Teacher bailing 8 weeks into the school year

[htmom]

No offence but what is getting mad getting you?

Sure it is an inconvienence, but lets be really honest. Kids have to learn to change and adapt. It is a part of life. Is it always easy? No. It does not matter if they have special needs or not, things change, life rolls on. My son lost his 1:1 aide when he was in first grade, it was sad, and rough for him adapting to a new aide, but guess what? He did it! It made me very proud of him! Who am I to say the first aide "had" to stay? LOL It turned out great for him and I am sure all of the students affected by this change in teachers will be fine.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Jodi, here's something to think about. You are likely too close to the situation to be objective. Look at this thread. Absolutely everyone who has posted in it who is removed from the situation disagrees with your stance. Do you think that it is possible that you are wrong, but are so emotionally connected that you are unable to see that?

 

[jodifla]

Still you. Look, I understand that you are upset that your son's routine will be disturbed. However, this woman should not have to put her life on hold and miss out on opportunities just to accommodate students and their parents. She had an opportunity that was in her best interest and she took it, as she should. Your son will have two months with someone before he would have changed case managers, anyway, since you said that case managers get their case load in January and she is leaving next week. It is unreasonable and completely selfish for anyone to believe that another person should pass up opportunities simply because it doesn't fit with what you are wanting.

No, he would keep a caseworker the whole three years. The transition process started last January for most kids; it was about April for my son.

 

[CaFeeney]

I have been an educator for the last 25 years. When I started out it was not considered professional to leave a position mid year unless it was for health or personal reasons.

Things in public education have changed significantly. Many of our teaching staff are now provisional employees - with the changes to Common Core and the field in general it takes 3 years to be considered professional staff in my state. Grant funded employees are never really secure and at the mercy of state and federal funding (just look at what went down in the past few weeks in Washington - nothing is secure). This results in a much more transient workforce in the educational field.

I believe you are seeing a paradigm shift when in the past you were used to a teacher making at least the year long commitment - the new normal is that people have to do what is economically necessary. As a parent myself I can understand how frustrating it is to lose a good teacher mid year. This is only multiplied when your child has special needs and transitions are difficult.

I hope the transition is handled well and that your child is minimally disrupted by the change. The bigger issue is the retention of teachers in each district. Some of the things I would wonder about is if your district offers competitive pay and benefits - if they are low paying this issue will continue to occur as staff leave for better opportunities.

Finally, SPED teachers are in high demand and not always easy to find, especially if they have specialized certification or experience (sign language interpreter, ABA trained, etc). These teachers can pick and choose positions and will go to the highest paying district that offers the best benefit package.

 

[mrsklamc]

When they leave their job undone, then yes, I have a right to be angry.

If she gave two weeks' notice (or whatever her contract stipulates) then she didn't leave a job undone. At that point it became someone else's problem.

 

[LiveYourLife]

I will! You all have convinced me I should!

I hope you are not serious.

 

[jodifla]

I hope you are not serious.

I am absolutely serious. Everybody here doesn't realize it, but you've really encouraged me.

 

[jodifla]

I have been an educator for the last 25 years. When I started out it was not considered professional to leave a position mid year unless it was for health or personal reasons.

Things in public education have changed significantly. Many of our teaching staff are now provisional employees - with the changes to Common Core and the field in general it takes 3 years to be considered professional staff in my state. Grant funded employees are never really secure and at the mercy of state and federal funding (just look at what went down in the past few weeks in Washington - nothing is secure). This results in a much more transient workforce in the educational field.

I believe you are seeing a paradigm shift when in the past you were used to a teacher making at least the year long commitment - the new normal is that people have to do what is economically necessary. As a parent myself I can understand how frustrating it is to lose a good teacher mid year. This is only multiplied when your child has special needs and transitions are difficult.

I hope the transition is handled well and that your child is minimally disrupted by the change. The bigger issue is the retention of teachers in each district. Some of the things I would wonder about is if your district offers competitive pay and benefits - if they are low paying this issue will continue to occur as staff leave for better opportunities.

Finally, SPED teachers are in high demand and not always easy to find, especially if they have specialized certification or experience (sign language interpreter, ABA trained, etc). These teachers can pick and choose positions and will go to the highest paying district that offers the best benefit package.

This is definitely the model I grew up with and the high standards I hold teachers to.

