Is tenure, or lack thereof, important in switching school districts?

Question

I have been teaching in my district for only two years and this year will be the year I could earn tenure. However, my wife could potentially get a job in a whole seperate state. I'd like to join her if/when she gets the job, but I'm concerned that I myself will not get a new job in the area without tenure on my resume. I'm concerned that employers will look at my resume and immediately ask, "You were in line to get tenure, why did you leave?" On the other hand, I want to be with my fiance and I could potentially get my masters for free at the same time. Ultimately, I want to know if it'll look bad to my future employer if I did not complete my time at my previous district and get tenure?

Answer 1

Wow! That's great that your district offers tenure upon the third year.  Most I know of offer it on the day of your sixth year...  Anyway, it should not be a problem in terms of hiring.  Most human resource departments and principals don't care if you had tenure or not.  In fact, they pretty much prefer newer teachers for pay reasons.  So go for it.  I left a tenured job after teaching 6 years in a district for another district and it was difficult, for sure.  I think it will pay off in the end. Better salary and benefits...

Answer 2

It is understandable to want to move to stay with your fiancee.  As long as you have good references the fact you did not have tenure is not an issue.  In fact, it would be better to change district before you have tenure, in some ways, since you would lose tenure anyway.  You currently have less to lose.

Answer 3

This should not make a difference to a new school district.  In fact, I have never been asked whether or not I have tenure, and it is really a non-issue.  What should be of utmost importance to new employers is your teaching background, references, certification, etc...

Good luck!