K teacher going on maternity leave?

[Anonymous]

If you are in a public school you really don't have much say. The school system hires teachers and puts them into positions. When there is a vacancy they move another certified person into that vacancy immediately. You might not like the new person, but they have been vetted by the school system and deemed fit to teach just as the previous teacher was.

I disagree. Principals have a huge say in whom they hire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal needs to have a plan and share it. A teacher in my school came back from maternity leave for ONE day and then quit.

But the school has no control over it if the teacher said she was coming back. She probably had to come back to qualify for benefits during her leave or something. I know when I went out on maternity leave (not a teacher) I did not plan to return. My boss told me not to officially tell her I wasn't returning so that I could remain on the payroll and use all of my sick time as well as my leave time before officially separating from the organization. She did however appreciate the heads up and had someone ready to be hired the minute I officially told that I wasn't coming back.

If you are in a public school you really don't have much say. The school system hires teachers and puts them into positions. When there is a vacancy they move another certified person into that vacancy immediately. You might not like the new person, but they have been vetted by the school system and deemed fit to teach just as the previous teacher was.

Ding ding ding to the bolded section. Teacher did not show today. There was a letter in my DD's backpack saying she had gone on maternity leave and a long-term substitute would start tomorrow. Another parent surmised this was all a benefits issue. Hadn't occurred to me before, but it probably makes sense.

Frankly I don't expect to see her back this year. I get that people have to game the system to get paid maternity leave etc, but I really resent that 5yos have to get short changed as a result. Nothing can be done about it, and my DD enjoyed her first day of K, so I'll just have to hope that the teacher is not a significant factor in my child's first elementary experience. At least now I understand why she didn't even bother to speak to the new students at open house last week. I'm one of those few parents on this board who doesn't hate MCPS, but right now I'm not a big fan. I know it's not the system's fault, but geez, we pay a lot to live in this area, I don't expect to have a no-show teacher for my child on her first day of school

[Anonymous]

sorry OP. My kindergartener had his teacher go out on maternity leave 1/2 way through the year last year. He liked the sub better than the regular teacher so maybe this could work out in the end.

[Anonymous]

The situation is not ideal, and I understand your disappointment, but there is nothing to be angry about. The school notified you on the first day of school - class assignments change all the way up until the first day, so they wouldn't notify anyone before then. The teacher went on maternity leave, which is her right as an employee, and certainly not an example of her gaming the system. Nor is this somehow the fault of MCPS. I think you need a little perspective - at least this happened early on, and you child will only have to deal with switching from the sub to the teacher once, rather than starting with the teacher, then adjusting to the sub and back to the teacher again.

Also, you need to be prepared for this to happen more than once in your child's school career. Teachers are overwhelmingly female, and they do from time to time have kids! It's happened to my daughter twice already, and she's no worse for the wear. Best thing you can do is adopt a positive attitude, because your child will pick up on your negativity. Support you child's learning at home, if that's a concern. Help your child with the adjustment to her regular teacher when she does return (most do!). And send the new mom a card. She'll appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Most teachers get pregnant and plan delivery over the summer. Strange.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She went to Open House and said the teacher appeared to be due soon. Wouldn't you want to know the plan?

The plan is the teacher takes maternity leave and they school gets a long term sub to fill in for her until she returns.

[Anonymous]

Teachers get sick, have babies, move, die - you name it. Schools switch to Plan B and keep on going.

Reading, Writing and Resiliency. It's okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal needs to have a plan and share it. A teacher in my school came back from maternity leave for ONE day and then quit.

But the school has no control over it if the teacher said she was coming back. She probably had to come back to qualify for benefits during her leave or something. I know when I went out on maternity leave (not a teacher) I did not plan to return. My boss told me not to officially tell her I wasn't returning so that I could remain on the payroll and use all of my sick time as well as my leave time before officially separating from the organization. She did however appreciate the heads up and had someone ready to be hired the minute I officially told that I wasn't coming back.

If you are in a public school you really don't have much say. The school system hires teachers and puts them into positions. When there is a vacancy they move another certified person into that vacancy immediately. You might not like the new person, but they have been vetted by the school system and deemed fit to teach just as the previous teacher was.

Ding ding ding to the bolded section. Teacher did not show today. There was a letter in my DD's backpack saying she had gone on maternity leave and a long-term substitute would start tomorrow. Another parent surmised this was all a benefits issue. Hadn't occurred to me before, but it probably makes sense.

