Employment Opportunities
Waterford Public Schools
We welcome questions, comments and suggestions on the employment process.
Please send them to
Dianne Lowther
Director of Human Resources
15 Rope Ferry Road
Waterford, CT 06385
Office: 860.444.5860
The Employment Process
General Information
Thank you for your interest in a certified position with the Waterford
Public Schools, one of the premier school districts in Connecticut.
While vacancies may appear at any time throughout the year, the peak
of the hiring season begins in March and continues until all positions
are filled. Current
Job Listings are updated daily. Positions are also usually advertised
in the New London Day, Norwich Bulletin, Hartford Courant and New Haven
Register on Sundays. All positions require Connecticut certification
or eligibility for certification. See Certification
Information above for more details.
The Application Process
Individuals seeking employment must submit a completed on-line
application which includes a cover letter, resume, three written
letters of reference, transcripts, (copies are acceptable), an essay,
evidence of certification and a portfolio (portfolio is provided when
called for an interview). All materials must be received on-line by
the advertised closing date. Once all materials are received, you are
considered a candidate for employment. It is your responsibility to
ensure that materials are received in a timely manner.
Screening
All applications are reviewed to determine the most suitable candidates
for current vacancies. If you are selected for an interview, you will
be contacted by email or you will receive a telephone call. If you
are not selected, you will be notified by email or you receive a letter.
Depending on the number of applications, interviews may take place
starting immediately after the closing date or, in some cases, up to
four weeks after the closing date.
Interviews
A screening team conducts all interviews. The team may range in size
from two to eight members. All candidates are asked the same questions
or are asked to participate in the same activities. Depending on the
position, the initial screening may consist of multiple activities.
When you are called for the interview, you will be told the nature
and length of the screening process. Interviews may be held at the
school where the vacany exists or at the Central Office.
After the interview, the screening team decides which candidates
will continue as finalists in the process. All candidates who have
been interviewed will receive a telephone call, informing them of their
status, as soon as the decisions are made.
Demonstration Lesson and Final Interview
All final candidates will be asked to teach a lesson to a class of
Waterford students. Specific details of the lesson will be discussed
with the candidate at the time the lesson is scheduled. Members of
the screening team observe all demonstration lessons.
At the conclusion of the lesson, the candidate will be interviewed
by the Superintendent of Schools or Assistant Superintendent of Schools
and asked to write a reflective essay on the demonstration lesson.
Candidates should expect that the lesson, interview and writing assignment
will take a total of approximately two hours.
Appointment to a Position
Once the decision is made to offer a position to a candidate, all finalists
will be called and informed of their status. Appointment to a position is made
after a candidate has verbally accepted a contract offer. Within a week after
the candidate has accepted, the Superintendent of Schools will issue a contract
of employment and employment letter for the candidate to sign and return.
Placement on the salary schedule is made at this time; however, final placement
is based on verification of prior years of experience and receipt of official
transcripts. Prior years of service are credited in accordance with the Waterford Federation of Classroom Teachers Contract. In
general, all years teaching in public schools in the
United
States are given full credit. In addition,
years teaching in accredited private schools in Connecticut
are credited. The position must be half-time or greater to count as a year of
service. Partial years count if the teacher has worked more than half of a
school year. The Waterford Public Schools does not negotiate placement on the salary
schedule. We cannot place you on a higher step than your experience warrants;
by the same token, we may not place you nor may you agree to be placed on a
lower step than your experience warrants.
Pre-Employment Requirements
New employees are required by state law to submit two sets of fingerprints
for a background check. The fee for this investigation is $24 and is the
responsibility of the employee. Details for making arrangements for the
fingerprinting are provided at the time of appointment. Fingerprinting must be
completed prior to starting work, although the
employee may begin work prior to the district’s receiving the results.
New employees must also complete a physical exam.
What Waterford Has to Offer
Class Size
The Waterford Board of Education has maintained small class sizes as a
deliberate policy to improve student achievement in the early grades. Class
sizes in Grades K-3 average 17 students per classroom. Grades
4 and 5 average approximately 20 students per classroom. Middle school
academic classrooms average 22 students per class and high school academic
classes average 19 students per classroom.
Elementary classrooms which exceed the desired number are often split into
additional classes or a paraprofessional is hired to assist the teacher. Class
size reduction has been undertaken as a local initiative and is not dependent
on a federal grant to continue.
