I got a DUI in 1994. The job I had at the time required me to have a license. I had been promised a promotion and raise and the only way I knew to cope with the carrot on the stick treatment by my employer was to drink. Drinking was the solution to all life's problems then... Now I know it is but a symptom of my disease.
By some miracle, or lets just say through nothing I did, other than to show up and be honest about what had happened, I was given the responsibilities of the promotion without the raise. One of the requirements for the raise was getting a certification so on the advice of my sponsor I went and paid for the course myself and passed. I then presented the cert to my employer and asked if they were going to honor their word about giving me the raise if I had the cert. They not only gave me a substantial raise but also reimbursed me for the training.
It wasn't too much later that I got an even better job where it was much easier to use public transportation to get to and from which was great since I was "drivers license challenged". I remember during the new hire paperwork drill the admin person asked for my drivers license. I handed her my state identification card. She got a funny look on her face but didn't say anything about it.
That was years ago. I've been with my current employer for almost 8 years. I had to go through a rather thorough background check. The application asked if I had any felonies or misdemeanors. I listed all the details I could think of on a separate piece of paper to HR and was concerned that they might have an issue with the DUI. A couple of days later I got a call saying they had misplaced the paperwork. I submitted it again, but not in quite as much detail. HR lost it again.... The third time I just entered dates and times. (I had more than one DUI but thankfully no felonies).
Thanks for letting me share my experience. What I'm trying to convey is that after I came into AA (and now NA as well), got a sponsor and worked the steps, life got better in more ways than I imagined. Things seem to have happened and doors seemed to have been opened. None of it was of my own making. The only thing I did was be willing to suit up, show up and walk through the doors & do the very best I could.
I've had my challenges since then, got complacent in my recovery and have suffered as a result. I'm glad I know what works and have started the steps again and picked up my meetings. As my sponsor tells me: "When the pain becomes great enough, change will take place". Fortunately or unfortunately, alcoholics in general seem to have a high threshold for pain. It usually takes a lot to get us to change our lives. At least it does for me.
Best of luck with your teaching career.