Frankly I don't expect to see her back this year. I get that people have to game the system to get paid maternity leave etc, but I really resent that 5yos have to get short changed as a result. Nothing can be done about it, and my DD enjoyed her first day of K, so I'll just have to hope that the teacher is not a significant factor in my child's first elementary experience. At least now I understand why she didn't even bother to speak to the new students at open house last week. I'm one of those few parents on this board who doesn't hate MCPS, but right now I'm not a big fan. I know it's not the system's fault, but geez, we pay a lot to live in this area, I don't expect to have a no-show teacher for my child on her first day of school

OK, now I know you're crazy. Did it ever occur to you that she went into labor? Or maybe something happened over the weekend and her doctor put her on bed rest until delivery? It has nothing to do with benefits whatsoever. Teachers are entitled to have babies at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, end of the year. Hell, even during the testing window. It is not all about you. Your special snowflake will be fine with a sub. You, however, will most likely turn her into an anxious, stressed-out mess if you don't get a handle on yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most teachers get pregnant and plan delivery over the summer. Strange.

Most teachers may plan to do it this way. Life often doesn't go according to plan, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most teachers get pregnant and plan delivery over the summer. Strange.

Is that a fact? Source?

[Anonymous]

OK, now I know you're crazy. Did it ever occur to you that she went into labor? Or maybe something happened over the weekend and her doctor put her on bed rest until delivery? It has nothing to do with benefits whatsoever. Teachers are entitled to have babies at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, end of the year. Hell, even during the testing window. It is not all about you. Your special snowflake will be fine with a sub. You, however, will most likely turn her into an anxious, stressed-out mess if you don't get a handle on yourself.

Wow. What an attack. Not the PP, but has it occurred to you that it is not about the mom or the teacher--it is about the KID!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most teachers get pregnant and plan delivery over the summer. Strange.

And, life doesn't always go as planned. You know nothing about this woman -- maybe she's been trying for years, maybe it was a surprise, maybe the timing was planned because she wants to take a whole school year off, maybe the timing was planned because it works best for her husband's job situation. Teachers are allowed to have babies whenever they want to.

For OP, I've had teachers go on leave before. It's no big deal. For a new K class, personally, I'd prefer to have the teacher not there right from the beginning rather than have her for a few weeks and then switch to a sub. It does seem awkward, if the timing was planned, that the sub wouldn't be at the open house. But, as PP noted, she may not have planned to be out right away. Hopefully, all is fine with her and the baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OK, now I know you're crazy. Did it ever occur to you that she went into labor? Or maybe something happened over the weekend and her doctor put her on bed rest until delivery? It has nothing to do with benefits whatsoever. Teachers are entitled to have babies at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, end of the year. Hell, even during the testing window. It is not all about you. Your special snowflake will be fine with a sub. You, however, will most likely turn her into an anxious, stressed-out mess if you don't get a handle on yourself.

Wow. What an attack. Not the PP, but has it occurred to you that it is not about the mom or the teacher--it is about the KID!

Not the PP quoted, but OP's issue does seem to be pretty much about herself. If it was about the kid, then OP would have waited
to see how her kid does with the sub before posting upon looking the teacher up online.

The kid will most likely be fine with the transition once the teacher comes back from leave. I'm sure somebody will post that their kid was irrevocably traumatized by having a long term sub, but it would be extremely rare. The tone of OP's post and some PPs, like the one who thinks the school should have sent home a letter before the beginning of the school year, are a little over the top.

Teachers have babies at different points throughout the year. They don't think of how the timing affects your family--and they shouldn't have to. If you think it would affect you or your child that much for your child's teacher to be home with their newborn then you may want to look into homeschooling considering that teachers are predominately female. Or scope out schools where the majority of the teachers are beyond menopause.

[Anonymous]

Not the PP quoted, but OP's issue does seem to be pretty much about herself. If it was about the kid, then OP would have waited
to see how her kid does with the sub before posting upon looking the teacher up online.

What planet did you drop from? It is human nature to be concerned about your five year old's transition into school. The problem is not the teacher or the leave, it is the lack of communication from the administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not the PP quoted, but OP's issue does seem to be pretty much about herself. If it was about the kid, then OP would have waited
to see how her kid does with the sub before posting upon looking the teacher up online.

What planet did you drop from? It is human nature to be concerned about your five year old's transition into school. The problem is not the teacher or the leave, it is the lack of communication from the administration.
[/quote
The OP didn't say anything about lack of communication from the administration. You may want to reread the original post before accusing people of being an alien.