22 quickly and 23 by the end of the year. I once overheard staff laughing at how I was the newbie and had the largest class. But it didn’t phase me and I am so glad it didn’t. As now I want to do this full-time from here on out.
So I have applied now to obtain my Alternative Teaching Licensure and been asked to stay on at the school to teach another grade level. Which is great and I couldn’t be happier! My only hurtle now is how to pay for my living expenses during this year. As although I have received a raise, my salary will be divided up among 12 months, leaving me $900 short per month during the school year. And given that I just signed my contract I will not receive a salary during this summer but will have to wait until next summer.
This summer, I will work my STEM programming job, forgoing any time off to teach any camp or class I can. I will also create the curriculum for this non-profits fall STEM programming and pick up side jobs where I can in order to save up to pay for my fall living expenses.
However, despite this I will still come up short and need to take on another job after school and on weekends. Which is hard given that I will be teaching a new grade level and having to learn the ropes, new curriculum and a new set of standards. (Last year I spent a lot of my time on evenings and weekend getting ready for the next week and/ or grading. And luckily I was being paid an hourly rate so I was able to make ends meet. Despite making ends meet I wasn’t able to save but I was just happy to pay my bills.)
So it is my hope that someone may be able to help me with this next year. I will need an extra $9000 to help cover what my monthly salary does not during the school year ($900/ month). I am a hard worker, help others when I can and come from an average agricultural family, so it’s hard to be on here hoping someone can help me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and consider helping me.
Here is my Pay Pal link, should you be able to help me out: https://paypal.me/jlb307?locale.x=en_US
Sincerely,
Jodi