Has anyone's district started to talk about contracts, perform virtual interviews, or have meetings with their district about what they plan to do next year (whenever schools actually open back up)? I would imagine for most districts, it's probably the last thing on their minds, but I am curious. We are of course heading towards the end of April.
Yes, my district has shared that contracts will be coming electronically this year, whereas they are usually printed out, signed by both parties, and each party keeps a hard copy. I believe they have to hand them out by May 15 at the latest, according to state law, so I imagine that we'll be getting more info soon. We have also been holding interviews for both internal and external positions via Zoom. Aside from the lack of handshaking, offering a drink of water, and the small talk/greetings at the beginning, they are, in all other aspects, the same as what they would be if they were happening in person. My district has done Skype interviews in the past, though, so it's not entirely unusual for us to conduct interviews this way. The difference is that, even when Skype has been used to connect with a candidate before, the interview panel was usually altogether in a room. Now, everyone is connecting from their own homes. My district has not really shared any details about the start of next year, but we are making plans for packing up/cleaning up the building, as is usually done at the close of a school year, and announcements about staffing changes are occurring.
We will find out next week what we are tentatively scheduled to teach next year (our teaching assignments are always tentative until final enrollment numbers are in at the end of the summer). At this point, there are no job postings, either new positions or positions open for internal transfer.
At the beginning of the shut down we did zoom interviews and hired people that way. We don't currently have any openings. I would guess at this point that people who were thinking of pursuing something new are now going to stay put because everything is so up in the air- definitely doesn't seem to be a wise time to try to get a new job if you already have a secure position. The deadline for non-renewals in my district is mid-March so they can't get rid of anyone else at this point. Our contracts have always been sent to us electronically in July and signed/sent back electronically, so that won't be any different. I'm holding my breath a bit because our union actually negotiated a 2 year contract last year in regards to pay. So you'd think we'd be safe, but I remember them saying something like, "There is a fail safe in there if the district loses x amount of money. But don't worry, it's a HUGE amount and it will never happen." Well, I'm guessing pandemic funding levels may have made that happen. At this point they keep pushing negotiations back so no one knows. Most nearby districts have already announced freezes for next year and furlough days are also being discussed. We haven't heard anything about next fall officially, but P says district admin are already making speculations about potentially not opening up on time. They've been discussing if it's feasible to just push the year back and start later/end later or if we'll need to start with online again. My state is in a pretty good place right now, but the trouble becomes, how do you open anything back up without the cases just skyrocketing again? And there is no social distancing in schools, so...
People who are not satisfied with their jobs will not be for this especially those that were looking for advancement either in their own district or other places. This will certainly create a level of hostility in the workplace. Districts need to find ways to avoid this.
I had a zoom interview at the beginning of the lock down. I got offered the job and accepted. It was a change I think I needed, but I do wonder if I am foolish because I am leaving a job that I would have been very secure at if they start getting rid of teachers to move to one where I will be the new guy. I signed a contract online, and did a lot of the new hire paperwork online. I don't know if this is common practice for my new district, but I know in the district I am leaving they have been signing contracts online for about 5 years now. My current district has not handed out contracts yet, but I know they will be coming out soon.
I think it depends on the individual. What you described is a lot of my situation. I will say that my decision to leave a safe position came several weeks ago, and I don't know if I would make the same choice today. Saying that, I will say that I think I waited too long to leave my current position, and I think it will be a good move as long as there is not a RIF situation in my future. I do agree that the thinking may lead to people unhappy in their position next year, which doesn't lead to a great work environment. There is something to be said about feeling job security though.
We have several jobs posted for next year. No official interviews have been conducted yet, but there have been some people contacted about possibly coming to our building. I don't think anyone is moving positions within the building unless someone decides to take one of the open positions. I'm not sure how they are doing contracts. I haven't signed a contract since 1997.
I am displaced in my current district and I have had several virtual interviews within my hometown. I had one today and have one tomorrow.
