2004-2005 The One Where I Got a Huge Pay Raise

THE ONE WHEN I GOT A HUGE PAY RAISE 2004-2005: Wichita Public Schools: Funston 2-5, White PreK-1 Library

I can not find my school photo from the 2004-2005 School year so I have included three staff shots from Funston that I did not put in early blog entries. 

Funston Staff 2001-2002
The completion of my Masters degree meant that I got a HUGE pay raise. Sadly if you are going to be a lifelong Teacher, you either need to go into Administration or get your Masters degree to make a decent living wage. 

A rainy spring and summer delayed the opening of the blended White/Funston Elementary School. We were told in July to prepare for a January 2005 move. That news greatly upset one parent who felt like it would be too much for the incoming second graders (who had attended first grade at White) to have to go to Funston for just ½ the year. That one parent came up with a committee of other parents to push for 2nd graders to stay at White. The parent group got their way and 2nd graders stayed in the VERY overcrowded White  Elementary School. Specials had to be held in classrooms and I think (though I do not remember) some classrooms actually had two classes in them. It was ridiculous that we had to do this, especially with empty classrooms at Funston. Interestly enough the one parent that caused the uproar/change ended up moving out of the school district. At the end of December I started having students help me pack up my teaching stuff. Library Media Services began packing up the Library.

Funston Staff 2002-2003
USD 259 gave us ONE DAY without students to move over to White Elementary School. The Library still did not have a circulation desk. While I tended to get my things organized, Library Media Services unpacked both Libraries and blended the collections. I was busy at work when I somehow got hit in the head with a dolly cart. I had to go to the district medical facilities for my injury and was  made to go home. I had to teach the following day not being fully ready to do so.

The new Library was beautiful. I would not have chosen the blue paint but other than that I was in love with it. Size wise it was the equivalent of six modern classrooms (or 9 older/smaller classrooms).  I actually got to have my own office which was so big I did not know what to do with it. I wondered how many years I would actually get to claim it as my own.  Our new school was already at capacity roomwise. The room adjacent to the library was wired and planned for a computer lab but needed to be used as a Kindergarten classroom. My Principal knew how tech savvy I was and asked me if 30 desktop computers were put in the library would I use them? “Absolutely!” I unofficially became a Technology Teacher in a Library. I couldn’t have been happier. The ability to have all of my students on a computer of their own completely changed me as a Librarian. I had earned my M.Ed. in the hopes of obtaining an Elementary School Technology position. Thing is, those jobs did not exist. Schools that had Technology Teachers actually filled those positions with ParaProfessionals (who make significantly less money than certified Teachers). 

Our newly blended school would not need three Site Technology Specialists. I stepped down but still took care of the maintenance of the desktops in the Library. I can not remember the name of the software the district used for it’s websites but I was one of the first Library Media Specialists to have my own Library page that was linked off of the main school website. It was super cute with colorful icons for the kids to click on. It is probably the first time I heard about Starfall and other free websites for students.

2003-2004 Funston Staff
When new facilities were built in USD 259 Art and Music Teachers were NOT allowed to move into the classrooms that were designed for them. A rule was in place called FACILITIES WAITING. It was stupid and demeaning in my opinion. For a two year period music and art would need to go room to room on a cart and the classrooms designed for those specialists had to be filled with grade level classroom teachers. I NEVER understood the logic behind this rule as it often drove specials teachers away. Who wants to be on a cart? The rule did not apply to PE or Library but it did cause a divide among the specials team. My guess is that it all had to do with money? 

Look for my next blog entry on 1/15/22 titled The One were I got to be in one building again.


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