Sadly, everyone seems to have lost their standards these days.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I am absolutely serious. Everybody here doesn't realize it, but you've really encouraged me.

Go for it. The only thing you will accomplish is making yourself look bad.

 

[declansdad]

I am absolutely serious. Everybody here doesn't realize it, but you've really encouraged me.

No one on this thread offered you any such encouragement, you need to own this one all by yourself.

Not sure what you think it will do. Do you expect them to chain her to the desk and not let her go until June?

 

[htmom]

Lock her up to her desk LOL That's certainly a way to keep a teacher happy and enjoying the job.

 

[declansdad]

This is definitely the model I grew up with and the high standards I hold teachers to.

Sadly, everyone seems to have lost their standards these days.

You do realize that standards change right? The one room school house no longer exists.

 

[FireDancer]

When they leave their job undone, then yes, I have a right to be angry.

I manage multiple projects all the time. Whenever I leave my current job I will be leaving some project undone. There is never a moment where all of my jobs complete at the same time. Most people who leave also leave a job or project undone. When out last controller left they left multiple projects "undone". When a loan officer or servicer leaves some loans are in progress so their job is "undone". If a construction worker working on the multi million dollar bridge project we have going in right now he will be leaving a job undone.

It is rare that anyone leaves a job anywhere that doesn't have some task or aspect of their day to day work "undone". What happens is whomever comes in picks up the job where it left off and completes it. It happens every day in every company. Not sure why a teacher should be viewed any differently.

 

[luvmy3]

This is definitely the model I grew up with and the high standards I hold teachers to.

Sadly, everyone seems to have lost their standards these days.

No, the standards have just changed these days. You need to get with the times.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Yup. She will definitely make yourself look bad. Honestly if you think about it, complaining will not accomplish a single thing. You think she will change her mind and reject the new job because one parent doesnt approve? Your kid will adjust, they all will. This world is full of changes. If they have a hard time with something like this, whats gonna happen down the road with bigger changes?

Go for it. The only thing you will accomplish is making yourself look bad.

And at the 2nd part.

No one on this thread offered you any such encouragement, you need to own this one all by yourself.

Not sure what you think it will do. Do you expect them to chain her to the desk and not let her go until June?

 

[SLP958]

I am absolutely serious. Everybody here doesn't realize it, but you've really encouraged me.

You can not be serious. I hope she gives you a piece of her mind right back.

Please update on how this conversation goes.

 

[Metsfan520]

This is definitely the model I grew up with and the high standards I hold teachers to.

Sadly, everyone seems to have lost their standards these days.

It used to be easy for a teacher to stay, they got treated well by the administration and the parents. Now they get second guessed all the time by the higher ups and parents are "disgusted" when they want to leave a job. And some parents feel they have a right to go and complain to the teacher when the teacher wants to leave the job.

And in case anyone's interested, I'm not a teacher. Nor do I know any or am I related to any. I just read the threads here on the Dis and I have sympathy for teachers.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

My son is in a contained classroom so I understand how hard the change will be for your son. But as a parent I feel its my job to make the change easier not harder. Going to school to complain about this will make it harder for him. Even being angry about it will make it harder and even if he doesn't hear you complain he will notice something is up.

My advice is to let it go and work on helping your son adjust. Make this a positive thing for him.

 

[leebee]

Maybe she wanted to work in a location where the parents were more agreeable...

 

[Poohforyou]

I'm not a job hopper, so the idea is pretty foreign to me. I totally get wanting to switch jobs to move up, but for me, there is a time and a place.

My last job I was in 20 years, in my current job 6 years.

When a big year-long project came along, I put off starting a family so I would be there and not abandon my staff during the changes. I knew 15 hour days were ahead -- and they were.

And when we did move when my husband got a new job, I sent my husband ahead for 6 months, so I could help my job transition to the new manager. My son and I stayed behind.

Years ago people were loyal to their jobs and they were rewarded with job security. These days no one is secure. Companies have weeded out under performing employees so most left beyond are good solid workers.

I feel some loyalty to my job but I wouldn't ever put aside important family or personal needs for my job.

You don't know the facts beyond this teacher's decision. Perhaps some parent or student pushed her over the edge.

If you really think this is wrong you should address it with your school board. Obviously they don't see it as an issue or there would be a contract clause about it.