paraprofessional educator

special education teacher

elementary school teacher

assistant teacher

administrative assistant

Anchorage School District

My work starts at 7:45 a.m., but I'm always at work around 7:35 a.m. I unlock the office and secured cabinets. My principal and I will briefly greet and meet. Next, I check my e-mails and make sure we have substitutes covering absent teachers. As teachers are coming into the building, some will come into the office to talk about their needs for the day and I'll make sure they are taken care off. After 8 o'clock, parents are calling to let us know about their child being absent and why. I'll write down the information so as to give the student an excused absence. In between calls, I'm setting up to receive substitute teachers and assignment information. At the same time parents are coming in to ask questions. At 8:30 a.m., our office secretary starts her day and together we continue taking care of our parents.

By 8:50, the first bell rings and students are coming into the building and some will come to the office with a request. By 9 o'clock the second bell rings and classes are in session. At this time I will continue with my regular everyday office work; such as, payroll; create and receive purchase orders, track order status, maintain cost and other statistical records, issue and reconcile invoice payments, budget and accounting reports, submit teachers monthly leaves, run staff reports and addendum's; access students' information to submit absences, reports, and authorized information; office cashier; work on bi-weekly newsletter; maintain staff handbooks; request building permits for several events during the school year; and a lot of typing and data entry.

My day ends at 4:15 p.m., but as usual, I like to stay longer so as to make sure I'm ready for the next day.

This is what I learned at Baxter Elementary: I had to be flexible and adaptable with each day. My days were never a copy of another day. Each day I was positive and cheerful. I had a wonderful principal as a  boss and we got along really well. She was an excellent teacher. During testing season, we both stayed very late into the evenings to make sure all testing information were accounted for and ready for the next day.

I got along really well with my co-workers/teachers, even the grumpy ones. They loved how welcoming the office was. When there was a need, we took care of our teachers right away so as not to hold them back from teaching their students.

The hardest part of my job was giving my 100% to all my tasks, because there were days the interruptions in the office were almost non-stop. To make up the difference, I stayed another hour or two to complete my tasks for the day.

My enjoyable part of the day was welcoming students to the office, especially Kindergartens. At the beginning of the school year, most are very bashful. Once they learn they can trust us in the office, they become very chatty, telling us stories that makes us laugh, or they come in as a class and sing for us.

I miss those days!

I have been a substitute teacher with the Anchorage School District for over five years.  During that time I have provided instructional support for all grades for nearly all subjects.  A typical day for me would start with accepting a job through the districts SubFinder system. From there I would prepare myself for the assignment, show up early to make sure I was familiar with the curriculum, then welcome the students for the day. I have learned that there is never enough time to be prepared for any assignment at the schools I work at.  Through this experience, I have learned to be flexible and to keep my sense of humor.  I have been fortunate to always have great teachers in the classrooms around me, and they have provided their ideas, support and guidance any time I have asked.  The hardest part of the job and the most enjoyable part of the job is the same...the students.  Some times, I will find the perfect tone with which to engage them in their lessons. While for others, it is a struggle to find the part of them that is willing to listen and learn.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Best part are peers and students.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of support and responsibility from management.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very dedicated staff, teachers, support staff on the ground and in the schools. Management are very difficult to work with. They take no responsibility for actions. Little to no competent management or leadership skills. Management work in a bubble and control from a personal perspective rather than professional platform. Loosing lots of wonderful talent and caring dedicated personal due to management incompetencies. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Meet and greet staff and students. Most days are great, always something new and always a challenge. Great team work within the school among staff which is so appreciated. Makes for a meaningful work environment. Management tends to isolate themselves, no leadership or presence in building. Lots of interactions with students, and peers. Good people doing good things, doing their jobs and going the extra mile it shows. Students respond positively to this dedication and caring from staff. Creates a positive culture.

     You get to work by 7:45 AM, and your first class starts at 8:15 AM.  I would make sure I have everything I need for each of my classes, because I always wanted to be prepared.  I would welcome my students and tell them that I was glad they made it, to please get their assignment out, and to make sure they have a sharpened pencil ready to go.  I had about 5 classes a day, and each class was 45 minutes.
     I would take a little bit of time at the beginning of each class, to see how everyone’s day going, and to see if they had anything they wanted to share about the previous day or weekend.  I always wanted them to know that I cared about what was going on in their lives.
     We would go over lessons from the previous day, and then we started our next lesson.  We went over at least 2 problems from each different section,  and then I would let them ask questions.  Finally, I gave them time to work on the assignment before class got out.  Anything they didn’t finish became homework.  Usually they had enough time to finish, so they didn’t have a lot of homework.

