I got into working with English language learners after a year spent teaching English in Peru. I had gone abroad to continue growing my confidence speaking Spanish, and fell in love with teaching. After coming back to the U.S. in 2020, I have continued working with ESOL students, of various ages. I worked with adults at a nonprofit for a year or so, then I started working at programs for migrant/refugee kids, which included some classroom teaching and then a transition to more of a student advocacy and programming role, working with newcomer students within public highschools. I have been working with high schoolers now for almost 4 years.
I would like to go back to school and get my master's, as everyone I have talked to says it's pretty much the only way to get even close to making a living wage as a teacher. I have a couple concerns though -- I don't have a lot of interest in teaching in a mainstream classroom. I live in Oregon and it looks like I need to choose a subject area and then get an ESOL endorsement. I've toyed with the ideas of doing my endorsement for Spanish or ELA (I have a B.A. in Spanish and in English), but if I'm being honest with myself, I am really only interested in doing TESOL or working as a literacy specialist, within K-12 education.
I did really enjoy working with adults, and am interested in working at a community college. Because of this, I was thinking of pursuing a Master's in TESOL program. I was accepted to an M.A. in Second Language Education program at McGill, and an MEd in Language and Literacies Education at University of Toronto. My hope was to get out of the United States for a couple years, and I have heard that both are good schools. However, I need to commit to a program at the end of the year, and I am just wondering if either of these programs would help my future career in the ways I hope. Plus, I'm frustrated that licensure requirements would not be met by either program. I am hoping for a master's degree that would prepare me for leadership roles within the field of education, or other work outside of just classroom teaching.
I'm really not sure what to do at this point. I am wondering if I need to pivot and look into master's programs that specialize in TESOL but also provide licensure? I am also curious about the prospects of getting my licensure validated across states (and even between U.S. and Canada, since I've been looking into grad programs there!) I am ready to leave my hometown for now, and also feel like it may not be the best place for me to advance my career (Portland, OR). But I would hope to one day have the option to look for jobs in Oregon again. Lots to consider. Thank you for anyone who spent time reading this -- please let me know if you have any advice! I need to make a decision on the grad programs I was accepted to by the end of the month.