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

THE ONE WHERE MY PRINCIPAL CUT MY JOB 1999-2000: *Wichita Public Schools: Lewis Open Magnet K-5 Library 1999-2000 School Year Photo I returned to work in August not enjoying my current school. I taught my weekly classes but had to be available to be a substitute SRS Reading instructor if necessary. My substituting happened frequently. The only thing that had made this all manageable was the introduction of Library automation to the Wichita Public Schools. I remember having 4th and 5th grade Library Lunch helpers that helped me in the Library. One of the fun things I allowed the kids to do was to remove the green and white library checkout cards from the books and throw them into the air as they were no longer needed. The automation system we used was WEB CAT and it was the best technological advance of my career. It allowed me to keep better track of the students' books and simply made things easier. This was NECESSARY for me because I had little if any time beyond my contractual ...

THE ONE WHERE MY STUDENTS CALLED ME NATALIE 1998-1999: *Wichita Public Schools: Lewis Open Magnet K-5 Library 1998-99  School Year Photo Lewis Open Magnet allowed the students to call the staff by their first names. The staff members referred to the students as their friends. I think that the rooms were combined and that each room had two teachers for two different grade levels. I also believe it was the first time in my career that I experienced all day Kindergarten. So when the Kindergarten/First Grade class came to the Library only half of them came with one of the teachers, while the other teacher remained behind with the other half of the class. Lewis was a small school with only two sections per grade level. It was challenging for me to come up with Library lessons that suited the combined grade levels of Kindergarten/First and Second/Third. Fourth/Fifth wasn’t as big of a problem.  I initially liked my Principal. He was in his first year as an Administrator. His family...

 T HE ONE WHERE THE LONG COMMUTE MADE ME WEARY 1997-1998: *Wichita Public Schools: Earhart Environmental Magnet  K-5 Library 1997-1998 School Year Photo Our oldest son had just turned 5 years old in early August and could have started Kindergarten. We decided to hold him back a year. Our only option was a local daycare that had a Preschool program. I used a reading program called Animated Literacy to teach Logan how to read when I was home two days a week. Brad and I also coached Soccer for our sons' team. Our busy life as well as the early 8:00 AM start was getting to be too much for this busy Wife/Mom/Librarian. I started asking about other part time library jobs closer to home. Earhart Camping  Our school eventually got more computers in the Library as well as a modem and an internet connection. Our building had one email address. I will never forget my students' excitement as we tracked live (as best as we could in 1998) the Winter Olympics. In my students eyes our i...

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...

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...