Two Whitneys

At the end of this school year, I packed up everything in my classroom, and with a heavy heart, left the job that I love with all my heart. The school district that I work for, like other districts in the state, had to lay off 88 of its least senior employees, and I was one of them. I spent three years working on that campus, and it was devastating to lock my classroom door for the final time, knowing that I won't be coming back next year.

As I looked at my empty classroom for the last time, I thought about everything I lost this school year. Besides my job (truly one of the hardest things I have ever gone through), my grandfather died in November, and my loving cat of 18 years (my only sister--since I'm an only child) died during my Spring Break vacation. My cat's name was Whitney.

Spring forward to June 2nd: my best friend, Kim, loyal and thoughtful and everything you need or want in a best friend, sent me a link on edjoin to apply for an open English position at ABC Unified. Had she not sent the link, I may have never even applied. Once I applied, I imagined that many qualified candidates applied and that I might not get a call back for an interview (but fingers were crossed). But I got one today.

The name of the school that called, Whitney High School. It's a grade 7-12 magnet school, and one of the top 100 in the country. When I was a little girl, I had always heard of the school and I tried to picture what kinds of kids could be smart enough to go there, and now that I'm a teacher, I find myself admiring their annual APY scores in the newspaper. Smart kids. Great teachers. I have an interview Monday and my heart is racing and my knees will be sore from praying. I know I'm meant to teach. Hopefully Whitney is the home away from home that I never imagined.