A sigh of relief! Pic added!!!

Ok, for the past few months I've been sweating and worrying over my job. In NM we have a 3 tiered license structure and you can only be at level 1 for 5 years. When I left the District back in 97 it was a different structure and when I returned in 04 I had to start over as a Level 1. They told me I had 7 years to submit and the first year back wasn't going to count because I came back in November. I got a letter in December that said I had until April 8 to compile and submit a 3 strand dossier that usually takes over a year to do. You have to submit it to the Public Education Dept. of NM, 3 reviewers look it over and it can take up to 3 months to be reviewed. This meant I had close to 4 months to assemble it, fix it, submit it, and hope it's accepted because the submission window closes March 31. In order to have it accepted and on file by April 8 I needed to get it in as soon as possible. Well halfway through my 3 1/2 months the District came up with we have to submit to them first to be checked, this is NOT a State requirement it's something they came up with. So instead of submitting my dossier to the State Monday of last week I had to give it to them and the woman doing this told me she might not get to it until the end of the month! I told her my job and license depended on this so whether or not she got it back to me I was submitting it on the 15th of the month. I called our HR head and told her that it wouldn't be back to me in time to submit it and get it approved so I would submit the 15th no matter what. This Monday our 1st day off of the break I decided to check my school email on a whim and guess what? She had emailed me it was in her office and ready to pick up but she was on vacation so someone would give it me! If I hadn't checked my school email I would never have known it was ready to pick up. So I had to bum a ride because my truck was out of gas until payday the next day, got the Dossier, left the Principal's Verification Form on this woman's desk so she would have it when she got off vacation. I looked over what she wanted me to change and most of them made no sense and would have destroyed the integrity of my dossier so I left it alone and yesterday right before noon I paid $320 to the State and submitted my dossier hoping they would get to it within a couple of weeks so I could fix anything if they kicked it back. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that because to resubmit it is $120 per strand and there are 3 different strands. This morning, less than 24 hours after submitting it, my Superintendent's secretary called me to say she needed the Principal's Verification Form to complete the District's end of the submission. I told her whose desk it had been sitting on so she went and got it herself and told me to check for my scores after 5pm. I told her I had just submitted yesterday so there was no way it would be ready yet unless I screwed it so badly they sent it back laughing with "Is she very' nuts or what?" written all over it! She kind of laughed and said to just check it! So being the impatient person I am, I waited about 15 minutes and checked it.

It was already done and returned and I had passed with high marks and Highly Qualified!!! I couldn't believe they took less than 24 hours when most have taken several weeks or the whole 3 months!! So my license goes to the next step, and I have a job next year!!! I've been stressed out over this I've had migraines and weight loss, and been a bear to be around. I've been up every night late working on it, up at 3:30am to work on it. It's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted the 15th, approved the 16th, here the 19th!!!!!

 

Thank you so much, I've been so terrified of not having a job next year in this economy with so many teachers getting laid off around the country. I may be wanting to move, but I need a current license to teach somewhere else until I can get a license wherever that may be. Most districts have a year or two you can teach on your own
State's license, without that, forget it!