u/No_Giraffe3287

I am licensed in both bio and chem. And I have taught bio for the last 10 years. And I used to teach chem about 5 years ago?

But starting next year, I’m transitioning to teaching chem including honors chemistry. The state (NY) is also adopting the new standards and Regents.

So is there any advice or resource that I can use to brush up on my knowledge and/or pedagogy?

I’m also not quite sure what the exact difference between Regents and Honors classes are?

Thanks in advance!

I have to decide between two districts and I'm struggling because there's no clear "better" choice. I've tried making and weighing different categories and it's coming to about the same. So I'm hoping to get some insights and new perspective. Commute is not an issue cause I'm moving so I can find a place suitable for each school.

Any insight or opinion would be helpful for me. I know there's no wrong choice but I want to make sure I'm not jumping the ship in panic.

If I'm missing anything to consider, please let me know too.

School 1 (Current)	School 2 (Potential)
- teaching biology and I have the curriculum done for it	- teaching chemistry and I would need to re-adapt curriculum for new standards
- I would be tenured after end of next year. 2nd year here. And I'm not at the end of the seniority list.	- reset tenure clock so 3 years. definitely at the end of the seniority list b/c people don't tend to leave
- I would be at step 15 next year and confirmed M+30 at 118K. Highest step is step 22.	- I would be at step 12 and M+30 at 109K and I would have to take two more classes to get the grad credits (doable in summer). But highest step is step 25
- Not very good admin. I have seen cases where they did not support the teacher at all when confrontation/problem with student or parents. I haven't personally had problems but I definitely have seen problems. Admin turnover is pretty high.	- Strong admin. Very nice. I like the vibe I got from them. Solid team of admin/department chairs. They are really hoping for me to choose them as I'm their top candidate (their words). From someone I know that works there, they also handle student issues immediately.
- there's good programs going on (robotic, science research, etc.) so the top students are amazing but we also have a lot of lower students	- also good programs (amazing language program, science research, etc.) so top students similar. But generally higher level overall. (So more "concerned" parents etc.)
- colleagues in my department are nice. some have more chaotic energy than I'd like but I'm getting use to that. I have heard rumors of other departments that have awful people (plenty of people left b/c of that apparently). I have 1 colleague that I CANNOT work with here. They're crazy (as in they clearly need therapy but aren't going or is effective).	- one of my best friend works there. and she tells me my department are cool people and easy going. Issues at my school (I've told her) has never happened there.
- many behavioral issues (smoking, fighting, roaming the hall, etc.).	- less behavioral issues and it's handled immediately and smoothly ((from what my friend tells me)
- student population is diverse but lots of ENL (one language). Not a problem except there's not enough bilingual teachers so they get shuffled into GenEd classes that can't offer enough support for	- also diverse population of students. slightly more students of my ethnicity (very much a minority). Much stronger ENL support in the system.