'Tis the Season - For Stress

You may have noticed a higher level of stress around your school. We are certainly noticing more stress here in our office. Teachers lost two days of pay and it seems they are still being asked to do the same amount of work - if not more. We are getting calls regularly from teachers who are being asked to work extra hours to do everything from supervise students before school in inclement weather to helping with IEP and 504 plans, sometimes long after regular school hours.

We know the summit in January is a sensitive topic for secondary teachers, and we know elementary teachers continue to have trouble adjusting to the new grade book. Please know that we are discussing with administrators the need to be mindful of the need for teachers to have time to prepare, grade papers, and to get away from their classrooms to gather strength and patience for another day. While the language in the contract is usually not specific on these kinds of things, we believe it is prudent for principals to use care and equity when asking teachers to go above and beyond the usual call of duty.

We continue to ask administrators to be supportive of the teachers and their need to focus on instruction in the classroom. The administration reminds us that IEP and 504 plans have to be done, student safety is important and in-service is necessary to meet the changing needs of students. They ask us to remember that they too have had a reduction in staffing and are spread more thinly than in recent years.

The next few days are likely to be even more stressful as excitement builds in anticipation of the holiday. Hold on for just a few more days and then everyone will have a well deserved holiday break.

Happy Holidays from the DEA office.