My wife and I were married in August 2011. I am a teacher in the USA. I have applied for permanent residence status with my wife as my sponsor. My question is this:

I would like to join her in Canada as soon as possible, but I can't afford to not work. Is it possible for me to work (teach) in Canada while waiting for my resident status to be completed? Do I have to be offered a job before I can apply for a visa? School provinces dont offer jobs unless you are a permanent resident or have a work visa - so how to I go about making myself available to work. The residence process takes a while and I'm just trying to find a way to start working and living in Canada with my wife.

Assuming that your sponsorship is not being processed inland, you would need to obtain a job offer in order to be able to seek a work permit. Depending on the level of schooling at which you teach, you will likely need a LMO Confirmation of such an offer prior to being able to seek the work permit.

Regarding the position of the schools, the only solution to this would be an open work permit. The only avenue by which you would be eligible for one, based on the information supplied, would be in the context of an inland spousal sponsorship application, following its approval-in-principle.