One Week Down, Five More to go

I AM HIRED!!!

I will be teaching bilingual elementary (either 4th or 5th grade) at T.A. Sims in Fort Worth, so exciting! I was hired Wednesday, June 6th in a REALLY odd way...by "speed interviewing!" I interviewed in both English and Spanish with about four principals - it was an exhausting process.

A TFA rule is that we must accept the first job offered to us - so I gladly accepted when Principal Andrea Harper offered a position :) There are quite a few corp members already at T.A. Sims, so I know that I will have a great support system.

A text received from Principal Harper, as well as the other TFA members joining T. A. Sims

Induction at SMU - a beautiful campus

Final induction dinner at Parkland Hospital

I am now at Institute at Rice - Houston, TX! I drove the 4.5 hours by myself. I forgot how beautiful Texas country is!

Houston city

If I had toured Rice University as a high school senior, I would have immediately applied. I am IN LOVE with this campus! I'm glad TCU worked out though.

There are about 900 people training at Rice from Houston, DFW, Rio Grande Vally, & North Carolina. I have literally been running around today like a chicken with its head cut off - driving, moving, unpacking, etc. These next few weeks will be chaos, but I am so excited to start. Apologies if the blog posts slow down!

Rice University is SO amazing.

My schedule. I have to catch the bus at 6:50 a.m. each morning to teach at PRIDE Academy...

My dorm room

Rice food is DELICIOUS.

The copy room - where all 900 of us will be printing throughout the 5 weeks.

Inspiration

The resource room filled with books and people.

"One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education."

Today is the Day!

Induction at SMU started TODAY, & I am here with a happy heart & full of excitement! Also, the fact that I passed my TExES exam helped make the day even better =]

Although my morning started out a bit rough, I made it to Dallas on time at 9 a.m. As soon as I arrived at SMU, I found past & present TFA corps members parading around campus with signs, greeting all the new members...felt like I was starting freshman year all over again!

After check-in, I moved into my dorm room. I think Milton Daniel at TCU spoiled me a bit, because McElvaney Hall at SMU is just not as cool :P

My room! But my roommate was a no-show :(

I think I have a handicap room, it's enormous!

HUGE closet

This binder holds my life schedule for the week

I made some friends, ate some yummy food, & learned more about Teach for America's mission and involvement in DFW.

Our "lecture" room

Tomorrow I meet with Fort Worth ISD principals & have the possibility of finding out where I'll be teaching - *fingers crossed!*

"Milk & cookies" with our mentors for the evening

"If not you, who? If not now, when?"

"YOU are the movement."

The Final Countdown

TExES exam: 9 days

Induction: 10 days

Institute: 14 days

My post-grad life has been filled with tons of work, contrary to any expectations I had. You're probably wondering what this countdown represents...well, here's a breakdown!

TExES
AKA the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards. This test determines whether or not I can even become a teacher (scary). I will be taking the Generalist EC-6 exam June 4th in Dallas, & have to pass!

The test is scored from a total of 300 points, & I need 240 to pass - or 80% correct. The paragraph below is an exert from a TFA email I received, further adding to my fear of this exam.

YOUR 1st JOB AS A TFA CORPS MEMBER IS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR TExES AND PASS IT. IF YOU DO NOT PASS, YOU WILL NOT RETAIN YOUR PLACE IN THE 2012 DFW CORPS.

Along with studying for the TExES exam, I have 40 hours of reading/prep-work to complete. This work includes readings discussing the achievement gap, classroom observation hours, & lesson planning. I have my work cut out for me.

Induction
I will be at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from June 5-June 10, where I will finally meet all other 2012 TFA Corps members within the Texas region - so exciting! We have all been communicating on a Facebook page, but it will be great to finally meet these people in person. This week-long "camp" will be filled with learning about TFA's mission, as well as meeting with our respective school districts.

Induction Schedule

I was recently placed within Fort Worth ISD (stoked) but have yet to get a specific position. I'm crossing my fingers for 3rd grade.

Institute
I literally drive straight from Induction (SMU/Dallas) to Institute, held at Rice University in Houston, TX, where I will "learn how to be a teacher" from June 10-July 14. The training so so rigorous that days start at 6 a.m. & usually end around midnight.

There are many institute horror stories online via blogs, but I haven't read any of them. I want to have/create my own perspective of the 5-week training...plus, I don't want to get too stressed (probably too late for that).

Post-grad life has yet to slow down, but I can't wait to get this TFA summer officially started.