Every year students from YDS trade student life for the life of a teacher. Most of these graduates work in private schools—both parochial and secular. Some students will pursue teacher certification and teach in public schools. Summer and post-graduate internships in teaching may help one gain the experience needed for a first permanent position. Teacher placement agencies may help those seeking private school opportunities.
Preparing for Public School Teaching: Each state determines its own requirements for public school certification. The most direct route to a certificate is through a teacher-training program at a college or university. There are other routes though—specific to each state. This comprehensive website outlines such alternative means to obtain certification. Some of these programs are nationally based (such as Teach for America) but most are particular to specific regions.
Preparing to apply for private school teaching and chaplaincy positions. While certification is not required, most private schools do look for candidates that have in-depth knowledge of the subject area, experience with children and youth, and ideally have some experience teaching.
Some great ways to obtain that experience include:
- Formal or informal internships completed during your academic year at YDS. Formal internships can be arranged through the Office of Supervised Ministries. Informal internships can be arranged by contacting the schools directly. (The Career Services office has a book listing private schools nationwide–stop by to come up with a list of schools to approach.)
- Paid or volunteer experience as a tutor.
- Experience
- Summer fellowships or internships in private schools. Check these pages out (as an example—the list is not exhaustive!) for summer programs that may be seeking employees
Institute of Reading Development
Externship/Fellowship Opportunities for New Graduates
An excellent way to bridge the gap between graduate school and a first independent position in a school would be participation in one of many programs designed to introduce new graduates to the world of private school teaching. The programs vary widely, but most include some form of mentoring or training, and wide experience in a particular school. Most programs are one or two years long. Here is a sampling of such programs.
Achievement First (Public Charter)Schools, New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, and Brooklyn
Beauvoir School , Washington DC
Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA
Culver Academies, Culver, IN
Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA
Phillips-Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Miss Porter’s School, Farmington, CT
Northfield Mount Hermon School, Northfield, MA
Pear Tree Point School, Darien, CT
Philips Academy Andover, Andover, MA
Teacher Placement Agencies
Many students have successfully found permanent work in private schools via the use of teacher placement agencies. These agencies typically accept applications early in a student’s final year (September-November) and then send packets of information about teacher candidates to schools seeking employees.
Carney Sandoe Private school placement agency
Education Jobs Page - Nationwide job network.
Educator’s Collaborative - National educational consortium filling searches for administrator positions at independent schools.
ERG Independent School Teacher Placement Agency
Florida Council of Independent Schools - Opportunities at independent schools of Florida.
GreatTeacher.net - Teacher listings site also offering discussion board and job search resources.
Independent School Association of the Central States - Member organization offering information on, and counsel to, two hundred independent schools.
Independent School Management - Job openings for private school administrators and teachers.
The Interschool Program - Consortium of NYC independent schools.
Klingenstein - Job openings for private school administrators and teachers across the country.
K12Jobs - K-12 opportunities in school districts, private schools and catholic schools throughout the United States. Also includes “job fair” finder.
National Association of Independent Schools - For available teaching and administration positions at independent schools across the country click “Career Center” on page banner.
Nemnet.com - National Employment Minority Network “committed to helping schools and organizations in the identification and recruitment of minority candidates” offers online job listings and search assistance.
SAIS - Bulletin board posting education-related openings and articles for nonpublic elementary and secondary schools in Southern United States, Central America and South America.
Job Hunt This page will help you locate positions at educational institutions ranging from kindergarten through college.