At least you have a job is absolutely no comfort

[morninggirl5]

when you've just been told you're being reassigned and are losing the job you never wanted to leave.

In 33 days, i will no longer be a Kindergarten teacher at my school. Sometime before then, the powers that be in administration will let me know which school and what grade i will be "reassigned" to.

Despite there being 5 teachers in the building with less seniority, i'm being reassigned. They are all in the "holy ground special program" that is the current cure-all for all the problems in education.


I thought i'd given up my idealism, but i really thought that being the best damn teacher i could be and having the highest test scores in the building would save my position.


I couldn't teach today after they told me and i don't know how i'll manage to get through the next 33 days. Each one of my students has a very special place in my heart and it breaks every time i look at one of them.


Oh hell, i'm crying again just thinking about it.

 

[tswyk]

Hugs, MG!



t

 

[Cheyenne]

They are reassigning you in early May, just before the end of the school year? What sense does that make?

Is there no appeal process to explain why you think you should stay and someone else of lesser senority, etc. should go?

 

[SlowHand89]

It sucks when your life is in the hands of others but at the same time, every crisis is also an opportunity. The students you have now need you and the students you will have in the future will need you just as much. I'm sure you will be a great steal for whichever school you join. ** HUGS **

 

[RisiaSkye]

I'm sorry you're being reassigned, MG.

But I know about 8000 local teachers who'll gladly take your place if you're too upset about the transfer to go back to work.

Notice how every "education Administration" seems to instantly cut school funding? Gotta love our priorities.

 

[morninggirl5]

They are reassigning you in early May, just before the end of the school year? What sense does that make?

Is there no appeal process to explain why you think you should stay and someone else of lesser senority, etc. should go?

They're reassigning me for the next school year. We have 33 days of school left. I count school days not real days.

No appeals. We're just supposed to be thankful to have a job. We got the speech about all the people who are unemployed and can't find a job.

Personally, i'd prefer the no job option. I know i could get a job teaching in another district and i'd be able to interview with the principals and accept a position in a school that matches my philosophies and style of teaching. "Reassignment" is like playing Russian Roulette.

 

[Epiphany]

I'm sorry to hear this morninggirl...my best friend is a Kindergarten teacher and they are facing something very similar in the district she teaches at. She's seriously thinking about just quitting and applying at other districts.

 

[markb325]

MG not to sound mean but my father (teacher for over 40 years) would say welcome to the world of teaching. He was reassigned at least every two to three years.

 

[Cheyenne]

I generally don't support unions, but aren't you a member of a teacher's union? Isn't seniority considered in school assignments?

It was when I was growing up. At the time, the schools in my neighborhood were great schools. We had the same teachers there for years and years.

 

[SlowHand89]

MG not to sound mean but my father (teacher for over 40 years) would say welcome to the world of teaching. He was reassigned at least every two to three years.

After I read that I had a flashback from when I was in high school. It seemed like we would get one or two new teachers every year and the really good ones, the ones that would often make a connection with us students and make their classes enjoyable, would always be gone the next year. By the time I graduated I was pretty jaded. It used to bug me to no end.

 

[MissTaken]

Well, the cool thing about reassignments is that you may get to teach these kids again in a year or two.

And that can be wonderful to see how the tots have grown.

*hugs*

I do understand, but honestly, at least you do have a job. My program, which has been in place for thirty years is on GWB's chopping block.

 

[Nora]

Gee, since Ithaqua, Coke and I were given 60 days notice that our entire department is being laid off....hmm...

I won't say it.

I understand your frustration, but if it's that big a deal, find a job in another district that matches your philosophy and put in your notice for the next school year.

As you said, you MIGHT dislike your next position. That still leaves a chance that you will like it, but not if you go into it *POSITIVE* it's going to be bad.

 

[Amaterasu]

gotta love the world of education, eh, marksgirl?

I don't even know if I have a job next school year because of the budget... and they say I should know by mid-April, but then will force me to commit to a position with the District, not with a particular school. It is likely I will be placed at a middle school or high school, where I have very little experience whatsoever. Woo hoo. I can't wait.

Just keep on being the best teacher you can be! We need more of you in our schools!

 

[morninggirl5]

MG not to sound mean but my father (teacher for over 40 years) would say welcome to the world of teaching. He was reassigned at least every two to three years.

There are teachers at my school who have been there for 15+ years. The average tenure at the school last year was 8 years.

I generally don't support unions, but aren't you a member of a teacher's union? Isn't seniority considered in school assignments?

It was when I was growing up. At the time, the schools in my neighborhood were great schools. We had the same teachers there for years and years.

Seniority was supposed to have been the determining factor in the reassignments. I was certain that my position was completely safe. But, as with everything else, apparently those in the "holy ground special program" aren't included in the pool of people who can be reassigned. Yes, i'm pretty bitter about that program.

Georgia is a right to work state, so it's highly unlikely that there is anything the union can do.

