Check out Room to Read and Limited Resource Teacher Training, too.

@senator, I imagine I'll have the same feeling in the Southern Hemisphere! Not too worried about feeling homesick here. :)

Keep in mind, the benefits that your new school is offering counts toward your salary. Once I calculated my salary, plus housing, utilities, and grocery allowance as well as transportation, I realized I was actually only taking a pay cut of a thousand dollars. (You may actually do better - I'm currently making an admin salary.)

I think it's normal to experience a rollercoaster of emotions - it's a BIG change. I'm taking my first IT post this summer and got some good advice from those already at the school. I was told to pack holiday decorations - homesickness hits around November and depending on where you are, the lack of holiday decorations might deepen the feeling. I was also told to plan a trip around Thanksgiving, but not back home. Again, homesickness can crop up and it's nice to have a trip you're looking forward to at that time.

I've done a lot of video recording both as a classroom teacher and as an instructional coach. As a professional development exercise, I think it's invaluable to record yourself and watch the "game tape." I learned a lot about my own teaching craft. It's also great for coaching because you can really illustrate an area of growth objectively.

PsyGuy posted some excellent information for how to do this well. I would recommend always getting releases from parents and avoid including any identifying information such as the use of student last names (don't forget to cover up name tags!) or school name/logo on worksheets or bulletin boards. For the purposes of a teaching demo to share with potential employers, I'd probably just pull a small group of students to teach. An iPhone or iPad works just fine, but if you can have a colleague record you, thus moving the camera to showcase student work, even better.

FYI: In-person demo lessons and/or video is the norm for p-12 hiring in the districts I've worked in. I was SHOCKED that none of the schools I interviewed with this year requested anything akin to a demo lesson. I suspect it's coming though, especially for those who are new to the profession.

I think combating jet lag is also harder in the winter coming from anywhere in the U.S. to Europe. The sunrise wasn't until 8:20am-ish and sunset was around 4:30pm, which is about two hours less than what I'm used to right now. Sunlight definitely contributes to your ability to regulate and I found it to be a real struggle.

I have a trailing spouse. We decided that IT was "now or never" for us as he's working at a start-up with a large remote working culture. We'll be moving in July and he's received approval from his company to work adjust his hours to our new time zone once we're there. It'll be a tad non-standard (e.g., he'll probably work from 11am to 8pm), but we feel like we hit the jackpot between the school I landed at and his ability to work remotely from another country (while continuing to earn his salary in USD!).

Not sure this will be applicable to your partner's experience/skill set, but maybe he could look at remote positions!

I declined my first offer for a myriad of reasons, but the biggest two were location (geographically isolated) and didn't get a good vibe from the school director (i.e., not someone I wanted to work with). It's a fantastic school, but it just wasn't going to be the right fit.

Good luck, all!

I just de-registered for next week's London fair after having accepted an offer at my dream school! I'm a little bummed to not experience a fair, but decided to keep my travel plans for a short vacation in London & Paris. :)

Things have really picked up this week! Four additional schools reached out via SA for interviews, including one in WE that is creme de la creme, and I had a final interview with one of my top choices. I'd really love to avoid attending a fair if at all possible...

I've applied to 16 schools and been contacted by 2 schools separately via SA. I've interviewed with 4 schools now, with 1 offer (turned down), 1 rejection, and 2 still in-process. I'm certified in two high-need areas and have a trailing spouse, but no children. I'm planning to attend a fair in January.

You may be able to apply for a Standard credential under Option A. You should ask OSSE if your PGCEi coursework is an approved teacher preparation program.

Here's the guidance for D.C. credentialing: http://osse.dc.gov/page/educator-creden ... herinitial

Unfortunately, it does not appear that you'll be able to get an Initial credential based on the employment history you described.

When you say DC licensure, are you referring to Washington, D.C.? If I'm not mistaken, you MUST be in-person for fingerprinting there.

My inclination was email, but in the past, I've had follow-up calls scheduled to reject job offers (education sector, but not teaching positions) so wanted to confirm the norm. I have until the end of this coming week to give the yay or nay.

Follow-up Q: Has anyone leveraged an offer to accelerate another school's decision? I'm still in process with my first choice school (have had 2 interviews: principal & vice principal + department chair) and expect to have a final interview the Director before the holiday break. I'm wondering if it's a worth dropping them a line tomorrow or Tuesday to say, "I wanted to update you on my end as I've received a competing job offer"?

I received my first offer recently, and despite being an amazing school, I don't think it's the right fit for me.

How have you turned down an offer in the past? Email? Schedule a follow-up Skype call?