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April 3, 2024 15 mins
In this episode, we're diving into the nerve-wracking world of master schedule time in schools. It's that crucial period where teachers' assignments, prep periods, and uncertainties about the next academic year are all laid out in those sprawling spreadsheets. Now, for educators facing non-renewal, let me tell you, the stress is real. But don't worry, because I've got your back. I'll guide you through your rights and potential paths forward. Whether it's securing permanent status or advocating for those preferred assignments, I've got some strategies up my sleeve to help you navigate the murky waters of school bureaucracy. And hey, if non-renewal is on the horizon, I've got some tips for broadening your job search and gathering those crucial references. So, tune in and let's make sure you're prepared for whatever the master schedule throws your way.

Episode 121: Non-renewal notices for teachers and what it means

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Teachers Need Teachers Podcasts, the podcast for teachers who don't want
to just survive teaching, but actuallythrive. I am your host, Kim
Laprie, and if you're new,welcome. I'm really excited that you stumbled
upon this podcast and you're stumbling uponan interesting episode because it's one that I've
never done before, at least thistype of episode. And I'm calling this

(00:24):
series or this type of episode candidly, Kim, And this is basically where
I'm coming in and speaking more offthe cuff and not having something overly prepared
like I normally do. I don'tknow if you guys know that I create
video episodes, and so I postthe video portion of it on my YouTube

(00:46):
channel, Teachers Need Teachers, andthen I post the audio part here on
the podcast. And I do thisbecause I want to be able to reach
and help more people. I knowthat there are a lot of teachers out
there who are struggling, whether you'rejust in your practicum or and you're trying
to become a teacher, or you'rea first year teacher, or maybe even

(01:07):
teaching for a while and you're feelingpretty frustrated and disillusioned because teaching has changed
so much, and so I reallywant to help as many teachers as I
can because I still love teaching andit really is disheartening to see so many
teachers leaving the field. And partof my goal is to try to keep
as many teachers who are on thefence and still kind of love teaching and

(01:33):
don't really know what to do,and just try to keep them in teaching
as long as possible, because Ithink that they can kind of see the
light on the other side. Inany case, you know, creating these
episodes, they take a lot.It takes a lot of work. I
do research, and I'll write outand outline, and then I'll flush it

(01:53):
out and then I'll rewrite it andreorganize my ideas. So it's something that
it does take a long time beforeI even press record, and then there's
the editing of it, and sofrom start to finish for each episode,
it could take between six to eighthours. So it's definitely a lot of

(02:15):
work, which is part of thereason why I haven't posted as often as
I used to. It's just ittakes a lot, and with me doing
the Modern Classroom Project and devoting thisyear to getting all of those materials put
together and set so that from nextyear on, I'm set up and things

(02:37):
can go easily. I've had lesstime to work on these episodes. Another
reason why I've been producing fewer episodesis because I have had This is probably
too much information, but I've hada stalker and it's my ex husband.
So maybe you guys heard that episodewhere I told you back in twenty twenty

(03:00):
that I was getting a divorce,and lately my ex has been stalking me
online. I blocked him, andhe created burner accounts to try to follow
my different social media accounts and it'sand he's not even really good at it
because I can tell based on theuser name that it's him, and you

(03:25):
know, it just feels gross becausethere's definitely been some animosity. He's been
harassing me a lot of things thatI don't necessarily want to get into.
But it's been a really, reallynegative experience, as most divorces are.
I mean, we've been officially divorcedfor four years now, but he's still
harboring a lot of negative feelings andis stalking me online and harassing me,

(03:47):
and so it just it I can'tdescribe. Maybe you guys can relate where
I just don't feel as motivated tobecause it's almost like I'm I don't want
to say scared, but just somethingin me doesn't want to put stuff out
there for him to see. LikeI can't block him from my YouTube channel,
so it's all out there, butI can block him from every other

(04:10):
social media profile, which sucks becausemy Instagram I had to change to private
because I just the thought of himgoing through my feed. I know it
sounds weird because I'm okay with strangersgoing through my feed, but I don't
know. Just something about knowing thathe's stalking me just makes me feel really
gross and violated. So it's justreally put a damper on my motivation to

(04:33):
create more episodes. And each timethat I do create an episode, I
really have to push through and pushthrough that fear and just remember that I
have a higher purpose with this andI'm here to serve you guys and help
you guys out, and that Ireally shouldn't be afraid because I have a
good support system and I'm protected andI'm loved. So that's another reason why

