Employment Advice Needed

[ilovefh]

The title says it all! I need advice! Here is what's going on....

We moved to FL in June and within a few days I accepted a teaching job about an hour from our house. I love the school, I love the administration, I love my team and I love the kids. The drive is not terrible but we are in school from 8:45-3:50 and I have to be there 8:15-4:00. I knew all of this going in and I was fine with it. It is my first year teaching and we were in a new area so I was really happy to have a job!

We had a really rough road trying for kids including two losses so we decided to stop trying and move to FL to enjoy ourselves rather than making all of our decisions based on children. Our plan was to stay two years and then reevaluate our situation. Then we would decide if we wanted to stay in FL or move back to NH and whether or not we wanted to start trying for kids again.

Well the plan drastically changed when I got pregnant in August. My school has been absolutely wonderful about it. The only problem is my doctor is an hour from school so when I have appointments I have to leave about an hour early from school.

Now all of this leads to my dilemma. Without kids the long day is not a problem, but when this baby is born I don't want to be gone from 7am-5:30 pm.

My plan is to apply to schools closer to me in May but there is a school 20 minutes from me that has an opening now. I am due in May. Do you think it is worth it to apply and see what happens? I don't really look too pregnant yet, but since I would need a sub May and June (but coming back in the fall) if I get an interview I'd like to be fair and let them know.

My thoughts are they won't hire me because I am pregnant and I'd only be there for 4 months before taking leave, but is it worth a shot?

If they were to hire me I'd get benefits right away which are cheaper and better than I have now, a pay raise, my day would be from 8:10-3:00 with a longer lunch, and it would cut my commute by more than half. Plus it would be closer to the Orlando area where we spend most of our time rather than towards the Tampa area.

What do you think?

 

[aaarcher86]

If you get the interview be honest. I was honest with an employer and he advised me that he didn't care if I had to take the maternity leave as long as I came back. Some people are cool with it. And your sub would only be there 1 month, if that depending upon when you actually pop and how long the school year is. Couldn't hurt to try - but I would definitely be honest about it.

 

[ilovefh]

If you get the interview be honest. I was honest with an employer and he advised me that he didn't care if I had to take the maternity leave as long as I came back. Some people are cool with it. And your sub would only be there 1 month, if that depending upon when you actually pop and how long the school year is. Couldn't hurt to try - but I would definitely be honest about it.

If I get an interview I will absolutely be honest about being pregnant. I guess I'm asking because my first reaction was that I shouldn't even bother due to being pregnant. Also, I am the kind of person who is sometimes too loyal to an employer and will stay because it is good for the employer even if it isn't best for me. I wouldn't be the first person to leave our school during the school year though, we had at least three other teachers take new jobs.

 

[golfgal]

I would be honest in your interview as well but I would also expect not to get the job because of that. It's illegal to deny employment for pregnancy but it is also easy enough to get around. Keep in mind that in the teaching world your job is never secure, especially the first few years and if they find out you knew you were pregnant before taking this job, I would expect to see a pink slip for next year-based on withholding information.

Is moving closer to your job a possibility? Also, quite honestly, most women that work full time are gone those same hours or more, not that I would have wanted to do that either, but your day isn't really all that long for a professional-not including all the work you bring home as well.

 

[ilovefh]

I would be honest in your interview as well but I would also expect not to get the job because of that. It's illegal to deny employment for pregnancy but it is also easy enough to get around. Keep in mind that in the teaching world your job is never secure, especially the first few years and if they find out you knew you were pregnant before taking this job, I would expect to see a pink slip for next year-based on withholding information.

Is moving closer to your job a possibility? Also, quite honestly, most women that work full time are gone those same hours or more, not that I would have wanted to do that either, but your day isn't really all that long for a professional-not including all the work you bring home as well.

Being honest about being pregnant is not even an option. At say 8 weeks I could say I didn't know, but not at 23 weeks (which is what I will be next week if they were to interview me).

Moving closer is not an option. DH works for Disney and works crazy hours. It's not feasible to have him commuting more than he already does at 4 am.

It's not so much that the hours are bad, I know lots of people work those hours, it's the hours of work on top of it each night. We teach 7 classes per day and I have three different classes to plan for, 22 kids per class. That is a lot of grading and planning. Plus we only get 1 plan period per day (which is normal around here) but once a week it is taken up with a workshop and most other days it is taken up with other types of meetings so getting anything done during that time is not normally an option.

Getting home at 4 would be a lot more beneficial than getting home at 6. If I were to get this job daycare would be on the way home, rather than having to drive past home to get to it.

I know it is easy enough to say they are not hiring me for something other than being pregnant. In fact I am quite sure I won't get the job. I guess I'm asking with being 22 weeks pregnant is it even worth going through the process or should I just wait until May.

 

[BELLE1109]

first off- CONGRATs!!
pregnant women are a protected class, however, as others have stated its very easy to get around this when making a hiring decision.
I would wait until after your baby is born. Maybe something part time will open up at your school or another opportunity will come your way.
You could submit your resume for the open position so that when you apply again after the baby they know you've been interested and timing wasn't right?

good luck!

 

[RangerPooh]

Doing this could breach your contract and jeopardize your ability to return next year. The school that i taught at last year (as a new teacher) was not as pleased as yours about my pregnancy. Our school day was 9-4, so I had to be there by 8:30 and didn't get home until around 5pm. My O9B was 1.15 minutes away from my school and I had to use my PTO for my appointments. As a new teacher in my district I did not qualify for paid Maternity leave, so i was back in the classroom just a few weeks after the baby was born. So it can be done. It's not ideal but you do what you need to do.

I would apply for positions that come available next fall that are closer to you. Breaching your contract now isn't worth it if there is no guarantee that you'll have the other job next school year. With budget cuts and new teachers being let go first it is not worth jeopardizing the job IMO.

Also think of your students and how unfair it would be to them to have a sub for the remainder of the year if no perminant teacher can be found. I can recall two teachers doing this to me as a student and it was rough. Once in elementary school, and that wasn't as bad, but the Junior high one was rough. Almost everyone had to repeat the class as the subs didn't know how to teach the material.

 

[Shmily1]

Go for it!! If it is a place you would like to work, I say you have nothing to lose and it is always worth a shot!