Welcome back to Oregon

I like Bryan’s answer to your question Lance. It really describes how I understand MenTeach today. Bryan was being modest in that he did not mention that he has been supporting men in education for over 25 years now. His first efforts were with men in early childhood programs in Minnesota, but the scope of his efforts have greatly expanded since then. If I have it correctly, he was a Bush Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health for a few years, studying this very topic.

Although I can really understand and commiserate with your struggles with finding a teaching position, Oregon will be better with you coming here. I have recently taken a position with the Oregon Department of Education in Salem and have access to some of the hiring needs. What area of the state are you planning to move to?

One bright spot in your plan is that as you are hoping to gain a full time position, school districts in Oregon are needing lots of new teachers to replace the hordes of baby boomers who are retiring each year. The shortage is especially acute in districts outside of Willamette Valley. Oregon has a plan where teachers can retire and collect state retirement and come back to teach full time in those remote areas of the state.

I hope your plan works out and good luck.

Bruce Sheppard