(04:58):
I am not posting as much asI used to. I'm not trying to
make excuses here. I'm just lettingyou guys know why it's been this way
and just kind of give you apeek into what's going on. And if
you do want to follow me onInstagram, I would love for you guys,
my listeners, to follow me onInstagram, and you know, you
just have to request, and ifit looks like you have a not stockerish

(05:25):
account, then yeah, I willapprove it. But I don't know.
I've just been now I just questioneveryone who requests because I'm like, what
if they're what if it's another burneraccount? So anyway, these episodes,
these candidly Kim episodes, they're justgoing to be on the podcast because I'm
pretty sure he's not listening to myepisodes. He never listened to them when

(05:45):
we were married, so I'm prettysure that he's not listening to them now.
And so I feel safe doing thishere on this platform. And plus,
the podcast is what I started outwith. It's the OG, my
original audience, and I I reallydo this for you guys, so hopefully
you enjoy this format. So Ididn't want to get to some useful stuff

(06:09):
today in terms of school because thisis the time of year when it's Master
schedule time. And for those ofyou who aren't teaching yet, the masters
schedule is basically the schedule of teachersand the grade or subject subjects that they're
going to be teaching, what periodis there or hour is their prep period

(06:31):
if they even get one, thingslike that, So it looks like almost
like a spreadsheet, like an Excelspreadsheet, with teachers and then the subjects
or the particular sections that they have. So, for example, for English
seven at my school, we haveregular English, and then we have SPED,

(06:53):
which means that there's a co teacherbecause there are students with IEPs in
there, and then we have accelerated. So all the English seven teachers for
all the six periods, even thoughwe only teach five, one of them
will be our prep unless we havean extra class that we get paid extra
four, and then it says whetherwe're teaching regular, Accelerated or SPED.

(07:15):
So Master schedule time is happening formost of the schools that I've heard of,
and it can be a little bitnerve wracking during this time, especially
if you've received a non renewal.Now I did create an episode if you
have received a non renewal, justso that you know your rights and the
different process for that. And Iwill tell you it's different in every state,

(07:38):
in every school district, in everyschool, so you need to do
some research. But that episode justhas some general information and I'll put that
in the show notes so that youcan click on that. And I just
I want you to be prepared ifyou are non renewed, because it can
be depressing. It makes you noteven want to finish out the school year
knowing that this is going to beIt's like, why should I put any

(08:01):
effort if they don't value me?And I one one hundred percent get that.
And also if you're not facing nonrenewal, just the uncertainty of your
schedule or I know that for likeelementary school teachers especially, you don't necessarily
know what grade you're going to teachthe next year. Sometimes they just will
rip you out of one grade andstick you in something completely different, going

(08:24):
from sixth grade to kindergarten or somethinglike that, and you have to like
completely change your classroom and learn allof the standards and materials and everything.
And so this time of year canbe nerve wracking, and you don't necessarily
know, Especially if you teach highschool, they'll give you multiple preps,
which means different sections. So eventhough I might teach English and high school,

(08:46):
I could be teaching a section ofEnglish nine ap lit. Two sections
of English ten and like some roommedial English twelve. So it can also
be a little bit anxiety and yousaying during this time to not know what's
going to happen for next year,because we definitely want what we are strong

(09:09):
at in terms of what we teach, but we also don't want something that's
going to create undistress and burden onus. So just you know, a
lot of times, whether you're goingto be renewed or non renewed, it's
driven by a couple of things.Number One, it's driven by numbers,
and so if numbers are going downin terms of enrollment, then that could

(09:31):
be a reason why you're not beingrenewed because they don't have enough kids to
warrant you teaching there. And ofcourse another reason could be performance based what
your administrator perceives to be performance based. I mean, I've read of horror
stories where teachers are non renewed basedon performance, but the administrator only observed

(09:52):
a couple times, or it's justbased on a lot of random factors that
really don't indicate whether or not thatteach is a good teacher, and that's
just terrible. So if you area newer teacher, whether or not you
find out about being renewed next year, i'd find out what the process is
for becoming a permanent or tenured teacher. I probably would have done that in

(10:13):
the beginning of the year, Soif you haven't done that, I definitely
would find out, like, isit you teaching for certain number of years,
do you have to get a certainevaluation for certain years? Is there
even an option to become a permanentor tenured teacher, or is everyone just
kind of like on a temporary basis. Maybe it's just based on seniority.
So I would definitely look into thatthat way you're prepared moving forward. If

