10 Things You Should Ask Before You Accept The Job

So you've impressed the interview panel, made it through the actual interview and you've nailed it! You're pretty certain that you have this job. And then the principal asks, "Do you have any questions for me?". 

This is often a missed opportunity for job seeking teachers to really gain a sense of what their prospective employment environment may be like.  Ask questions! If you don't, you're pretty much leaving your job on the table. It sends the message that you didn't care enough about your prospective employer to do some real research. I ask questions...but I try to reign it in to a few questions that provide me with a real picture of my new teaching assignment.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR YOUR INTERVIEWER

1. How would you describe your leadership style?

Often times we get so excited to finally get an assignment that we forget this important question. This will help to determine the culture of the prospective campus. It will also provide great insight into the management style of your principal. Pay attention to verbiage used to describe their level of visibility, their tone and how they delegate tasks to other teacher leaders on their team.

2. What kind of technology is available to the students and teachers on this campus?

You need to know this! Access to technology can help with the completion of projects, formative assessments and can broaden your ability to differentiate tasks and tailor them to the needs of your students. If the principal mentions a bond coming through ask them for the expected date for your actual campus to receive the technology proposed in the bond, this can take a while.

3. Will I have my own classroom?

You will be surprised by how many teachers forget to ask this question and show up to a rude awakening.

4. What is the average student to teacher ratio in each (SUBJECT) class?

This can give you a good idea of how to prepare your lessons and what you can expect on a day to day basis. Unfortunately some leaders aren't exactly forthcoming in this area but at least you asked.

5. Do you have a new teacher mentorship program and what does that mentorship look like in practice?

Mentorship can provide a great source of knowledge by linking a new campus teacher to an experienced teacher on campus. This will give you insight into how to navigate the social politics of your new campus.

6. How long was the previous teacher in this position before they departed?

This will give you a heads up as to how long teachers in this department tend to stick around. Anything less than two years without a legitimate reason may be a red flag.

7. What does PLC look like on this campus and how often do we meet?
Professional Learning Community is a time when teachers meet with their peers in their subject area to learn best practices from each other. Ideally the knowledge gained from these interactions can be implemented in the classroom to better serve students and improve the teacher's practice. PLC look vastly different from campus to campus and district to district.

8. What kind of curriculum resources are available to each teacher?

This will afford you the opportunity to prepare in advance, if needed to purchase or create your own resources. Ideally your new campus has a bank of resources accessible online that are provided by the district. But this isn't a universal practice, some districts have a few required lessons and the teachers are expected to create the rest of the resources.

9. Do you assist in the purchasing of physical supplies such as: glue sticks, colored pencils and markers?

This will allow you to prepare financially for the new school year if you have to stock your own classroom.

10. What do you expect from the teacher that fills the role you're interviewing for?

Whatever this principal mentions at this time will probably be the way they gauge the teacher's success in the classroom. Pay close attention at this time.

You DON'T have to use my questions line by line. 

Feel free to use them as a starting point or expand on them or tweak them to best serve you. 

Do you have an upcoming teaching interview? 

How did you prepare?

Let me know how everything goes by commenting down below or connecting with me on IG.