{"id":10308,"date":"2012-07-24T07:30:23","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T11:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=10308"},"modified":"2013-07-30T22:32:52","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T02:32:52","slug":"getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting By, Getting Ahead: Merrimack Valley Teacher Wrestles With Life After Layoff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-10308 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/img_1663\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1663-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1663-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1663-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1663-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10313'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;We were notified during the day.  It was on a Friday,&#8221; says English teacher Jillian Corey about her layoff notice last May.  &#8220;Many of us still had to teach class.  And the kids were very aware that there was something going on.  I was honest with them.  I didn&#8217;t get into the politics of the situation or the money.  I wanted them to understand that it was not a personal situation, because they become very protective of the teachers.  It was not for them to be concerned about.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/img_1668\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1668-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1668-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1668-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1668-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10314'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;At Memorial, we had the [most] reduction in force notices given.  We lost 29 of our staff.  In the English department, it was six alone,&#8221; says Corey.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/img_1615\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1615-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1615-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1615-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1615-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10310'>\n\t\t\t\tTeaching at Memorial High School is Corey&#8217;s first job as an educator.  &#8220;I certainly thought I was perfectly safe from any sort of harm of this nature.  You know, five years is a long time to be in a position,&#8221; Corey says.  &#8220;So I was sad that the investment that I made in this community was being taken away from me.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/img_1624\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1624-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1624-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1624-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1624-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10312'>\n\t\t\t\tCorey says she still hopes to be one of the 62 teachers the school district calls back for this year.  But, &#8220;I&#8217;ve certainly been looking for jobs in other districts.  But when you have 29 English teachers let go alone in Manchester, there are certainly not 29 English teaching jobs in the state of New Hampshire right now.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/24\/getting-by-getting-ahead-merrimack-valley-teacher-wrestles-with-life-after-lay-off\/img_1686\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1686-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1686-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1686-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1686-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10908'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;I don&#8217;t pretend to have any sort of plan whatsoever about what&#8217;s going to fix this.  I know we need more money.  I know the kids need more money,&#8221; Corey says.  &#8220;There&#8217;s hardly a person in this building that could tell you they have not lost their job, in this district, before.  So this is an ongoing issue.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><em>As part of our weekly \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\">Getting By, Getting Ahead<\/a>\u201d series, StateImpact is traveling across New Hampshire, gathering personal stories from the people behind the economy.\u00a0 In our fifth installment, we talk with a recently laid-off teacher in the Merrimack Valley.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____<\/p>\n<p>Jillian Corey seems to belong at Memorial High School in Manchester. A teacher here for five years, she easily navigates the school&#8217;s network of dimly lit hallways, decorated with computer printouts and hand-written signs.<\/p>\n<p>But Corey, a 32-year old English teacher, doesn&#8217;t work here anymore. She was one of dozens of teachers and staff laid off from the school district last spring.\u00a0As she gives me a tour of the school, making her way past open lockers waiting for their final summer wash-down, the maintenance staffers and occasional educator aren&#8217;t bothered. Even if Corey doesn\u2019t officially work here anymore, no one finds it strange that she would pop in.<\/p>\n<p>When we arrive at her old classroom, however, a locked door shatters the illusion.\u00a0&#8220;Um\u2026unfortunately, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be able to get into this particular classroom of mine,\u201d Corey says, as we try to track down another classroom where we can sit down and talk.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Jillian and nearly 140 other teachers were handed pink slips last May after a long budget stand-off between the city and the teachers\u2019 union. It&#8217;s a familiar story in the\u00a0<a title=\"What You Need To Know About The Merrimack Valley\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/tag\/merrimack-valley\/http:\/\/\" target=\"_blank\">Merrimack Valley<\/a>, home to New Hampshire&#8217;s state government and its largest cities. \u00a0Since the economic downturn, the region has felt the brunt of deep cuts to state and local governments, as well as layoffs of public employees.