1 week till Institute.

So, if you're reading this, you're probably either curious about DC Teaching Fellows or you've been accepted and want to know what other cohort members are thinking, feeling, saying, etc. Well, I'm a Summer 2011 cohort member and I'll be teaching Special Education.  I interviewed in early March and was accepted into the program at the end of the same month.  Since then, I've been completing all kinds of requirements (Praxis 1, Praxis 2, a LOT of "pre-work" that must be done prior to Institute, visiting schools, etc).  It's been a bit much ( the Praxis tests were stressful and evil) and I'm ready to just start the damn Institute already!  So far, DCTF has been really responsive to any questions and concerns and they have been very communicative with any expectations, assignment due dates, etc.  I'm hoping that this will continue during and after Institute, but from the looks of some other DCTF blogs I've seen, we might not be so lucky.  I'm happy with my decision to enter the program thus far, however, I'm not yet sure how I'm going to pay 4,000 to the program for "tuition" within just a few months of entering the program, especially if DCPS is as sketchy when it comes to paying staff as I've read.   Other than that, I don't have any outstanding concerns and I'm ready to start training!  Got just under a week left.  I'll update after the first day.