Any idea?....

What you describe sounds feasible, and you have allocated a reasonable timeframe to achieve your plan.  You are approaching this with suitable caution, planning, and realism, so have a decent chance of seeing it through to fruition: well done!

1) Is there a need for secondary education teachers in England?

Yes.  Note that you'd have to eventually earn new certification over here to achieve the full salary levels, but even uncertified "supply teachers" can find employment without too much difficulty.  (My wife is such, with English certification from the US.)

2) If so, where would I even start looking to learn about the requirements for my program? (I tried the web sites of a few universities, but I couldn't find a way to look at a program of study courses. I, of course, want to make myself as marketable as possible for England.)

I'll ask my wife to provide some URLs.  Message me if I forget ;-)

3) Who do I talk to about emigration?

The Home Office (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/).

4) What is my first step?

Get a shoebox (plan to scale-up to a milk-crate) and start storing the originals of every paystub, bank statement, and insurance bill (home/auto) you receive from now on.  Ideally you should be doing this anyway for taxes etc, but most of us don't - however, that trail will provide a critical component of your application materials.  The exact requirements change every 6mo or so, so it's hard to predict exactly what they'll demand when the time comes for your actual application -- so save anything that might reasonably come up.  (Keep copies of all your US tax forms too.)

5) How can I find out if a particular region or county is safer than another? (I already tried the crime watcher web site, it wasn't particularly helpful for my purposes.)

The Southeast around London is a mixed bag...it varies community by community, much as any other.  One way would be to check the property / council taxes -- they're generally proportionate to safety :-/  I can't speak for the industrial Midlands around Birmingham / Coventry and Manchester Liverpool, but one does hear stories.  The west (Bristol --> Cornwall) seems quite nice.  I'm in London commuterland, and can say you can find just about everything you'd find in a comparable US metro (including suburbia).

6) Is there a UK resume builder that can help me gear a resume for my particular desire?

Search on Curriculum Vitae, and expect it to be longer than a US resume -- they often include some personal details about your family, for instance.

7) How does the hiring process work there in England?

Similar to the States (although I've seen teachers work for a month or more without a signed contract, or even clear statement of salary/wages).  You may need to remind your employer to register you for a National Insurance (NI) number, similar to Social Security.  Taxes tend to be easier for locals, because the employer and gov't do almost everything for you.  For US citizens, unfortunately, you'll probably want some outside help.

8) Is there a way for us to just claim my husband's income and simply move there as we are?

You could ask, but they're currently pushing back on Tier-1 immigrants, so now isn't a great time (possibly better than tomorrow though, who knows).  Consider writing some of the immigration specialists who help facilitate / walk-through applications (typically adding their own fee of $1k or so), and inquiring on a PRE-FEE basis whether they think you have a good shot.  If you receive a personalized, honest, detailed response (versus a marketing form letter), consider opening a relationship with them.  That's what I did, and it ended up working; on the other hand, you can probably lose some money with no result by going down that road.  It's a hard call.

9) Is my U.S. education degree going to be worth anything over there?

It's enough to get you hired, but at a reduced salary and responsibilities.

10) How are American emigrants received by England natives in general?

Awesome.  Been here 2+ years, no problems *at all*.  (In the adult world...kids will tease kids for having red hair, so of course they're going to mock a different accent etc).  Note that they have fairly considerable immigration issues over here already (especially in the Southeast), so when natives meet an immigrant who actually speaks proper English (albeit with a lilt) it can be a pleasant surprise :-)

My take is not quite as rosy as mzeig's... I think that without any connections to the UK or sought after skills you are in for a load of frustration and disappointment personally. 

The visa you would be after is called a Tier 1 which allows a person to move to the UK without a job offer already in hand and then look for work.  These visas are granted to people who have satistifed the ECO that they are highly employable and their defintion of "highly employable" is based on a points system that takes into account professional qualifications, previous earnings, UK experience, age, English language skills and funds. I am not entirely aware of what the earning thresholds are currently, but this is often the point that causes many application to fail. Basically, a successful candidate is often young (under 28, I think is the scale they use), with at the very least a bachelors degree( but a masters helps significantly), speaks English and has a history of being employed at a high-income level.

Getting this type of visa is becoming more difficult as caps are being placed on the amount they will approve each year.

