K teacher going on maternity leave?

[Anonymous]

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.

Her statement was a concern over not knowing what to expect. Read it.

[Anonymous]

My son is starting kindergarten and he will start the year with a sub and then the "real" teacher starts back in November. My oldest is heading into 5th grade and he has had two maternity leave situations in his 5 years of elementary school so far. So, this is very very common. Sort of hard to be upset about it, unless you think teachers should all be old ladies or spinsters who aren't allowed to have their own kids.

[Anonymous]

Once more: communication is the problem.

[Anonymous]

I am 99% certain that I am sure of the teacher the OP is talking about and at which school. It is true that open house was a mad house, it is a large school, it always is. I am certain that I am probably one of the parents who stopped her for a moment in the hall to congratulate her. My son had her for his teacher two years ago. When we went to open house back then, the same thing happened, former parents and students were all seeking her out. As the year progressed, I discovered why....SHE IS AMAZING!!!

I volunteer at the school frequently. My K daughter is in the class next door and I found out the first day of school while volunteering that the teacher was ordered by her Doctor to be on bed rest because her pregnancy is now high risk. Maybe you didn't notice because you were understandably so excited/concerned for your child, but she was extremely swollen and obviously not well at open house.

At any rate, I honestly understand your concern and aim to put your mind at ease. This teacher has been on the job for over 10 years, she is incredible at what she does. She has former students, now teenagers, that she taught in K who still contact her for advice. She loves her job and there is absolutely no way she would not return. She will be back and when she is, you will never regret one moment your child spends with her. My son was reading far above grade level and excelling in Math by the end of the year. She is beloved by teachers, students, parents alike. I promise you, half of the year with this teacher is better than an entire year with some of the other teachers. Consider yourself lucky that your child is in her class.

(And for what it's worth, since my daughter is next door, I have seen the substitute in action, she is seasoned and is doing a great job from what I could tell!)

[Anonymous]

PP here. Just wanted to clarify "the other teachers" I meant as a collective whole at all mcps. I think the teachers at our school are pretty great and that in itself in something to feel good about. . We are lucky at this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just got our daughter's K teacher assignment and I googled her name in hopes of figuring out which teacher she was (please don't flame me - I realize this is stalkerish, but my older kids attended the same school a few years ago and I don't quite remember who is who.) Anyway, all the top search results for the name are for baby registries with a due date not far away. I'm kind of bummed that my kid will start school with a teacher who will only be present for a few weeks, then a sub for who knows how long. My DD is a challenging kid and definitely not academically advanced at this stage. We're trying really hard to get her started on the right foot with K and I'm worried that this won't help things. Has anyone had a good experience with a long-term sub in early elementary? Any advice in general? I know this is hardly a unique experience, and it's obviously a very happy one for the teacher herself, but the longest my older kids have ever had subs was maybe a month (teacher with back problems). I assume maternity leave will be 3 months if not longer.

I do not think you need to worry about this. The other teachers will help cover for consistency. The principal will get an appropriate substitute. You need to recognize that the kids are very flexible and can learn a lot from this situation. What a great lesson for your DVD to see that you can have a baby and then come back to work. Enjoy kindergarten! It will all work out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our daughter's K teacher assignment and I googled her name in hopes of figuring out which teacher she was (please don't flame me - I realize this is stalkerish, but my older kids attended the same school a few years ago and I don't quite remember who is who.) Anyway, all the top search results for the name are for baby registries with a due date not far away. I'm kind of bummed that my kid will start school with a teacher who will only be present for a few weeks, then a sub for who knows how long. My DD is a challenging kid and definitely not academically advanced at this stage. We're trying really hard to get her started on the right foot with K and I'm worried that this won't help things. Has anyone had a good experience with a long-term sub in early elementary? Any advice in general? I know this is hardly a unique experience, and it's obviously a very happy one for the teacher herself, but the longest my older kids have ever had subs was maybe a month (teacher with back problems). I assume maternity leave will be 3 months if not longer.

I do not think you need to worry about this. The other teachers will help cover for consistency. The principal will get an appropriate substitute. You need to recognize that the kids are very flexible and can learn a lot from this situation. What a great lesson for your DVD to see that you can have a baby and then come back to work. Enjoy kindergarten! It will all work out!

DD not DVD! Smartphone not so smart

[Anonymous]

It is possible the teacher hadn't planned to be out quite so soon. As was posted earlier.

So OP, how are you dealing with this now? Your dd has an unknown sub, and you don't know if/when the regular teacher will come back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone. Went to open house; she's due very soon. It is what it is and we'll just deal - and in the end who knows if it will be any less imperfect than any other situation.

She's supposed to be a great teacher but the open house experience wasn't a confidence-builder. It's always a madhouse at our kids' school, but she spent the entire time standing in the hallway talking to other kids and parents from previous years about the pregnancy. Which meant she barely engaged with all the new kindergarteners & their parents, who were in the classroom. Obviously that won't be the case on Monday, but it didn't leave me feeling that she was all that interested in her new students.

Geez OP, take it down a notch.

[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.

Umm.. the principal has a plan. They don't just wing these things. It will be shared when it needs to be shared which isn't before the first day of school.

Parents showed up for open house and discovered the teacher is pregnant and due soon. (Except those who did some online snooping). Common sense says there will be a substitute. Would you like that person's name now so that teacher can also be checked out? What will parents do if they don't like the fill in?

This. It's nice to know somebody around here has a sense of reason. Some serious crazy around here lately.

Seriously, somebody needs to pass out the Lexapro. How about trying to teach your kids to roll with the punches. I do, and sometimes it's harder than others, but that is life, deal with it!!
Your kid may love the sub. Ditch the anxiety for a positive attitude, that's going to benefit your kid way more than some made up concerns about a substitute.

[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

You truly need therapy if you think this had in any way affected your kid in any way. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Amen!!!!

[Anonymous]

We could go back the the early 1960's where women we not allowed to start the school year pregnant and were forced to resign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Umm.. the principal has a plan. They don't just wing these things. It will be shared when it needs to be shared which isn't before the first day of school.

Parents showed up for open house and discovered the teacher is pregnant and due soon. (Except those who did some online snooping). Common sense says there will be a substitute. Would you like that person's name now so that teacher can also be checked out? What will parents do if they don't like the fill in?

This. It's nice to know somebody around here has a sense of reason. Some serious crazy around here lately.

Seriously, somebody needs to pass out the Lexapro. How about trying to teach your kids to roll with the punches. I do, and sometimes it's harder than others, but that is life, deal with it!!
Your kid may love the sub. Ditch the anxiety for a positive attitude, that's going to benefit your kid way more than some made up concerns about a substitute.

Agree with this!

[Anonymous]

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

Yes because everyone can always get pregnant whenever they want and no one ever has any infertility issues /sarcasm