Complete the online application

All candidates, including those finding jobs directly through principals, must complete and submit the online application on TeachNYC.net in order to become employed by the New York City Department of Education.  While we accept applications all year for ongoing vacancies, our application for the next school year becomes available in February and remains up through August, with candidates evaluated on a rolling basis.

Although candidates may apply throughout the summer, we strongly recommend submitting your online application as early as possible to ensure priority consideration for recruitment events and assistance.  Keep an eye on our website for priority application deadlines; our career fairs, which typically begin in May, are only open to candidates who have submitted complete applications.

If you are currently enrolled in an education program, you do not need to wait until graduation to submit your application as long as you are able to demonstrate that you are on track to complete all New York State certification requirements by September 1.

Before sitting down to complete the application, all candidates should be prepared to provide:

• A resume (either as an attachment or pasted text).
• Proof of certification (your scanned license, or for graduating students, a scanned letter from your university or current transcript).
• Names and contact information (both phone numbers and email addresses) for three professional references.
• Two essay responses (max. 500 word each):  a critical part of your application, your essays are read carefully and evaluated in terms of both content and writing quality.

Please spend time completing your application as it is a reflection of you as a potential staff member at one of our schools. As spots are competitive, making sure your resume is comprehensive and your essays are complete and well-written will help you to stand out in the applicant pool.

All applications that are submitted are reviewed to make sure that you meet our minimum criteria, as well as to assess the quality of your application. In some cases, we will be unable to review your application until you provide us with more information (most often regarding certification requirements).  If you receive an email from us requesting more information, please follow up with us as soon as possible.

All communications regarding the status of applications are done via email. Please make sure you check your email often and that it is set to accept emails from the following domains: schools.nyc.gov and teacherssupportnetwork.com.

Two weeks after submitting your application

Timing can vary, particularly during the peak of the hiring season (May-July), but you should expect to hear the outcome of your application within two weeks of submission. Within this time period, you will also be asked to complete the Teacher Insight interview, an online assessment used by many school districts to assist them in identifying effective teachers.

Positive outcomes of our review include:

Eligible for job search support 
Candidates who are eligible to teach in New York State and show strong qualifications in other areas of their application may be eligible to receive special support in their job search process. These candidates may receive invitations to relevant recruitment events (including job fairs). These candidates will be included in the New Teacher Finder, a tool that allows principals and teachers to contact one another.

Eligible for central commitment interview 
Based on an assessment of the resume and essays, highly qualified candidates, typically in shortage subject areas, may be invited to interview with the Office of Teacher Recruitment & Quality for a central commitment.  The central commitment is a guarantee of employment within the NYC public school system with certain terms and conditions; in addition to being eligible for recruitment events and the New Teacher Finder, applicants accepting central commitments also receive personalized assistance during the job search process.

If you are invited to interview for a central commitment:

• Follow the instructions in your email to schedule an interview time with a recruiter.
• Please arrive on time for your interview.  If your schedule changes or you decide that you would prefer not to interview, please follow the appropriate steps as listed in your email to reschedule or cancel.  Simply not appearing for your interview may disqualify you from being considered for employment.

We will email you with the outcome of your interview within one to two weeks.  Outcomes may include:

• A central commitment offer.  If you are offered a central commitment, please decide whether you would like to accept within two weeks.  If you accept, you will be assigned a case manager who will follow up with you.
• Job search support.  We have a limited number of central commitment offers to make each year and are not able to extend them to many highly qualified candidates.  In most cases, candidates who do not receive central commitments will be eligible for priority invitations to our career fairs and inclusion in the New Teacher Finder.

In some cases, candidates will be notified that the DOE will not be able to assist them in their job search based on the submitted application.  Negative outcomes include:

Ineligible to teach in NYC. All applicants must pass a background and fingerprinting check.

Candidates currently working as teachers for the NYC Department of Education are not eligible to apply through TeachNYC. If you are currently working as a teacher in the NYC Department of Education, please refer to the Open Market Hiring System.

Uncertified. In order to work in New York City public schools, all teachers must have valid certification from the New York State Education Department. This certification requirement may be met in multiple ways, including through alternative certification routes and reciprocity for certified teachers from out-of-state.  With the exception of day-to-day substitute teachers, we cannot employ teachers who are not certified.

Failed Quality Screen. All applications are reviewed for quality of content, especially the written responses. Failing this review means that the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will not be able to provide assistance finding a school position. It does not, however, preclude applicants from conducting an independent job search and teaching in New York City. The NYC Department of Education cannot provide individual feedback to applicants regarding the review of their applications.

In some cases, we will be unable to review your application until you provide us with more information (most often regarding certification requirements).  If you receive an email from us requesting more information, please follow up with us as soon as possible.

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