I was made the chair of my department today! I'm really excited about this. Some of you might remember what happened to me this time last year: http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=159616 We're under a new administration this year. I feel like the new admin has a lot more faith in me than the previous one did. My supervisor pushed me to apply for this position and supported me 100%. It was a nice departure from how things have gone in the past around this place. Our department chair position is changing for next year. Next year it's technically going to be called "Department Coach" and is like a combination of the traditional department chair position and an instructional coaching position. It's part managerial/administrative (in the sense of paperwork, budget, etc.) and part peer mentoring. I'm looking forward to it. Oh, and for anyone keeping tabs on what happened last year, I've gotten mixed information. When I was thinking about applying for this position, I spoke with the administrator in charge of the whole process. I casually said that I was considering applying but since I wasn't selected last year and didn't know why, I didn't want to waste anyone's time. That administrator said something about how they wanted to sort of "tighten up" the DCs and not add anyone to the group who hadn't already been a DC before at some point. In another conversation later with my previous DC (who asked me about this whole thing), he said that was baloney and I didn't get the position before because the principal last year didn't like me. That one sounds a little closer to the truth, especially now that I've had a year to ruminate on the whole situation. In any event, I'm grateful for our current administration. Although they don't do everything right, I do think that they are generally on the right track and they do seem to have a higher opinion of me, which is nice. All in all, this was a good way to end the year.
Awesome Caesar! Well-deserved. I'm glad you had this news to end your year. I remember being upset for you last year. Enjoy!
Yes, I will still be teaching. In my district, DCs do their DC duties in addition to a regular (or mostly regular, sometimes slightly lightened) teaching load.
YAY!!!! I know you would make a great Department Chairperson. I am so happy for you. I feel like I'm a teacher and you are my department chair. HAHA
I have two teachers this year who are department chairs. The math one who is I actually speak with. However, she is so kind and very helpful with the teachers in her department. I have her first period. So, I get to see a lot of the teachers coming to her for advice. I know you will be a great leader! #TeamCaesar lol
