NWR Teacher moving to CT

Re: NWR Teacher moving to CT

• ktanddevang member

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  Danbury (urban), Ridgefield (suburban), Norwalk (urban), Stamford (urban). You are prob going to want to look at towns on the NY/CT border. As a side note have you thought about getting your NY teaching certification? It might just open up more doors for you. I know you have to take a different test for certification there but teachers also make more in NY.

  

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• Karebear852k3

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  I'm not a teacher, so I can't help you with any of that info unfortunately.
  
  But as far as staying close to NYC, you're going to want to look in to Fairfield county.  Unfortunately, Fairfield county can be expensive because many "commuters" to NYC do the same thing as you and your DH.  There are plenty of girls in the Fairfield county area on this board, and ther are alos plenty who are teachers - you may want to page the moderator KLS114 - I think she is out of Norwalk which is in that area and a teacher as well and may be able to help you.

  
  "I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and lead me head first - Fearless"

  

  
  

  

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• starrbuk13 member

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  i can't help much with the teaching stuff, but you guys will probably want to live along the Metro North train line that runs into NYC for your DH.  that's pretty much the easiest way to get into NYC each day.  like some of the PPs said, Fairfield County can get REALLY expensive, especially to buy a house rather than a condo.  you may want to look into towns like Milford or Stratford, which are in New Haven County, but are still shoreline towns with train stations.  other towns like Shelton or Trumbull are still in Fairfield County, but are slightly cheaper since they're 1 or 2 towns away from the shore & the train.  (my sister lives in Shelton and commutes to the city every day via train.  it's a long day, but it's not horrible.  she has about a 15 minute drive to the stratford train station, and then an 80-ish minute train ride into Grand Central Station).

  
  

  as for high schools - public tends to pay better than private or parochial.  i have a friend who teaches math at Fairfield Ludlowe High and she started at $48,000 a year.  that's one of the better paying schools in the area from what i've heard.  ideally, you'd want to get into one of the Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Darien, Greenwich schools (they probably pay the best and have the least amount of problems).  that area is generally pretty nice (Norwalk & Stamford are both more urban.)  be careful with towns like Bridgeport or New Haven...i'd stay away from those.  my aunt taught in Stratford High for a while and hated it.  she's now in one of the Trumbull elementary schools and does like it there.  Shelton or Trumbull HIgh would both be good...same with Masuk (in Monroe) and those area towns.  

  
  

  this map may be helpful for you too: http://chuckstraub.com/images/conntownandcounty.jpg

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• austenpoet

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  check out:  ctreap.net  for postings!
  Also, Achievment First charter schools are hiring right now (Bridgeport and NewHaven)

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• lynde129 member

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  I second watching CTREAP.net for job postings, and also cea.org for job postings.  If your DH works in the city then fairfield county- wilton, redding, greenwich, trumbell or northern fairfield county- monroe, newtown, danbury, shelton would be your best bet.  districts such as bridgeport, new haven, west haven, derby are more inner city schools and do not pay as much as others.
  GL!

  Planning Bio 7/17/10

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• kaylynne member

  

  January 2011 edited December 2011

  wow! thanks ladies! I have a lot to think about

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• kaylynne member

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  this map is awesome! I am indebted to Chuck and Molly:)

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• MsSunshine

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  My DH is a teacher for New Haven Public Schools. You can look into residing along the shoreline. There's a train station in New Haven but the commute to NYC would be slightly under 2 hours and it's expensive. If he doesn't mind the long commute and price, you can look into residing in Hamden, North Haven, East Haven, West Haven, Branford, and Milford.
  
  Here is the link for New Haven Public Schools
  http://www.nhps.net/
  
  Here's the map for the train running on the New Haven line to NYC
  http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm
  
  Here is the schedule for the train to give you an idea.
  http://as0.mta.info/mnr/schedules/sched_results.cfm?n=y
  
  You are probably better off living in Stamford area because it's about 45 minutes away from NYC. Good luck!

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• gdizzle

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I would stick between Greenwich and Bridgeport if you are looking for a decent commute to NYC.  You may want to consider living in Stamford, Norwalk, Fairfield, and Bridgeport (Black Rock area.)  Bridgeport gets a bad rap, but the Black Rock area of Bridgeport is full of multi-family homes and attracts a lot of young people/couples/families. I have several friends who live there and are very happy with the area.
  
  In terms of high schools, these 4 cities have a lot of them!  In Stamford, you'll find Westhill (public), Stamford High (public,) AITE (a tech/engineering school,) Trinity Catholic (private), and Stamford Academy (charter).  In Norwalk, there's Norwalk High (public) and Brien McMahon (public.)  In Fairfield, FFLD Ludlowe and FFLD Warde High Schools (public,) as well as Fairfield Prep and Notre Dame (private.)  You'll hit the jackpot in Bridgeport - it's definitely an urban area with lots of high schools - Bassick, Warren Harding, and Central are public, Bullard-Havens is a tech school, and Kolbe Cathedral is a private school.
  
  If you are willing to venture a bit further from NYC, Stratford is home to Stratford High and Bunnell High.  Milford has Jonathan Law and Foran High Schools (public) as well as Lauralton Hall (private) and Platt Tech HS.  Milford is about a 90 minute train ride into Manhattan. 
  
  And then of course, these cities have tons of middle schools!
  
  Lower Fairfield County is extremely diverse, so you'd have the opportunity to teach students from many different backgrounds.  Like PP said, FFLD County tends to be expensive so it may be worth renting for a bit before buying just to get your bearings.

  
  Welcome to the world, Baby W: born on 3/8/12 @ 3:49pm - 8lb 11 oz, 22 in.

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• sodapop425

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I'm a teacher in New Haven. As a word of advice check to see if your certification will transfer to CT...I hate to tell you this but you are probably going to have to take a few classes and take part of the praxis exam again. Connecticut is the hardest state to get a teaching certificate in and they are constantly adding required courses in order to obtain it. I think there are only 2 or 3 states that the certificate is transferable to. And just so you know, with all the Federal Budget cuts to education we are hurting for teaching jobs here. Most towns and cities are facing MAJOR cuts and of course education is the first to get hit. And I don't know if you know this but you will lose your tenure, here in CT if you come in from another district you need to be full time for 4 more years to gain tenure in that town. Hope this was helpful...

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