IT’S BEEN A JOURNEY

I can’t remember a time when I wanted to be anything else when I grew up. I’ll never forget my second week of teaching when the principal walked into my class and handed me an envelope during a lesson. I must have looked confused because he said, “It’s your paycheck.” Startled, I said aloud, “Oh, my God! That’s right! I actually get PAID to do this!” That feeling lasted about 15 years.

The tide began to change in 2002 with the No Child Left Behind Act, though I didn’t see it then. Looking back now, I can clearly correlate my decreasing job satisfaction with the ever-increasing infusion of mandates crafted by politicians professing the power to eliminate student failure through standardized testing, Common Core curriculum, rigorous but inaccurate teacher evaluations, and performance-based pay. Teachers became the scapegoats for all of society’s ills.

In 2008, I began exploring a career change when my district put Promethean Boards into every classroom. I was obsessed with using educational technology to enhance meaningful, active learning experiences for my students. I began providing professional development for my peers and discovered a talent for coaching teachers. I was envious of the Teaching and Learning Consultant from Promethean, who left the classroom to train teachers full-time. I began following the Promethean Careers page, praying for an opening. Sadly, the only open position was in Sydney, Australia, and my family wasn’t completely on board.

At the time, as far as I knew, being a consultant for an ed-tech company was the only way out of the classroom for a teacher who had zero interest in becoming an administrator. So I pushed forward, taking on new teaching challenges to keep things fresh and expand my skills. I found joy within my classroom learning right along with my students, but I also began counting down the years until I could retire with a full pension.

My final move was from elementary to middle school where the teachers assured me the job was substantially easier. Those who went before me all said they only wished they had done it sooner. So in 2016, I moved to the middle school to teach Computer Science, which I had developed a passion for as a result of my ed-tech obsession. The others were right. In middle school, you have more time to breathe with a single curriculum and students who are more focused on each other than the teacher. However, I also discovered that middle school administrators’ knowledge, skills, and leadership are a far cry from that of the elementary administrators I worked with.

By 2018, I wasn’t sure how I was going to hang on until I could retire. I was suddenly living on a single income, trying to make ends meet and keep my house while I was still supporting 2 of my 3 children. I had 30 years of teaching under my belt toward my pension and was qualified to retire with around 55% of my income at that point. But I was only 51 and had no idea how I would survive financially until I could collect my pension at 60. Teachers across the country are drastically underpaid for the work they do and the hours they put in, but I was teaching in Connecticut where teachers earn a livable wage (albeit not nearly adequate for the hours put in). I was making around $90k/year at that point. I felt trapped because I couldn’t see any way I could leave the classroom and walk into a job with that level of income.

Teaching became a special kind of Hell with the pandemic in 2020/2021. Despite returning to the classroom, school would never truly be the same as it was before COVID-19. I was exhausted and incredibly defeated by the impossible demands and non-existent administrative support. Then in the fall of 2022, I found a lifeline with Daphne Gomez’ Teacher Career Coach course and community.

THE TCC LIFELINE