For the 2010-11 school year I will be working as a Teacher's Assistant at the Denver Language School. Our 1st grade classroom will be exclusively Spanish-speaking (95%) and I will work under a native Spanish speaker. The school is a brand new charter school and a lot of energy and passion are fueling it's August 2010 start date. All of these things are a perfect match for me and I can't wait to meet the teachers and students.
As an aside, I'm going to add a bit about the hiring process. I sent my resume, cover letter, transcript, etc. about 2 months ago and hadn't heard anything. I figured it was like most jobs I applied for: dead end. I realize I don't have my teaching license so my hopes for many of these positions were not particularly high. Anyway, I received an email on Wednesday evening requesting an interview time slot on either Thursday or Friday. I had to work both days so I emailed Janine (my new boss and principal of DLS) telling her I'd have to work out a different time. She writes back with a new time and attached a list of qualifications, the majority of which I don't possess. I was a bit intimidated by this and exhaustion from the week set in- I didn't feel like getting in the car to interview at 4:30 on a Friday. So I cancelled. Then, at 10:15pm on Thursday night, I get another email from Janine encouraging me to apply. She highlighted my experiences and mentioned my position at Primrose as similar to the job description. I was blown away by her personal investment so late on a Thursday and decided to go for it. All I needed was a little nudge.
The interview lasted and hour and a half. We chatted about the school, my qualifications, Minnesota (she's from Iowa and went to school at Mankato State). Then her language started to shift. She started to say things like, "This is what you will be doing." "Will you comfortable speaking in Spanish all day?" I became more enthusiastic about the position with each question. It just felt right.
A few minutes later, Janine went to chat with the Executive Director, Brian, as he was leaving for the weekend. Her voice lowered to a whisper and I could tell they were chatting about me. Brian then came over to the conference room and shook my hand saying, "Now remember, we're very selective." Hmm... I thought, my twinge of excitement growing. Next thing I know, Janine is explaining how she's never done this but she just felt it was right. She offered me the job on the spot, no questions asked. On the spot! I was blown away.
I told her I'd think it over knowing full well that I'd accept. I accepted yesterday and am so excited about it! It should be a fun ride- en español!
One more thing: Janine said two things in particular stood out to her.
1) My extensive experiences in Chile and Costa Rica.
2) The fact I went to St. Olaf. ("I know it's a great school so you must be really smart!") Thanks Olaf!
More to come on my adventures of moving out, buying a car and starting a new life in Denver to come!
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