 

[morninggirl5]

Well, the cool thing about reassignments is that you may get to teach these kids again in a year or two.

And that can be wonderful to see how the tots have grown.

*hugs*

I do understand, but honestly, at least you do have a job. My program, which has been in place for thirty years is on GWB's chopping block.

No, i won't get to teach my students again. I'll be in a completely different school.

I understand your frustration, but if it's that big a deal, find a job in another district that matches your philosophy and put in your notice for the next school year.

I'm under contract in this district for next year already. Contract renewals took place last week, before any possible reassignments were announced.

gotta love the world of education, eh, marksgirl?

I don't even know if I have a job next school year because of the budget... and they say I should know by mid-April, but then will force me to commit to a position with the District, not with a particular school. It is likely I will be placed at a middle school or high school, where I have very little experience whatsoever. Woo hoo. I can't wait.

Just keep on being the best teacher you can be! We need more of you in our schools!

That's exactly what happened to me. Good luck with your administration.

 

[Nora]

No, i won't get to teach my students again. I'll be in a completely different school.




I'm under contract in this district for next year already. Contract renewals took place last week, before any possible reassignments were announced.

Then make the best of it for the next year and be happy to be employed. There's no guarantee that your students next year will be awful, and I have full confidence in you that you're a good enough teacher to impact their lives even if they haven't had good teachers thus far.

As a teacher, you probably know from watching your students that your outlook going into a task is often more important than the content of the task itself. If you go in with the attitude that the kids are horrible and the year's going to be horrible, you have nothing but a self-fullfilling prophesy on your hands.

 

[morninggirl5]

Then make the best of it for the next year and be happy to be employed. There's no guarantee that your students next year will be awful, and I have full confidence in you that you're a good enough teacher to impact their lives even if they haven't had good teachers thus far.

As a teacher, you probably know from watching your students that your outlook going into a task is often more important than the content of the task itself. If you go in with the attitude that the kids are horrible and the year's going to be horrible, you have nothing but a self-fullfilling prophesy on your hands.

I'm not even thinking about the kids i'll have next year. I can't. I still have to find some way to let go of MY kids, the ones that will be sitting in my room in the morning.

 

[LadyAura]

I am a kindergarten teacher as well. I understand how you feel. Even though "my" children move on to another grade I feel like those kids are a part of me.
Hang in there. It will be hard to say goodbye but you will make connections with new students and co-workers at your new school. I really hope the best for you.

 

[LukkyKnight]

Ya want I should call Guido and have him chat somebody up?

 

[morninggirl5]

I met with the building rep for GAE on Wednesday and she was going to check into what recourse i had through them. But apparently, she's more tuned in to the school "underground communications" because she told me several times not to worry, someone else is going to be unhappy and leave. Over and over she said, "Don't worry, it will work out."

Today i got news, i still haven't decided whether it's good news or bad news. The principal told me that for now, i'm going to be coming back next year. There are two classes in "high holy ground" that have had team teachers this year and they are being split up with the extra teachers going to another site that has the "high holy ground" program. If we have an exodus of students over the summer, i could be transferred after school starts in the fall.

In a way i feel better about this situation. If a grade level does not have the students for the teachers they have in the fall, the "extra" teacher would be given the choice to take my Kindergarten position or accept a transfer elsewhere. Since there are no teachers in the building who want to teach Kindergarten, it's likely they would accept the transfer rather than moving into Kindergarten.

 

[lilminx]

I'm really sorry to hear that, MG. The bureacracy of the school system sucks.

The NYC bd of ed is being 100% restructured and I have no clue what's going on for next year (I'm pretty sure that the higher-ups have no idea either). They're getting rid of all the current District Offices, and many of the people working there will have to go back to teaching. I'm pretty sure that I won't havea job at my current site.

It's gotten to the point where I'm not sure if I want to teach in NYC anymore, or just not teach at all.

 

[Mia62]

Oh hell, i'm crying again just thinking about it.

Oh sweetie...I am so sorry. Do they have ANY idea what damage they will be doing to your class?? Good lord, this is the beginning of their education...such a formative year. Idiots.

 

[Lawler]

Hon, that's just horrible. It has to be sad to not see the little ones in the hallway in a few years that you helped mold into smart, cool kids.

Hang in there. Just keep in mind there are new kids that need a great teacher just as much. You'll love them in time too!

 

[The Heretic]

I would be more pissed about the timing (if I understand the situation correctly) of waiting until after contract renewal to announce reassignment. Then to heap insult upon injury they preach to you about how "lucky" you are to have a job.

I will agree that anyone who has a job in this economy should be glad that they have one, but to preach it to you in that manner was not meant to make you feel better, or to put the situation into perspective, but rather to spin the situation in their favor.

Once I get fucked over like that (I have had something like this done to me a couple of times) I tend to look for other jobs and then follow through. If I understand correctly you are under contract for another year, but if I were you I would start putting out feelers now and counting down the days until you can go to work for someone who doesn't pull such dirty tricks.