[Eliza]

In our district, letters of intent go out in January or February. They are not binding so if you find another job, but said you were coming back there are no repercussions. We had an "undecided" option.

When I knew I could no longer take my principal, I was upfront about the possibility of leaving but not about why. I told him I was happy where I was, but I was looking around to see if the "perfect job" would present itself, which is also how I asked him to fill out the recommendations required of the jobs I applied to. He offered to write me a letter, but I didn't feel like I needed one because he was doing the online recommendations.

Had I needed letters of recommendation, I'd have asked different people - the instructional coach, parents, colleagues, people I'd worked with on educational projects outside of my school.