I'm working in a new district this year - in a new state. After having spent most of my career in one district, there's a lot to notice. BOTH schools have +'s and -'s, and I can't honestly say either is all-over-better. They ARE different. So... if any of you are wondering how my world works, here's a peek.
I wish I knew how to make a chart or diagram in this blog. I'm such a nerd. But since I can't, I'll just list... (Oh, and to keep it apples-to-apples, I have to do 5th grade only).
Back-to-school preparation:
A: Two days of meetings. Sitting in chairs taking notes for 7.5 hours. (Total of about 13 hours of meetings) 30-minute lunch break on campus, food provided from the district kitchens. No paid classroom prep-time.
B: "Teacher week" - five full work days, with meetings each day. Less than 2 hours per meeting, except day one, which is 6 hours of "team building." Lunch for the full day, catered in (Panera).
A. Clarifying questions/comments/discussions encouraged during meetings so that everyone is on the same page.
B. Questions discouraged during meetings, for the sake of brevity. Team leaders are tasked with clarifing.
A. Superintendent hosts an assembly with breakfast to set out the vision for the year.
B. Superintendent hosts a pep-rally to set out the vision for the year.
General District "stuff"
A. Staff encouraged to join PTA.
B. Staff automatically enrolled in PTA, and required to attend at least 2 PTA meetings.
A. Good money management has saved staff from pay cuts.
B. Payroll was frozen two years ago. New staff come in 2 years lower than their actual experience.
A. Strong, active union.
B. Not sure. Which makes me think not-so-strong.
A. There are many educational categories on the payscale.
B. Not sure. Which makes me think not-so-strong.
A. There are many educational categories on the payscale.
B. The payscale only offers 3 levels - BA, MA, PhD. (No BA +, MA +, etc.)
A. Staff are provided with ID badges.
B. Staff are provided with ID badges and building tee-shirts. They may get other building-pride items depending on PTA support.
Teacher's Day
A. Contracted to be on campus 30 mintues before and after students. Parent contact (including IEP meetings) generally scheduled during this time.
B. Contracted to arrive with the students, and stay up to 30 mintues past. PM time dedicated to supervising dismissal (not for contacts, meetings, or prep). Contacts and prep are done on your own time or in your plan time.
A. Student breakfast supervised by paraeducators. Students not eating breakfast unsupervised outdoors on playground areas.
B. Student breakfast supervised by paraeducators. Students not eating breakfast expected to be in classrooms.
A. Student dismissal supervised by paraeducators and admin. < 60% bus riders. Students all dismissed at the same time.
B. Student dismissal supervised by paraeducators and admin. >90% bus riders. Staggered student dismissal. (Called by bus number).
A. Teachers have daily planning and a 30 minute duty-free lunch. Recess is covered by paraeducators, and part of student lunch time.
B. Teachers generally have daily planning. Once/week teachers cover ISS by bringing ISS student(s) to their classroom during plan time. Student lunches are 30 mintues. Teachers must walk kids to lunch and pick them up, leaving a maximum of 25 mintues for break. Teachers may be required to eat with students from time to time. Teachers supervise recess, usually later than lunch.
Curriculum
A. "Implement as designed" initially. Tweak after at least a year of strictly following the program. Some district created materials/plans/programs.
B. Curriculum serves the state learning targets. Focus on the targets. Use the curriculum as the main tool to get there.
A. Teachers have input in district mapping/units through committee.
B. Teachers have no input in district mapping/units.
A. Teachers have little autonomy in the classroom.
B. Teacher is responsible for all classroom choices.
A. Help is readily available.
B. Help is hard to find. Teachers are expected to be masters of content. *footnote - there are coaches for the new math/literacy programs, but newbies have a hard time figuring out how to connect with them.
A. Use of tech-supplements is encouraged.
B. Use of tech-supplements is expected.
A. Tech-ed is encouraged.
B. Students are required to have 45 minutes of tech-ed every other week (90 min/month). Classroom teacher provides instruction.
State (remember, I can only speak about 5th grade).
A. Some grades do some state assessments online. 5th grade does none online.
B. All state assessments are done online.
A. State assessments cover reading, writing, science, and math.
B. State assessments include reading, writing (with grammar/usage as a separate multiple choice test), math, science, and social studies.