Taught in a self-contained classroom for severe learning problem children...up to 11 students with a full time aide.  Typical day was to arrive about 7 AM to prepare lessons for the day, lesson plan, meet with parents/students, confer with staff and prepare materials.  Would grade papers after school, if not tutoring a student. Taught individual and small groups of students, wrote IEPs, monitored IEPs and continually did assessments or collected portfolio evidence for IEPs..   Supported school staff in rotations for recess duty. met with staff for mainstreaming opportunities for students assigned to me.  Collaborated with willing staff on units of study that allowed our classes to interact.  Addressed behavioral concerns of my students and other teacher's concerns within the building. Coordinated with nursing staff for proper medication timing and counseling staff for student emotional needs.

Anchorage School District is frustrating to work at. On one hand they want good things for students, but on the other it makes choices that undermine its goals. Teachers are supported with the Union and short-term benefits are adequate, but there is sketchy local support depending on school location and long-term retirement is the worst in the nation.

Students can be great, but behavior structural supports are lacking for severe behaviors and teachers often pick up slack they are not trained for, as well as blame for when they make mistakes without that training. IEPs coverage can be spotty because of a continual lack of filled positions yet teachers can be held liable for IEP hours not filled.

Alaska can be great if one is looking for outdoor recreation. Summers have intense competition with tour companies, but the scenery is nice. Long nights/days that are seasonal can be difficult to acclimate to.

Welcome students into school as they get off bus. Take them to breakfast and encourage to try to eat something. Take to class to prepare for our school day. Bathroom if needed and join circle time include calendar, attendance, alphabets, and make up a sentence to encourage children to participate in identifying their alphabet. Next we break into individual groups and work for about 15 minutes and switch and repeat every 15 minutes until all children have been in all 4 groups now it is break time and determine what is next(include reading activity "Reading Rocks", library, gym, art or Health) or maybe bathroom if needed just time to prepare for lunch and recess. After recess we had some days science, math, music or social studies. We served snack after math and some days had free time to do play dough about 10minutes or more before we prepared to go home.

This job gave me an opportunity to provide direct positive input into the lives of children (5 to 14 years of age).  My main focus, was always to be attentive to the "whole" person!  This means, I had to recognize the importance of every component of the child's life (the Physical, Social, Emotional, Cognitive and Spiritual well being), in order to help that student progress academically.  As the Student Assistance Team Coordinator, I learned the importance of working together as a professional team, on behalf of the student. The hardest part of the job, involved having to persuade "ALL" stakeholders, to fully understand and apply the comprehensive needs of the student!  The most enjoyable part of the job, was seeing the academic and social progression of each student.

While I was lucky and worked at a school with a positively optimal work environment with support and genuine care from all staff members, and this does NOT seem to be the norm.  The culture at the Anchorage School District administration building does not make its employees feel valued or cared for.

Additionally, through discussions teachers in other schools, I have learned that there is little to be done about school programs in which principals/coworkers are known to exhibit bullying behavior. 

For a school district that supposedly does not tolerate bullying, this baffles. me.

In the Pros, I was going to write "reliable employment," until I realized that ASD recently laid off hundreds teachers, telling them not to fret, they MIGHT be rehired in the fall.

I started working as a financial aid advisor (not counselor) and loved helping students in high school find scholarships.  I worked at a low-income, low academic level high school.  I worked very hard to find scholarships for anyone, even those with very low academic skills.  Some students were more oriented for tech schools than college, and I worked hard to find those scholarships also.

At the end of my fifth year there, in one year I helped my students find scholarships and financial aid at over $2.5 million, the highest in the high school's history before me and after me.

I wrote a grant for my school, but the PTB in the district took it and gave it to a different school--not fair, but that is how the system works.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Paraprofessional educator 474 salaries reported	$20.90 per hour
Special education teacher 220 salaries reported	$76,342 per year
Elementary school teacher 238 salaries reported	$77,667 per year
Assistant teacher 93 salaries reported	$17.64 per hour
Administrative assistant 35 salaries reported	$22.49 per hour

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