Technology
- Each teacher is issued a laptop computer for enhancing instruction
and for personal productivity. Attendance and grades are entered electronically
through the school’s network rather than on paper.
- All classrooms have computers for student use and a printer.
- All schools have interactive whiteboards.
- Each classroom has a television set for display of presentations
from the computer of for remote TV/video feeds.
- All classrooms and offices are linked to one another via a wide
area network with some of the fastest bandwidth of any school district.
- A large districtwide software budget ensures that each classroom
has the latest software.
- Systemwide email.
- System and school-based websites.
- Computer labs in each school staffed by a Computer Lab Specialist
to assist the teacher in integrating the technology into the curriculum.
Multiple labs are available at the middle school and high school.
Professional Development/Tuition Reimbursement
Professional development for teachers in Waterford is a priority.
It is offered in a number of ways:
- The district holds workshops during the school day, after school
and during the summer for teachers. One parameter in the district’s
Strategic Plan is that "we will always provide staff training
for every change we implement". For new teachers, two three-day
workshops are held during the first year of employment in Waterford.
The first is entitled " Effective Teaching " and the second
is entitled "Cooperative Learning". These workshops provide
a common vocabulary, frame of reference and teaching tools for all
teachers.
- The district provides teachers, upon approval of the principal,
funding to attend workshops and conferences outside of the school
district.
- In-house trainers in the fields of Language Arts, Mathematics and
Technology provide one-on-one, small group and large group instruction
within the district on an ongoing basis. These consultants are available
to help new teachers become familiar with the curricular and instructional
expectations in Waterford and to encourage professional growth for
all teachers.
- A tuition reimbursement for graduate-level courses is offered through
the WFCT contract A sum of $50,000 is budgeted each year and dispersed
to teachers on a pro-rated basis depending on the number of courses
taken during a given year. Reimbursement rates in the past five years
have ranged from 50 to 100 percent. This reimbursement is in addition
to the increased salary provided to teachers as certain benchmarks
are reached in graduate school.
New Teacher Orientation
A one-day new teacher orientation is held during the week prior to the start of school. Check out a sample agenda.
New Teacher Orientation
9:00 a.m.
Town Hall Auditorium
- Welcome – Introductions
- Strategic Planning/Site Planning
- Technology Plan
- Professional Development
- Teacher Evaluation
- Curriculum Cycle
- Curriculum Copies
- Calling Substitute Teachers
- Personal Days
- Graduate Study Reimbursement Form
- Travel Request Form/Reimbursement Form
- BEST Program
Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program
All teachers holding an Initial Educator or Temporary 90-day certificate
are required to participate in the BEST program. This program lasts
for two years, during which time the teacher must attend workshops
and develop a portfolio to be submitted to the State during the second
year. Each teacher is assigned a mentor within the district to help
with meeting the BEST requirements.
Preparation
and Planning Time
Preparation and planning time varies by level. Elementary teachers
receive time during each day, when the children go to art, music, physical
education (twice weekly) and library. Sometimes, due to scheduling,
an elementary teacher may receive two planning periods one day and
none the next. Additional planning time may also occur at other times
during the day. Every effort is also made to give grade level teachers
in a school common planning time during the week so that coordination
time is available.
The middle and high school schedules are on an eight-period cycle. Middle
school and high school teachers teach five of the eight periods. At the middle
school, one period is used for FLEX period (a focused, small group), one period
is used for a common team plan, and the other is a personal plan.
At the high school, two periods are used for personal planning and one is
assigned as a duty (study hall, lunchroom, hallway).
School Year and School Day
Waterford’s school year is 182 student days and 185 teacher work days. One teacher workday is the day
immediately preceding the start of school in the fall and the other two are
scheduled as professional development days in October and March. School
generally begins on the Tuesday prior to Labor Day and ends in mid to late June,
depending on the number of snow days. There is a week’s vacation time in
December, February and April.
The school day for students is approximately six and one-half hours and the
official workday for teachers is seven hours. School hours are as follows:
Elementary: 8:40 am to 3:10 pm
Middle School: 7:45 am to 2:30 pm
High School: 7:25 am to 2:00 pm
By contract, teachers may be required to stay up to two hours per week after
the regularly scheduled work day to participate in faculty meetings, department
meetings and other professional activities.
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