How I got here

For anyone who doesn't know, here is a little background on where I am teaching/how I got here. I went to St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) myself. Sharonica Hardin, the Superintendent of HR, was my 6th grade literature teacher. Being the great student I was, she remembered me and asked me to come interview back in February before I left for China. I went to see her - she was excited as was I! Teaching for SLPS is my dream and I was happy to be back interviewing. She asked me if I had any preferences of schools, and I mentioned Mullanphy (the Elementary school I attended) and Clay (where I did my internship). She immediately called the Mullanphy principal, Mr. Kenneth Blanton, and asked if he was free to see a former student-now teacher, of hers to interview. He said sure, so I went to interview!
At my interview with Mr. Blanton that afternoon, things went really well. He said he anticipated having an opening (yay!). We talked for a long time and we said we'd keep each other updated, since it was still pretty early in the year. I emailed both Mr. Blanton and Ms. Hardin my China Blog and kept them updated on my student teaching experience.

When I got back, I tried to meet with Ms. Hardin to secure a position with SLPS as soon as possible. Like in any field, the teaching job market was really tough and I didn't want let this one through my fingers. Mr. Blanton emailed me saying he had a preschool position open, and I tried to get a meeting scheduled with him too. For weeks nothing happened and I felt as though I was being stringed along. Finally, I got a call from Ms. Hardin asking me to come in. When I got there, she was having a meeting with elementary school principals, and I interviewed with three of them, right on the spot! One of them was a previous high school teacher of mine. The very next day, I got a call from Mr. Blanton saying he, "Heard through the grapevine" that I had a busy day yesterday and he wants to meet with me. Instantly, I had four job offers!

What to do? Where should I go? The other three schools were in tougher neighborhoods, while Mullanphy, my old school, is a Magnet School. One of the other schools, however, is a turn around school this year so was going to be involved in a lot of interesting changes. I met with Mr. Blanton again and he officially offered me the position. I accepted.

I choose Mullanphy because as a first year teacher, I thought it would be a better place for me to start. Not that I couldn't handle the challenges of one of the other schools, but I knew that starting my career somewhere that offers more professional support will be a better learning experience for me. Plus, the nostalgic and "just right" feeling was great as I walked through the building and saw my classroom for the first time.

So here I am - Ms. Doshi, Mullanphy Elementary, PreKindergarten Rm 023!