In September I will be starting an old new job. How's that for confusing.

It went down something like this...

WARNING: This is long and probably rambling, read at your own risk.

I sent an e-mail to a colleague at Brentwood with whom I've had sporadic contact over the years. Just to find out how he and his family were doing. He has kids, one of whom is somewhere close to LB's age. At the end of the e-mail I told him that I looked back fondly at my year teaching at B-wood and wondered if there might be a way for me to return there. I asked for some advice on how to approach the situation. Looking back at my 10+ years of teaching, my one year at B-wood was the best. I figured that they were not looking for a Physics teacher as they'd recently hired an additional physics teacher.

Boy was I surprised when I got his response. He said that they were, in fact, looking for a teacher but he didn't know where in the process they were. He suggested that I contact the head of school and the dean of faculty and said that he'd alert them to my interest.

The next day I got a very excited e-mail from the science department chair. She told me that they had thought about contacting me but that she had been told that I lived in Pasadena and would likely not be interested because of the long drive. They had already interviewed a few people, but she remembered that I was a good teacher and they definitely were interested in interviewing me.

So, an interview was set up for the following week, the Thursday before we all left for Spring break. It all went well, the administration seemed to be somewhat distracted by some big to do or another, but I did speak with the Head of School for a bit and then with the Dean of Faculty (someone who already knew me and just ended up walking around with me as we ran into many others who knew me), then it was off to teach a class. I was observed by the class' teacher, some by the department chair, and a bit by a few other science teachers.

After that, the department chair, the AP Physics teacher and I hung out for a while. It was my meeting time with the department chair, but it felt like we were catching up and she was trying to convince ME that I should take the job. Then came lunch with some of the department, more socializing really. And then I was supposed to meet with the upper division direction (principal of the grade 9-12 part of the school). Towards the end of lunch he told the dept. chair that he did not need to meet with me. So I was done.

I headed to say hello to one former colleague and on the way ran into the director. I verified that he did not need to meet with me. He confirmed it but said that he'd walk part way with me because he had two questions for me. His two questions: Are you currently under contract for next year? AND Can you teach Chemistry?

I was worried going in to the interview that my former colleagues had built me up and that I might disappoint. Apparently I said the right things at the right time.

The following day I received a phone call and a job offer which I happily accepted. Then we all went on Spring Break, and now FINALLY I've received the contract, so it's all nice and official now.

Here are the things I'm looking forward to for next year:
4 classes only ( in a 7 class schedule-currently I have 5 classes in a 6 class schedule)
20-21 students MAX per class, but likely fewer.
$$ to support quality lab equipment purchase and programs
The ability to build a lab program from scratch (the current AP teacher does no labs) and the support to do it right
No state testing to take away from class time and mandate what I have to teach

There are more, but that's about what it is right now.

I'll likely blather on about this more in the future, but that's enough for now.