So sweet! Yesterday, both the head of the History department and the heads of the English department wanted to know if I was staying on.  When I told them what the administration was thinking, they said they would talk to the principal and see if there was any way to keep me, since they all really liked me.  Today I found out that, although they fought for me, and were even willing to move classes around to make my class more history-oriented, the principal remained firm in his conviction that anyone who replaced the former teacher would need an English credential as a minimum requirement.  I was out of luck.  The teachers also told me that the principal really likes me and respects me a lot and that if there were any openings in History, I’d be first in line to be chosen.  With all this goodwill, it seems reasonably certain that I’ll have a job next year at this school… provided that something opens up.  By next year, I should have three credentials, so my odds are pretty good I think.  For the rest of the year though, it will be on-call substituting unless another long-term contract opens up.  They do need someone long-term for math, but I don’t want to do that job, and I think I need to be not working for a while before I can legally take another long-term contract.  Maybe I’ll get a contract in February after I’ve returned from seeing my son graduate from basic training.