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F53845231&amp;show_artwork=true\" height=\"166\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/23\/merrimack-valley-snapshot-layoffs-at-manchester-school-district-fit-national-trend\/\">Merrimack Valley Snapshot: Layoffs At Manchester School District Fit National Trend<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/23\/preview-tomorrows-installment-of-getting-by-getting-ahead-looks-at-life-after-layoff-for-manchester-teacher\/\">Preview: Tomorrow&#8217;s Installment Of Getting By, Getting Ahead Looks At Life After Layoff For Manchester Teacher<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/30\/getting-by-getting-ahead-good-news-for-merrimack-valley-teacher\/\">Getting By, Getting Ahead: Good News For Merrimack Valley Teacher<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/06\/29\/education-economy-an-update\/\">Education = Economy, An Update<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/16\/family-home-values-predict-quality-of-college-attended\/\">Family Property Values Predict Quality Of Colleges Attended<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/07\/2256381409_fcc104ffdd1-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/merrimack-valley\/\">What You Need To Know About The Merrimack Valley<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/10\/1058204843_32496fe28c-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/new-hampshire-economy\/\">Your Guide To New Hampshire\u2019s Economy<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/103657967_3b304d2c94_z.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/getting-by-getting-ahead\/\">Getting By, Getting Ahead: A Regional Look At NH&#8217;s Economy<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\u201cBeing five years in when I started the school year, I certainly thought I was perfectly safe from any sort of harm of this nature,&#8221; Corey says with a rueful chuckle.\u00a0 &#8220;I\u2019m fairly involved in this school.\u00a0 I have my piddly little garden club where our kids get to play around in the dirt. I was on the faculty council while I was here.\u00a0 And it made me very sad.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Now, it makes her worried.\u00a0 When the economy hit bottom a few years ago, she was able to buy a house in Manchester at an interest rate that a single teacher could afford.\u00a0 She drives a modest compact car, and doesn\u2019t really live the high life.\u00a0 She feels like she did everything right.\u00a0 Yet she lost her job anyway, and now is scraping by on unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnemployment, to be very frank with you, does not cover half of my salary,&#8221; Corey says.\u00a0 &#8220;It will not be enough to cover my bills, eventually.\u00a0 And when I talk about not paying my bills, I\u2019m not talking about, you know, my Gucci bill.\u00a0 I\u2019m talking about regular, day-to-day, flipping on the lights kind of thing.&#8221;\u00a0But she is quick to add that she would look for work in another profession if she has to, &#8220;I\u2019m certainly not going to lose my house over this situation.\u00a0 That is NOT what is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"module image left\" style=\"width: 250px;\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full\" title=\"Getting By, Getting Ahead\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/voices-promo.png\" width=\"250\" height=\"247\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Listen to voices of New Hampshire\u2019s economy and share your story in an <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\">interactive audio experience \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Recently, she has been given a reason to hope.\u00a0 The city and school district came up with about $4 million in one-time funding.\u00a0 They\u2019re calling back 62 teachers.\u00a0 Corey is hoping to get a callback letter. But she says even if one comes through, teacher layoffs have been so prevalent lately in this area that the long-term future is not bright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s hardly a person in this building that could tell you they have not lost their job in this district before,&#8221; Corey says. \u00a0&#8220;And I\u2019m very, very serious about this.\u00a0 So this is an ongoing issue.\u00a0 Whether I receive my job back this year or not, I will probably be faced with the same scenario next year.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s band-aids.\u00a0 We\u2019re putting band-aids on the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While she is attached to Manchester\u2014and Memorial\u2014Corey is hedging her bets, looking for work in other districts now, too.\u00a0 But a lot of laid-off teachers are doing the same.\u00a0 Competition is fierce. In Manchester alone, 29 English teachers were let go, Corey says. &#8220;There\u00a0are certainly not 29 English teaching jobs in the state of New Hampshire right\u00a0now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As part of our weekly \u201cGetting By, Getting Ahead\u201d series, StateImpact is traveling across New Hampshire, gathering personal stories from the people behind the economy.\u00a0 In our fifth installment, we talk with a recently laid-off teacher in the Merrimack Valley. _____ Jillian Corey seems to belong at Memorial High School in Manchester. A teacher here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":10313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[493,337,513,511,558,204],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10308"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}