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DODD Teachers Chatboard

A couple of issues

by aktionjaq

Jun 11, 2024

I had 2 interviews in my desired location and references were checked for both. Yesterday I received an offer from interview #1. During the interview I was told I was being interviewed for a specific grade, but my offer says mixed. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The other issue is I would prefer location #2, as I'm more comfortable and experie...See More

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aktionjaq Well haha, you were right, they didn't want to give me LQA and paying what landlords wanted was just going to be too much of a dent to the pocketbook (they seemed to know exactly how much LQA was because the cheaper yearly rents were exactly what I would have gotten) and had to decline. I guess I'll keep my ear to the ground to see if they change t...See More

Aug 21, 2024

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haha This is one of those instances where I would have been happy to be wrong for you. Yes, they have gotten pretty hard core about the conditions needed to award LQA etc. But, you never know what the future might hold. And like you said, if you ever wind up back in the states you can always reapply for DoDEA.

Aug 23, 2024

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Interview

by Jay

May 6, 2024

Good morning everyone,

I have an interview for a kindergarten teacher in Germany. So, I am curious what the pay would be for a Master's degree plus 18 and 7 years of experience. I was also curious about the COLA and whether there are any standard interview questions. Any help is much appreciated.

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Jay Update: I received my final job offer today, and I am off to Germany! What a journey it has been.

Jun 26, 2024

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haha Congrats! Enjoy the ride. Remember that you can request a 3 month pay advance if you need it. Also, get your TSP deductions set up right away so that you don't lose out on the gov't matching.

Jun 27, 2024

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Inquiring minds want to know

by Woodsie

Jun 18, 2024

I am starting my application for 24/25 SY. I have 13 different certs and I am hoping most of them will transfer to DoDDS. I have picked my locations as Italy and Spain (I know I am limiting myself but I hate cold or damp weather). My question is, what's the policy on bringing in your own supplements/vitamins for those countries. I have an auto-immu...See More

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haha No specific information about either of those countries. We used to be in Europe and the situation changed every few years, although there was generally a way to work around most restrictions. Try googling and/or asking questions of the consulates.

Jun 19, 2024

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EAS referrals and updated references in order to interview?

by aktionjaq

May 16, 2024

What is the point of doing both? I asked my current, and most recent, supervisors to fill out the referral in the EAS system (which they did), to then have almost every interviewer reach out and want 2-3 references before they will schedule an interview. I have an ok job but would rather my supervisor not know I'm looking, or possibly leaving, unti...See More

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haha I hear you. It's the gov't though, so redundancy is kind of their thing. The ones for EAS are like the price of admission/the minimum bar to get over. The next set I believe are different, more detailed maybe? Maybe, maybe not. I guess I should just refer you to my previous answer.

As for not wanting your current boss to know that you are ...See More

May 17, 2024

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Am I just not marketable?

by Emily Chittenden

Apr 10, 2024

I have been applying with DoDEA for 5 years, and I have had zero referrals. In fact, I have had zero emails regarding my DoDEA profile/application (aside from an HR email in response to a technical website question I had for them).

I am finishing up my 8th year of teaching. I am certified in Chemistry (5-Adult) and Math (5-Adult). I have ...See More

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uh89 There's something I recommend you consider doing that I did a couple of years ago that caused me to get WAY more referrals over the past 2 years and I've actually had about 5 principals contact me directly this past year asking if I would like to interview. (Note: I've had to turn down all of them due to needing to be here in the states for an elde...See More

Apr 19, 2024

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IsItFriday? It's time to get a Masters degree.

A person is not really competitive in DoDEA without a Masters degree.

Not everyone has one. But if you want to be competitive, then get one.

Apr 20, 2024

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Is it still worth it?

by aktionjaq

Apr 7, 2024

I started looking into DoDEA when I first got my teaching certificate 9 years ago, but because I already had a BA, I did the alternative teaching route to get it. I can say that I am one of the one's who has benefitted from the policy change that took place earlier this year. Over the past 10 days, I've received 11 referrals and 1 interview invite ...See More

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haha No problem. You can put in/update an application on EAS at any time. Sooner is usually better so that you can work through any bugs and/or supply any further information that they might require.

Apr 13, 2024

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intrepidtravelr Please also be very mindful of the healthcare situation where you may end up. Things have gotten a lot worse for civilians in many areas overseas, and it's unnerving feeling like you can't get quality emergency care if needed, at a minimum, let alone ongoing specialist care.

Apr 16, 2024

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HOR

by ecd5

Jan 4, 2024

Does my HOR remain the same? I have not had a break in service but have changed from teacher/ISS/teacher positions. I started overseas, moved stateside as an ISS, moved to a second stateside location as a teacher, and now would like to go back overseas as a teacher. Would my HOR change to my current location stateside even though it is not my HOR o...See More

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ecd5 I'm filling out the DD1616 and it asks for my "actual residence at time of appointment (to be determined at time of initial agreement)." And since this is not my initial appointment, I am putting the residence when I first was hired. The form also asks for last PDS location. The notes below on the form say that I will be eligible for return travel ...See More

Mar 1, 2024

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Dr. Ali Fant I argued back and forth with CHRA on my HOR. My HOR is Fairbanks Ak, but I could not get back there with my car during the pandemic. Not wishing to leave my vehicle behind in the Lower 48 and fly, I took a teaching position in the extremely remote Colville National Forest US Forest School. It was 5 hours (one way) to the nearest military or even sm...See More

Mar 14, 2024

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Stateside Question

by Jay

Mar 3, 2024

Sorry if I posted this before, as I did not see if it went through. So for stateside, there is no housing allowance at all but I think I read the pay is higher for stateside because there is no housing allowance. I am wondering how they determine what your pay is and if the stateside jobs are GS jobs.

