PESG

Today we had a meeting with PESG and took our first official steps (according to the State of Michigan) towards our professional careers in (possibly) Michigan.

PESG stands for the Professional Education Services Group, they are the largest educational employment service in the Great Lakes Region. In addition, they specialize in placing qualified substitutes classrooms based on local school districts' need. Throughout the summer we have had to watch and learn multiple modules on the PESG website to qualify our cohort for substitute teaching. An example of a few are being qualified in

• Allergy Management
• Bloodborne Pathogens
• FERPA
• Guide For Substitute Teachers
• Hazardous Communications
• Sexual Harassment
• St and Fed Laws K12

In addition, we needed to get fingerprinted! However exciting this sounds, I had a rather frustrating experience trying to get fingerprinted. Alas, it was the day that I moved part of my stuff from Columbus, OH to Ann Arbor, MI. I moved part of my stuff into my new apartment and headed an hour and 15 minutes southeast towards Wayne where the only L1 Fingerprinting station that was open past 6pm was located. I drove there and looked for it for two hours to no avail. Frustrated, I drove to Novi and had dinner with my father. The next morning, I tried again to go to another L1 Fingerprinting station and they told me that their connection with PESG was down and asked me to go the next business day, which would be the following Monday. I eventually got fingerprinted, and finished the ordeal, and was informed that the Wayne location had closed down. Their website states that it is updated everyday and refreshes each day with the date and time that the information was supposedly "verified."

Anyway, we brought our passports and all other sorts of information as well as money to pay for the registration. Who knew that to become a teacher, one had to pay so much and jump through so many hoops? (ICHAT, PESG, Fingerprinting, etc). Anyway, in order to keep my fingerprints in the system for next year, I must work as a substitute for one day this school year. Who knows, maybe next year I will stay in Michigan?