A. State assessments are done in the spring. 5th graders are not assessed in writing.
B. State assessments are done in two phases - writing in March, the rest begin about 5 weeks before the end of the school year.
A. Scores are released in the fall.
B. Scores are received in the spring.
Building/System Quirks
A. Staff are permitted building keys and classroom keys, year round. Staff often do building work (copies, organizing, changing classroom decor) on weekends.
B. Staff do not have building keys/alarm codes. Classroom keys are checked out for the school year, only. Staff cannot be in the building on weekends.
A. Fire drills monthly. Staff generally know when to expect them. Students return to homeroom teachers/positions to line up.
B. Fire drills weekly the first month, then monthly. Staff are only told the time of the first one. Students line up with the teacher responsible for them at the time of the drill.
*sidenote - students face away from the building.
*sidenote - students face away from the building.
A. Lunch for students is run by grade level. 4 classes dine together. Students are very independent.
B. Lunch for students is sortof by grade level. All lunches are staggered by about 4 minutes, and the cafeteria is never empty. Students stay seated after getting their food. Pareductators bring spoons, napkins etc. At the end of lunch paras bring trash/recycling bins to the end of the table, and students clear as they line up.
A. Teachers have a staff lounge to eat together.
B. The staff lounge was converted to a conference room.
A. Teachers are permitted to have small appliances in the classroom.
B. No appliances permitted.
A. Students are expected to be silent in the hallway.
B. Students ARE silent in the hallway.
A. Email is the primary means of communication, but there is redundancy to protect staff who do not check frequently.
B. Email is a secondary means of communication. Primary communication is notes from office or drop in or phone call. There is NO redundancy. If you don't take note/take action you are out of luck.
A. Parents email or leave voicemails for teachers.
B. Teachers have no voicemail. Paper messages left in the office. Most parents don't email.
A. Two (?) copy machines are shared by the entire staff. One is generally working. No copy codes.
B. Each grade level has a copy machine. Copy codes. A paraeducator assigned to each grade level runs copies for an hour each day.
A. Laminator run by staff as needed.
B. Dedicated paraeducator runs laminates for an hour each day. Staff may not laminate.
A. Supplies are purchased from the "building budget," through the office, and stored in a workroom. Certain items (post-its, staples, tape, whiteboard markers, construction paper) are always kept on hand. Staff can request other items, within reason.
B. Each teacher is given a classroom budget, and must order all their own supplies. The only exception is copy paper. This is stocked by the office.
A. One computer lab.
B. One computer lab. One half-lab. Two rolling labs.
A. SMART boards in every classroom. Some with SENTEO responders.
B. Smart boards in few classrooms.
A. With mailboxes in the staff lunchroom and shared copy machines, teachers see each other a lot.
B. Teachers only see each other during hallway supervision.
A. Hallway supervision is strongly suggested.
B. Hallway supervision is a "non-negotiable" staff expectation.
A. Dresscode, informal. Casual professional. Jeans & flip-flops ok.
B. Jeans once a month. Business-professional the rest of the time. Flip-flops and sneakers never ok (except field day or with Dr's note).
A. Paraeducators support learning center classes.
B. Grade-level paraeducators support all classes for some portion of every day. These paraeducators are also trained in base curriculum, and can cover in an short-term emergency (ie: teacher has a health crisis).
Math and reading paraeducators may support classes with high needs for interventions.
A. Counselor "lessons" 2 or 3 times/year, mainly at the beginning.
B. Counselor "lessons" 2x/month all year.
A. Class size, average 26. Contract limit 28. (To be fair, 4th grade might be a better comparison here).
B. Class size, average 20. I don't know the contract limit.
A. Building culture of high expectations. Staff are given a lot of support, second chances, and opportunities to improve.
B. Building culture of SUPER high expectations. I'm not sure what remediation is offered - yet.
A. Admin not big on positive feedback.
B. Admin not big on positive feedback.
Which is a less than fantastic note to end on. And yet, I feel it is appropriate. Because, as much as things are different for me this year - some things really don't change. Thankfully, I know how to set my own tone, define success for myself, and dig deep for internal motivation. Which I will. Because the other thing that didn't change is the students. They're so eager and interested (this week at least). And that's why we're here.
