I Am Your Plan Break: My 37 years as a Public School "Specials" Teacher

THE ONE WHERE I CHOSE TO WORK PART TIME 1995-1996 *Wichita Public Schools: Earhart Environmental Magnet  K-5 Library 1995 School Year Photo  I made the right decision to cut back to a part time contract so I could be home part of the time with 3 year old Logan and 6 month old Lane. One thing I did not consider before I had accepted my new job at Earhart Environmental Magnet was the earlier starting time of 8:00 AM. It was also a 30 mile round trip. Fitness has always been a part of Brads and my lives and I remember that he and I would take turns getting up at 4:30 AM so that we could exercise. I have always felt that my working out in the morning made me an energetic teacher. Back in the mid 1990’s magnet schools were a pretty awesome experience. Students had to apply to be accepted and parents had to buy into the curriculum. Some schools were considered neighborhood magnets which met that if you lived in the area your child would automatically attend that school. I think my ...

THE ONE WHERE I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY SECOND CHILD 1994-1995: Wichita Public Schools: Peterson K-5 Library 1994-1995 School year photo where I was VERY pregnant The 1994-1995 School Year started out with the entire district attending a presentation by Dr. Jesse Jackson. He was a good speaker but his presentation was a little too political for my liking. I realized that as a Conservative/Republican/Educator my “beliefs” were not the norm for my profession. Most of my best friends are Liberal/Democrat/Educators. I am respectful of their beliefs and they are respectful of mine. I also knew that it was important for me to be a member of our Teachers Union called United Teachers of Wichita.  In the fall of 1994 Library Media Services asked Linda Paul and Meg Schimmels and myself  to be a part of a live TV show produced by USD 259. We discussed the benefits of Flexible Library Scheduling and then took calls from our viewers. I was honored that Mary Schumacher, Director of Library Me...

THE ONE WHERE I GOT A MORTGAGE 1993-1994: Wichita Public Schools: Peterson K-5 Library 1993-94 School Year Picture Brad's parents offered us daycare for our son Logan at no cost. This allowed us to have enough money for a down payment on a home. In the summer of 1993 it was a sellers market. Homes would go on the market only to be sold within the same day. We finally found a home in Haysville that was four years old. We moved in the day before the 1993-1994 school year began .  Brad doing a gymnastics demonstration for Peterson's second graders At school many teachers did not like the flexible scheduling model that we used. Some of the teachers would glare at me during their students' library lessons because they were required to stay in the library with me as library was not contractual planning time. I feel like a few of the teachers like my bestie’s Penny Carter and Shelley Nikel really appreciated me and what I was doing for the building. One of the best examples of fle...

1992-1993 THE ONE WHERE I MET MY TWO BESTIES 1992-1993: Wichita Public Schools: Peterson K-5 Library 1992-1993 School Year Picture When I interviewed for my new job in July, I was 8 months pregnant and would have to start my job with a maternity leave. This did not seem to concern Mary Schumacher (Director of Library Media Services). Mary had  two schools available, one was full time and the other was part time. After being taken advantage of while working part time the past two years, I opted for the full time position. I was assigned to the BEST Elementary School in Wichita, Peterson.  I instantly liked Mary and loved that we both shared the same philosophy of Flexible Library Scheduling. Flexible Library Scheduling means that as a Librarian, YOU ARE NOT A PLAN BREAK! Contractually speaking, the Library was not plan time in USD 259 and classroom teachers were to utilize the library as an extension of their classrooms. Flexible Library Scheduling was not  going to be lo...

  THE ONE WHERE I WAS PREGNANT 1991-1992: *Winfield Public School K-8 Library 1991-1992 School Picture I started my second year with the Winfield Public Schools in the fall of 1991. They still wanted me to work two full days Tuesday and Wednesday. My ½ day on Thursdays was 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM which meant I could no longer accept ½ day substitute jobs. It affected our income. After a while though I did not care because I found out that I was pregnant with our first child. Brad and I decided to see what it would be like income wise for us if I did not substitute on my days off. It would be nice to have two days home per week with our new baby. I’m glad we made that decision because my pregnancy was exhausting. Book Character Week: HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON A gifted 6th grade class was added to my weird ½ day. I enjoyed working with these students as they were eager to learn. I used to walk them over to the Winfield public Library for some of my class sessions. Fire Safety Week rea...

  THE ONE WHERE I CHANGED MY LAST NAME 1990-1991: *Winfield Public School K-8 Library  1990-1991 School Year Picture  Part Time School Employees get taken advantage of.......... Brad and I were newly married and living in Derby which was sort of a halfway point between his fabulous new job at Project Bridge and mine in the Winfield Public Schools. I drove the 72 mile round trip Tuesday-Thursday. Do the math, I worked MORE than ½ of the contract days. When you are part time and work a Tuesday-Thursday combination you often will be working for about 10 extra days that you WILL NOT BE PAID FOR!  Made me think that perhaps I should have looked into the USD 259 interview? My other observation was that not all the schools were equally staffed. My part time gig had the same number of weekly classes as another Librarian with a full time job at another Winfield Elementary School. This made no sense to me. I worked in two schools, Lowell K-6 and now closed country school K-8 w...

THE ONE WHERE I LEFT BEHIND TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL 1989-1990: Larned Public Schools K-8 Library, 8th Grade Literature 1989-1990 School Picture (what was I thinking with that hair?) I knew it was going to be hard to be away from Brad. We decided that every other weekend I would come home to Belle Plaine. On the weekends I did not come home, Brad would come and see me in Larned. I was assigned to three buildings Pawnee Rock K-8, Phinney Elementary K-2, and Hillside Elementary 3-4.  Pawnee Rock was my base school that I had to travel to every day. I provided K-6 grade Library Classes which allowed for the classroom teachers to have a plan break. I did not have a Library Clerk and had to maintain both the Elementary and Middle School Libraries. I also had to teach an 8th grade Literature class. In the afternoons I would return to Larned and report to  Phinney K-2 or Hillside 3-4. I had a Library Clerk at both buildings that did all the Library book checkouts, shelving and maintenan...