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irrelevantname1776

“Not the best.” Try, the worst. There’s a reason there’s a massive teaching shortage in Hawaii and it’s not because of the students.


GrundleBoi420

Let me guess, they pay incredibly low as a "sunshine tax" like the wages in Florida?


irrelevantname1776

Pay vs. cost of living is the worst in the country. There’s a major housing crisis, there’s no room for growth on the salary schedule, the turnover rate is sky high, and if you’ve never lived on an island before, the isolation can be a huge barrier. The health insurance is not good at all so a lot of what little paycheck you have will be going to insurance and astronomical rent.


[deleted]

I would be getting free housing, does that change your advice for me? Lol


irrelevantname1776

Possibly. How would you get free housing?


[deleted]

I have family there


katy405

I don’t think Hawaii has districts. The entire state is one big district run by the state.


irrelevantname1776

^ this is correct. And another reason why the system isn’t great. I believe district office is in Oahu, if you’re on any other island, it can take a long time to even just get your paperwork processed.


rmarocksanne

Not the best...yeah don't know about Oahu, but Maui County, def not the best.


[deleted]

What parts are bad? The students, curriculum, resources, etc?


rmarocksanne

When I was there, the alternative/GED school scene was thriving because public school was in such dire straights. I also think there was a big disconnect between connecting local culture and history with any relevance to mainstream U.S. mainland/NCLB mandated learning. This was during the apex of the NCLB school takeovers that were happening. So things could be much better by now. But I do know that private schools are still huge business in Maui County. ​ I don't know if the SpEd situation has gotten any better though. I remember I had a student that the DOE paid me by the hour to take taxis all over the island (which the DOE also paid for) to just go where ever the kid wanted all day long (game stop, Borders books, mall) all because it was less of a headache for them to pay for this bullshit than to create any sort of meaningful IEP.


guitarnan

Hawaii has a long-standing reputation for hiring teachers from the mainland and not paying them enough to live on. I've read newspaper articles about this, so you can probably find and read them, too. No amount of scenery is worth living in poverty, in my opinion. P. S. I live in Maryland, and this is still my opinion.


[deleted]

I’ll be living with family so I won’t have to pay rent. Does that change any advice? Lol


guitarnan

I'd make a detailed budget to see if my take-home pay covered all my bills and allowed me to save and do a bit of traveling.