All of the districts where I live have 70-300 positions listed for next year. I actually am involved in 2 virtual hiring events for 2 different districts. I am having a hard time deciding if I am ready to go back to being a full-time classroom teacher. Right now, I am a support teacher and I don't have my own classroom. I push in to other classrooms throughout the day.
nope. State funding and tax collection play a huge part in funding schools in my state, so it is really up in the air.
Covid 19 has really goofed things up. The governor is asking all agencies to take a 5% cut across the board. They are furloughing staff at our flagship institution and at the affiliated hospital and clinic. Our governor is a great supported or education as that is the field he came form, but I definitely think there will be some cuts.
We just hired two new teachers, and we have one more to hire, depending on whether or not a current teacher in our building gets another position in the district. Our primary school posted multiple new hires to their FB page yesterday. Definitely hiring going on here.
Everyone in our building has tenure. Contracts went out before schools closed. However, I was shocked to find out 3-4 of our very small staff is not going to return next year recently. ( They had signed their contracts already.) For years, people had to retire or die for an opening. Now the P must be scrambling because it was unexpected.. I know he hired someone to fill 1 position on Skype. It used to be a group decision w/ a teacher, parent, and community member. I have heard the state is almost out of reserves though. The online teaching is kicking the butts of some who are trying to be in compliance. For a few weeks, I struggled w/ 11-12 hour days to get everything done. I am still working 8 hour days though w/out a lunch break. My choice, I know. I just was raised w/ a really strong work ethic and have never been able to "shake it off." lol I have heard a couple of teachers are treating this as vacation time. IDK....I kind of wish I could care less at times.
Some are pushing for summer school, but what about those whose contracts are up this month? You'd have to know who exactly is going to be your staff next year, plus, contracts typically start in late July or August, so teachers will have to be hired for summer school right?
Usually teachers from our own district teach summer school, and it takes place during the contract year that is ending (our contracts end June 30, and summer school is in June). Our new contracts don’t begin until August. Summer school really has nothing to do with the new contract period or the teachers who will be working the following school year.
I guess I should rephrase that....... I think at this point it's more important to have your staff in place going into next year and then start talking about summer school, especially for those whose contracts are up this month.
I did get a job in a district closer to my house. The list of positions came out the beginning of April. They are already on the second list with amendments from the first. I was getting emails saying the positions have been filled. However, the list is still long for other positions.
Summer school has already been cancelled around here. ESY is still running because legally it has to, but it will still be remote learning. That will be interesting considering the majority of students that go to ESY have significant disabilities and remote learning is pretty much impossible for them. I don't envy the teacher who will be dealing with that.
Got it. My district is doing both. Contracts came out this week. Summer school info is also coming by the end of the week. We are having it, but it will be virtual. My district is operating like usual, just remotely. All of the same tasks are still getting taken care of, as they would if we were able to be in the building.
I mean since it's a whole other job separate from your contractual obligations. I guess I'm speaking from the perspective of what some districts might try to get away with given the current circumstances.
Oh, got it! Yes, it’s a totally separate contract. Only those teachers who signed up for summer school are required to teach it, and they are being compensated as they would if it were in person. Although it’s going to be remote instruction, it’s going to require more on the teacher’s part than our current remote instruction does. Since it’s the lowest performing students, it will be more live direct instruction than independent asynchronous work, whereas our current lessons are the latter. I never sign up to teach summer school, and I’m especially glad that I didn’t this year.
I'm not 100% sure, since I've never taught it... I want to say it's $25/hour. It might be more though. The range in our region is $25-40/hour for summer school. In our district, plan time is included in that hourly rate, whereas some other districts in our area don't offer a paid plan time for summer school. I believe it's a four-hour work day, five days per week, for three weeks.
OK Laughing, Bella! My friend just called and told me too! I had plans for tomorrow. I was so bummed thinking 1 more day at home.
We always get contracts to sign in mid-July. Signing contracts is just not the big deal here that it seems to be in other places. I always see advice here for people who get new jobs to wait until they've signed a contract to resign from a previous position. That's just not possible here- no one offers them right away. In my first district, we'd get them in September-October when HR finally got around to getting them all out. The deadline for non-renewal is March 15th so it's not like returning employees are anxiously waiting to see if they get a contract or anything like that.
