Advice for Husband and Wife Teachers

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Advice for Husband and Wife Teachers

by Liz

Sep 3, 2018

My husband and I are both teachers (special education and elementary education). We are planning to apply to teach on a military base overseas. We have a few preliminary questions and would appreciate any advice or insights. Thanks in advance!

1. How likely would we be placed on the same base and/or at the same school?

2. My mother is the nanny/caregiver for our child. Would she be able to join us moving overseas as we would still need her to provide full time childcare? We would fully support her financially. If we lived on base, would we receive housing large enough to accommodate for her to have a room or would we have to live off base?

3. Any insights on which areas would be best to apply to given our situation?

4. Any general advice on the application process? I'm just joining this forum now so please let me know if there are any threads to look back on that would help in our circumstances.

Thank you!

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haha The vast majority of teaching couples have only one partner get the offer, with the other teaching partner hoping to get picked up as a local hire at a school within the same complex (and it often does work out that way). A much smaller number of couples get offers at/around the same time at the same/school/complex.

It's possible but requi...See MoreThe vast majority of teaching couples have only one partner get the offer, with the other teaching partner hoping to get picked up as a local hire at a school within the same complex (and it often does work out that way). A much smaller number of couples get offers at/around the same time at the same/school/complex.

It's possible but requires many hoops to be jumped through and often requires documentation that you are already the parent's primary financial support (and the parent does not have significant assets). It has been done by other people but it's far from a certainty. Some locations like Germany have an option where the additional person can be a member of the household and get base privileges and possibly SOFA status (which takes the place of a visa for DoDEA teachers in most locations). This is apparently easier to accomplish than getting made a full dependent. Try and get a hold of someone with HR for more details/specifics.

Base housing will vary widely by base, location and the time you are arriving. Policies change over time. Many/most(?) locations do not offer on base housing to teachers/civilians. In general, you would likely be able to get housing on or off base that would work for you and be covered by your LQA (especially if she was accepted as a dependent).

Your best bet is to apply worldwide so as to give yourself as many opportunities to get interviews/offers. Many people seem to go worldwide but leave off any places they really have problems with (e.g. Cuba, Turkey, Bahrain).

SPED is a good area to have. ES is more common and many openings seem to go to military and teaching spouses, so the one with SPED is the one most likely to get hired. We have the same combination and it has worked out very well for us. :D

Your best bet is to try and maximize the areas that DoDEA considers you qualified. DoDEA only cares about college credits in the numbers and areas they list on the teaching requirements. State certification can reduce the required hours by half. For SPED you should have LIMM (ES, MS and HS) and at least one other area like LIMS, EI, etc.

There are many threads about the process, timeline, locations, etc. Try and scroll back through and then ask more specific questions. Someone will likely have an answer/opinion.

Sep 4, 2018

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