(10:37):
you are being renewed, is therean opportunity for you to never have to
worry about this again? For thoseof you that are permanent teachers and you're
worried about your assignment for the nextyear for whatever reason, I've personally made
the case for the sections that Iprefer and I've just made an appointment with
my administrator and talk to them andlet them know and really think that I

(11:01):
should be teaching this for these reasons. And when you have those reasons,
I would not necessarily frame them aspersonal reasons. So I wouldn't say I'm
having a really hard time right nowand I don't have time to learn about
that subject, et cetera, etcetera. Because yes, you're simple.
Your principle may have sympathy for you, but at the same time, the

(11:26):
decisions they make are going to bebased on what's best for the students,
and so you want to frame itin that way. Why would it be
better if you taught all ninth grade? What would be the benefit for the
principle and the students and the schoolif you only taught ninth grade instead of
teaching two or three different preps.Or why would it be better for your

(11:48):
school if you stayed at fourth gradeinstead of moving to another grade. So
if you can frame it from theprincipal's point of view and what it is
that's important to them, because theyhave their own agenda, and if you
can figure out that agenda and frameit that way, then you have an
increased chance of getting the assignment thatyou want as long as you have a

(12:13):
decent working relationship with your principle.Now, if you are getting a non
renewal notice, and I'm sorry thatI keep jumping back and forth here,
but if you know that you're nonrenewed, absolutely start researching other schools,
and you want to look at public, private, charter, and online.
Don't limit yourself at this point.See what's out there. You would be

(12:37):
surprised at how many schools are lookingfor teachers. There's teacher shortages everywhere.
Well not everywhere, but there area lot of teacher shortages, and so
I would definitely cast a wide netand don't limit to yourself to a certain
type of school. It's just betterto get your feet in the door somewhere

(12:58):
and just continue on with that experienceand you might end up liking a different
type of school or a different grade. So just cast a wide net at
this point. And I would alsorecommend going on teacher Facebook groups and just
asking outright about certain school districts.Hey has anyone taught at this school district
in this city and state? What'sit like to teach there? I know

(13:20):
that I've seen that on the weAre Teacher's Helpline Facebook group, which is
one of my favorite teacher Facebook groups, and I think that you can find
a lot of information in terms ofwhether you're going to like that district or
that particular school. So I wouldask around and try to get a feel,
and it's you know, you neverknow. Maybe every school that you

(13:41):
ask about there's something negative, butmaybe you can pick the lesser of all
the evils at that point, becauseyou want to keep teaching and you want
to get a job, and alsoif you know that you're going to be
non renewed, I would get referencesand recommendations. Why you can you can
tell all the other teachers that youweren't renewed if you want, they might

(14:03):
already know. Or you can justsay I was brushing up my resume and
I just wanted to know if Ican use you as a reference. I'm
just trying to decide on what myoptions are for next year. You can
make it casual, or if youare friends with people in your school,
you can just outright tell them whyyou need references or recommendations. And if
you're friends, I'm sure that theywould be more than happy to help you.

(14:26):
It helped to get obviously, maybelike an assistant administrator or someone who
is in a higher position to recommendyou. But if not, if you
can't get one of those, evenjust a recommendation from a colleague will work.
Okay, And I think that thisis now's the best time to do

(14:46):
this. So I'm curious for allof you listening to this episode, what
is your situation for next year?Have you already heard about your assignment?
Are you going to be renewed?Are you facing non renewal? I would
love to know. Know. Youcan go into my Facebook group which is
Teachers Need Teachers, and yes,you need to request to join because it

(15:07):
gets a lot of spammers. Youguys would be surprised how many people don't
answer the questions. If you don'tanswer the questions, I'm not going to
let you in unless it explicitly saysin your profile, because I do I
will look at your profile. Ifyou didn't answer the questions and it says
that you're a teacher, then I'lllet you in. But I'm still scratching
my head, like there's three questions. So in any case, go on

(15:28):
the Facebook group or email me atKim at teachers need Teachers dot Com and
let me know what your situation isfor next year and also, how do
you feel about this format, thiscandidly Kim format. Is this something that
you enjoyed today and wouldn't mind hearingmore of? Where'd you just prefer the
more polished and prepared episodes. Thanksfor hanging out with me today, you

(15:52):
guys, and I'll see you nexttime.
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