How I wish I could back into blogging like in the past. I would even be happy blogging one or two times a month. I know many people are getting away from blogging, choosing instead to document life on Twitter, Instagram, or other easy social media sites. But, I do not do that either. My only excuse is...my life seems very boring.
I had a whirlwind change of jobs in early February. I had not exactly been happy with my school since November when I had an issue with administration removing curriculum from my room. But the biggest thing that helped me decide to leave was only receiving a 3% pay raise this year. The board received funds from the state to allocate teacher raises in line with the bill the governor signed over the summer to increase teacher's pay. However, instead of giving everyone a percentage pay raise, they decided to distribute the money in a socialistic manner so that everyone, no matter how much experience you have, would be making about the same amount of money. This meant that some teachers received a 30% pay raise while mine was 3%. The final straw came after Christmas when they when, desperate to find a new kindergarten teacher, hired a fresh from college candidate and her salary was higher than mine!
I have two friends who were teaching at Hope Charter in Ocoee and contacted me when they had an opening for a 3rd grade teacher and I jumped on it. I fell in love with this school. It has been in operation for over 20 years and has a waiting list. They spare no expense to make sure the student's have the necessary materials to be successful. And one of the best parts is that every single classroom has two teachers (a lead teacher and an assistant). Your assistant is responsible to correcting all papers and recording all grades, supervising the students at recess and lunch, and handling discipline issues that arise in the course of the day. This way, the teacher can focus 100% on planning and providing appropriate instruction!
One of the best aspects...this school provides a base salary and then pays additional money for every years of experience you have ($500/yr adds up when you have 25 years of experience) and also $1,500 for every certification you have. I am currently working on two certifications will be complete in June, so next year my salary should increase by 3,500 next year!
So, I have 19 third graders...17 face to face and 2 online (my TA also handles my online students as well - she is such a blessing to me). In stark contrast to my other jobs lately, I have the classroom of high level learners, which includes 3 gifted students. It is a nice change and I am enjoying it.
