– Andy Daitsman

I hold a Ph.D. (1995) in Latin American history from the University of Wisconsin. After ten years of one-year replacement jobs, including schools like Dartmouth, Holy Cross, and California-Berkeley, and a short stint overseas, I switched into high school teaching four years ago. Two years ago I took a position teaching ninth grade history at a small district in suburban Boston. Unfortunately, the principal and superintendant who hired me both retired during my first year. The new principal and superintendant, concerned that my Ph.D. and years of experience put me at the top of the salary scale, took advantage of my lack of tenure to not renew my contract.

I recently took a position teaching Spanish language at a suburban high school in Boston. It’s outside my discipline, and the pay is $20,000 less than I would have earned had my previous contract been renewed, but it is work and I can afford to pay my bills. If I get renewed for the fall, I’ll be back on tenure track as a high school teacher, but at the moment even that is not assured.

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