1996-1997 THE ONE WHERE THE ONE WHERE WE WORKED TO THE CONTRACT

THE ONE WHERE THE ONE WHERE WE WORKED TO THE CONTRACT 1996-1997: *Wichita Public Schools: Earhart Environmental Magnet K-5 Library

1996-1997 School Photo. Sweater sets were in fashion

In the fall of 1996 the Teachers of USD 259 were weary and tired. It had been years since they had been given an adequate pay raise. Since no raises were on the horizon it was suggested by the Teachers Union that all Teachers work to the contract. Some buildings did this, including mine. We would sit in our cars and walk into the building when the bell rang. We left school immediately when the bell rang. On staff meeting nights our Administrator announced the time to the minute that the staff meetings were to end. Most people (myself included) would get up and leave the meeting.This was great IMO as she would keep us in staff meetings 90 minutes to two hours in the past. Keep in mind that I had young children at home and holding us in long after school meetings did violate our contract.  The staff was unified in our efforts to work to the contract. This is something that does not come naturally to most teachers as it is implied that we will get done what needs to be done even if those hours occur off of the clock. It angers me to hear people say things like “It must be nice to have your summers off!” Well many of those summers were spent attending classes so that I could move over on the pay scale in an attempt to make a decent living. I think that I will at a later date dedicate an entire blog entry to some of the “myths” of being an educator.

I knew when I accepted my part time job the previous year that there were days that I was not being paid for. By having me work my three days as Tuesday-Thursday every week I worked 10 days beyond what .60 of the contract that I signed. Up until the entire staff working to the contract I did not think much about it. I now knew that I was being taken advantage of.  When I did the math and figured out the dollar amount I was upset. I contacted the Union and explained my situation. They told me that the following year when I signed my contract that I would need to work 3 different days each week or I would need to be compensated. When I told my Administrator this she was not happy with me and assured me that the schedule for next year would be changed. It was bold of me to take a stand regarding my part time status and the pay that I did not receive. I worked part time a few other times during my years in USD 259 and was never again taken advantage of with my pay. 

A very 1990's vested look 

I liked my Administrator and asked her if she thought about us getting some Technology in our Library. She told me to look into this new thing she had heard about called the World Wide Web. I got price quotes for all the necessary items but because money was tight we would have to wait for the next school year. I did however get one computer and played around with a program called Microsoft Excel. I used it to create a database that I used as a library book checkout system instead of our cards. A scanner would have been so handy but I was happy to type in barcode numbers, students names etc..

Teachers DID NOT like the concept of flexible Library scheduling so there was a compromise. Half of my three days were scheduled and half was flex time. 

Another memory of Earhart was that there was not a Teacher's lounge. The staff ate their lunch in the Library. To keep me on task, I would set a timer for my lunch period and then get to work immediately when my lunch period was up, shelving books while the rest of the staff ate their lunch. I’m not sure if the staff was OK with my student lunch helpers that came into the Library to help me? I made sure the kids were in the opposite end of the library and not disturbing the teachers during their lunch break.   Velma Davis always teased me about my timer. I LOVED working with her. She gave me the nickname Queenie when she found out that I had done pageants in college. She eventually became a Librarian herself and later an Instructional Technology Specialist.

A classic teacher jumper look circa 1997

Stay tuned for my next blog entry on 9/25/21 entitlied :THE ONE WHERE THE LONG COMMUTE MADE ME WEARY 1997-1998: *Wichita Public Schools: Earhart Environmental Magnet  K-5 Library