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haha Yes, that is kind of a sore spot. The referral means that you are on a list sent to or pulled by a principal and may be contacted for an interview. So potentially good news, but it is hard to know exactly how good. Were there 5 people on that list or 25+?

Also, they often will not communicate that you were unsuccessful in being considered...See More

Mar 5, 2024

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Dr. Ali Fant The last two times I worked for DoDEA, I was never interviewed for the job I was eventually hired for. I asked my previous DoDEA Principal and he said schools could draw from newly generated referral lists repeatedly until they felt they had a winner. Years ago, I learned that DoDEA generated lists were ordered from the candidates with the most cer...See More

Mar 14, 2024

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Pay scale

by Jay

Feb 11, 2024

So I am thinking about applying for some schools overseas, more specifically, Japan. My question is, I was trying to find a pay scale rate for the DODEA and I could not find one. I don't want to apply for a job over there and not make enough to survive or be totally broke the entire time. Any insight would be helpful

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haha You still receive/bank it in the short term. After the first year (and then every two years), you are supposed to reconcile your estimated expenses (which you submit when you initiate your LQA at a new location) against your actual expenses (and have to submit the receipts). You will then get a debt letter if you over-estimated your expenses or a r...See More

Feb 28, 2024

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Dr. Ali Fant HaHa is correct. I am a single person living in a 3 bedroom, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and laundry room. I took the first hourse I could get after waiting months and paying for my hotel room on base. Turns out that the government only provides reimbursement for about 60 days at the base LTF. I placed plastic sheeting over the stairs to the sec...See More

Mar 14, 2024

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Unemployed to US Forest Service School to DoDEA Japan

by Dr. Ali Fant

Mar 14, 2024

Recently had a in-person request about my employment path -- folks do read chat posts years into the past. I was unemployed -- save as a Toilet Paper Checkperson at a Texas Walmart. The store wanted a friendly face to stop cutomers buying more than 1 package of TP per trip. An USAJOBS search agent led to a job possibility with the US Department of ...See MoreRecently had a in-person request about my employment path -- folks do read chat posts years into the past. I was unemployed -- save as a Toilet Paper Checkperson at a Texas Walmart. The store wanted a friendly face to stop cutomers buying more than 1 package of TP per trip. An USAJOBS search agent led to a job possibility with the US Department of Agriculture's USFS. Perhaps, the government hired me because of this unusual job.

I was hired by an US Forest Service School in the Coville National Forest to train 16-21 year olds "kids" in basic high school courses helping them certify as smoke-jumpers and forest fire fighters. After six months, DoDEA Japan offered me a Middle School position without an interview in Iwakuni Japan.

I am one of a few DoDEA teachers receiving both a Social Security Pension, FERS pension, and regular salary. I am not the oldest teacher in my school. I learned from older teachers, that you pay monthly into SS and FERS, The SS Pension is adjusted by your higher recent earnings each October. Your FERS pension is recalculated after five years of FERS contributions.

I asked for my FERS pension before being hired by the US Forest Service. You have to certify you are not a federal employee in order to start the FERS -- which takes six months to complete. I used my FERS lump sum to later purchase my ticket to Japan to avoid sardine class during the pandemic. I received 771 for the airline flight from SATO and I paid the remaining 10K from my FERS lump sum. I was given a special letter in addition to my PCS orders to allow me to travel internationally during CoVID.

Arriving in Japan, I had a 30 day ROM -- two weeks in Yokota and 2 weeks in Iwakuni. The quarantine dropped to 2 weeks the day after I arrived in Japan.

I brought a month's supply of Mountain House Freeze Dry food in case I would not be allowed to leave my quarantine. The US Forest Service Quarantine was much worst as students had to stay inside their rooms all day with only a one hour walk outside with a monitoring adult. All teaching was virtual using Google Classroom. On the military bases, other people had to bring food to your hotel door and quickly walk away after knocking on your door. Very nerve wracking!

Then I found I was hired at a minimal level and grade because DoDEA had lost all my previous DoDEA job records. I emailed the US Archives and ended up sending copies of all my pay stubs directly to CHRA to prove my previous DoDDS/DoDEA service. The major problem was DoDEA wanted me to provide Proof of my Service from past DoDDS Principals who were long dead. I finally got it sorted out after 12 months, but I resoved to always keep paper copies of all SF-50s. Do not ever select the "paperless" option for SF-50s from the US Government. You will regret it.

Iwakuni is a 250 Grades 6, 7, 8 students school. The denial of health coverage in Japan is a worry and caused some teachers with kids to leave. I enjoy it here as it gets me nearer to South Korea DoDEA than Texas.

Nevertheless, if your are healthy and willing to fly back to the US for health coverage provided by your monthly insurance payment, it is okay. Only teachers with an active duty spouse are allowed to take their kids to the base clinic. The government investigated this issue in 2023 and found it is only a problem for DoDEA Teachers without Active Duty spouses in Japan.

President Biden and his wife visited our base in May 2023. Dr. Jill Biden visited our schools on base while the president was in Hiroshima with other world leaders. But even the president could not resolve the health issue.

Japan is not China, but I continue to prepare myself for licensure as a Chinese Language teacher in Texas, Alaska, and DoDEA. Japan is the first time I got back to Asia since the pandemic blocked all international travel.

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