Anonymous wrote:So I am a soon to be divorced mom, thinking of changing my preschool teaching career to a FCPS teaching career so I can support my children.

I’m reading all your notes about how much time/little pay there is for teachers here, so I’m wondering if this is a smart move for me, as a soon to be single mom? Has a

Many Thanks!!

How old are your kids? If they are elementary age, it can be rough to juggle the needs of your family with the needs of work, especially if kids get sick. Middle school/high school are more independent (can be home sick alone, should be able to do homework without help) and can do more to help around the house (like dinner prep). I'm a career changer, and the first couple of years were really overwhelming, partly because I was designing curriculum for a new course so every day was full lesson creation for the next day. My husband ended up with more of the daily chores and schedule juggling during the school year, and I have more during summers.

Another veteran teacher here. I work 50-55 hours a week. I'm in about the middle for my school. I can't think of a single teacher at my school who works fewer than 45-50 hours a week and probably more than half work 55-60 hours a week. There definitely are a few in the 60-65+ range.

veteran educator here--55 - 60 hrs/week

I'm the OP and after a year where I had to decide that either I was leaving the profession or cutting my hours, I decided to cut my hours. I now only work around 45-50 hours a week, usually more towards 45. I always arrive at school 60-90 minutes early, because I have more energy and there aren't many people at school to interrupt me so I'm more efficient. I do work through every single lunch every day. When the clubs I volunteered to run ended, I did not take on new ones. I will not do any clubs next year. Students leave at 2:30, teachers can leave at 3:15. I have made it a point to leave no later than 3:30 daily so I can either go to the gym or run errands or drive my own kids places. I do about an hour of work at home each night and then a few hours on Sunday.
But this is so much better than it was. I keep a list, and anything that is "nice to do" or would be really awesome for my students but takes a lot of time to prep? I don't do those things anymore. I just can't. I only do what must absolutely be done to meet my job requirements. I don't try to keep my classroom beautiful anymore, just neat enough. Now that I am less exhausted and resentful, I am back to really enjoying my students again. And ironically, I've seen more achievement on their part, not that I'm not trying to jump through hoops trying to be a superstar. My principal and I had a long talk. I told her it was worth it for me to take a lower rating on the "professional responsibilities" section of our evals (I'm still considered "proficient") to be a happier person. She agreed with me even though she has to mark me down from excellent to proficient. I don't think I will ever be on another committee again if I have any say in it.

They wanted us all to go to some PD over the summer. I'm not doing it. Hooray for boundaries.

I have boundaries and won’t work more than an hour outside my contract hours. But most of the time I basically stay right within the contract hours. (Teaching for 15 years and it took a while to have the confidence to do this, for myself and for my family )

Single mom ESOL teacher here. I arrive at school at 7:20 everyday and leave no later than 4:30. Some days I will leave earlier if I make an appointment. I rarely bring work home as I am exhausted by the time my son goes to sleep. I might watch a half hour of Netflix but I can barely keep my eyes open. Teaching can be rewarding if you find the right school, administrators and coworkers. Good luck!