The website you need is teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/overseastrainedteachers/ if you plan to teach in England. Your diploma from a United States university is valid, but be prepared to take additional coursework once you arrive and obtain a teaching position. One route that many teachers take is to become a supply teacher, which is similar to a substitute teacher, except schools will contact you through a supply agency with whom you are registered.

Since the London commuter-land area has a large immigrant population, I would recommend completing all of the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) work that your university or district offers. I have found these classes helpful, even though I don't recall enjoying them at the time I took them.

wife of mzieg

Thank you both! That is some really useful information I sincerely appreciate your help. I have more questions. Would it be better for me to start a new post? or should I add to this stream?

--Edgewynne

Go ahead and add to this stream, unless they are really specific questions and you think a new topic name would bring more attention (and more response).

I know that some of these questions might seem a bit silly to someone who knows the answers, but I'd rather be sure about it all before we try to head over. Okay, so here are some more questions that have come to my mind lately....

1) What are the smoking laws like in public places? (restaurants, parks, pubs, walking down the street, etc...)
2) We own cats and we plan to rent for the first year while we look for a house to own. I was looking at web sites that advertise rental homes, but I couldn't find anything that really said whether or not pets are allowed. Is it common that everyone just has a pet? or that pets usually aren't allowed in a rental?
3) While looking at some of the rental properties online, I noticed that it's pretty common to have a washing machine in most homes but I came across only 3 places that advertised a dryer. What do most people do about the lack of a dryer? (I can't imagine there would be enough land for a bunch of clothing lines outside of a 4 story building full of rentals in the middle of London or Manchester.) or if their rental home has neither a washer nor a dryer? laundromats?
4) If there is some sort of laundromat facility, how much does it usually cost to wash a load and how is it paid for (coin, credit)?
5) Here, in the state of New Mexico, if I need to find a doctor or a veterinarian, I just pick one from the phone directory and call for an appointment. Most of them have an appointment available within 2 weeks. Rarely, I'll come across one that happens to be so popular that they refuse new patients because they are too busy with all of their established patients. How will it work over there when I need to find a doctor or a veterinarian?
6) If I purchase brand new appliances or furniture from a store, they usually offer delivery and in-home set up either for free or for a small fee. Is delivery and set up a common practice over there in England?
7) Here in N.M., if I rent a property, the land lord usually requires a damage deposit and the first month's rent before they sign the lease and hand me the keys. Sometimes they will ask for a pet deposit or even (in rare cases) they will charge a monthly "pet rent" per pet. It all depends on location, & quality of the home and also on the amount that the rent will be. The damage deposit can be anywhere from $300 to $1000, the pet deposit is usually $150 to $600, and the monthly "pet rent" that I had to pay one time was $15 per month for each pet that I had at the time. The cost of property taxes are usually included in the monthly rent. What, if any, fees, deposits, and/or taxes can we expect for a rental property in England?

1. You cant smoke in bars/pubs/restaurants.  You can, and people do smoke walking down the street and of course near the entrances of bars/pubs/restaurants.  IME, smoking is not as common as it is on the Continent where it sometimes seems like *everyone* is smoking.

2. Renting with pets can be a challenge. Every landlord will have their own rules just like in the US.  I would certainly not take the lack of mention of pets in an advert to mean that they do allow them; they probably just havent mentioned it in the ad.

3. Many many homes will not have a dryer. If they do, it will be refered to as a "tumble dryer" and is very often kept in the garage (thats where we keep ours). Washing machines are in the kitchen. I have never seen a house in England with a laundry room, but thats not to say they dont exist.  Rather than relying on washing lines to hang up clothes to dry (since the weather makes that difficult sometimes) most people have clothes horses to hang the clothes on in the house near the radiators to dry them quicker. 

4. Ive never used a laundromat in any country, so cant answer this one

5.  I spoke to a neighbour for a vet recommendation and was given an appointment the next day, but you may come across practices that are not accepting new patients. For an NHS doctor, you will have to choose one in your catchment area.  You can find this out online by putting in your post code. Then you will have to contact them to see if they are accepting new patients.

6. Yes. The store will deliver large furniture/appliances.

7. Totally depends on the letting agent, but you will be expected to put down similar deposits.  You can contact letting agents in the area where you may be moving to get a better idea.

Thank you!