teacher

elementary school teacher

special education teacher

english teacher

substitute teacher

Austin Independent School District

As a substitute, there were times I had no idea where I would be or what class I would be filling in for.  At the beginning of my time there, everyday felt like I was starting a brand new job when I would enter the classroom.  I didn't know the students and they didn't know me.  Some classes were more challenging than others but I always came prepared.  I used different educational games to get the students involved and the teacher's lesson plans were always implemented.  Towards the end of my time there, I almost always filled in for the same teachers at the same schools.  The students knew me and I knew them.  That's what you hope for as a substitute.  I learned to be flexible but adamant, commanding but respectful and I learned that there are no bad children, only bad choices.  The students I thought were all admirable and all unique.  As a substitute, I din't really have to interact with management.  My chosen jobs were from a website or requested specifically from teachers  that were familiar with me and I with them.  On the very rare occasion, I would need Principals or permanent staff to back me up, they did steadfast without ever making me feel incompetent. The work place culture at times left me with the characteristic feelings of a vagabond.  In reality, it was presumptuous of me.  The full time teachers and office personnel only ever showed me genuine gratitude.  The hardest part of the job, again, was not knowing.  Not knowing a school, not knowing how the students would perceive you or not knowing where to take your lunch.  Definitely, the hardest part was just not knowing.  The most enjoyable part of the job was returning to a class and being overwhelmingly welcomed by the students.  I had students specifically ask their full time teacher to request me if they knew that teacher would be out.  It also didn't hurt that my son ended up making friends he otherwise wouldn't have had I not subbed at his school so much.  It also didn't hurt that he was proud all though he would never admit it.  being able to make your own schedule was absolutely one of the best parts of being a substitute for Austin Independent School district.

Working for a large school district can be exciting but also overwhelming.  Excitement comes from the diversity found within a large district.  However, the actual size and numbers of a large district can be quite overwhelming.  Due to the size and numbers, it is not easy to get everyone together – connected with needed trainings especially those addressing evidence-based strategies.  Co-workers with similar populations appeared isolated.  There appeared to be a "disconnect" between research based strategies and the implementation of these strategies.  Some of these teachers complained about the lack of trainings and resources.  
To address this concern and disconnect, a couple of behavior specialists created a website designed to provide needed resources for the staff within the district.  This website was to be a type of support and training venue for the teachers.  The work began and now, there are numerous links to online trainings presented on the website, training videos i.e., a four part video presentation by OAR on inclusion of secondary students with ASD, and there are sample classrooms depicting antecedent strategies for groups and individuals.  Within this website, there are also numerous visual supports i.e., visual schedule tasks, token systems along with social stories, etc.  
Fortunately, the site has continued to reach more and more teachers of students with special needs.   Classroom teachers are referencing the website to colleagues and also sharing their photos of their classrooms depicting effective antecedents they are using.  These photos are then displayed on the website to encourage other teachers to set up their classroom environment in a manner to encourage appropriate attention seeking and escape behaviors.  
The behavior website continues to be used as a tool to connect teachers to their co-workers and to the implementation of evidence-based strategies.

Guides the learning process toward the achievement of curriculum goals and, in harmony with the goals, establishes clear objectives for all lessons, units, projects and to communicate these objectives to students, as adopted by the local and state Board of Education.
Reports to the building principal or school secretary upon arrival at the school.
Maintains as fully as possible the established routines and procedures of the school and classroom to which assigned.
Teaches lesson plan as outlined by the absent teacher.
Performs all extra duties for the absent teacher as required by the building principal.
Meets and instructs assigned classes in the locations and at the times designated.
Plans a program of study that, as much as possible, meets the individual needs, interests, and abilities of the students.
Creates a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interests of the students.
Prepares for classes assigned and shows written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate superior.
Takes all necessary and reasonable precautions to protect students, equipment, materials, and facilities.
Maintains accurate, complete, and correct records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulation, pertaining to teacher and students.
Assists the administration in implementing all policies and rules governing student life and conduct, and, for the classroom, develops reasonable rules of classroom behavior and procedure, and maintains order in the classroom in a fair and just manner.

Pros: all the holidays that public employees are entitled to.
Some teachers and employees try to help very hard. They are nice.
Cons: many teachers and employees are idling and not helping at all. Poor health insurance.

I think they should be more through inspecting the people they promote to management such as principals, campus admins, directors, C-Suite, executives, managers. Central Office makes poor decisions with budget, tons of incomplete or faulty projects. Maintenance is extremely poor, and there are a few people working hard, and lots of employees idling. I find it to be a toxic environment with little to no accountability. Social responsibility, equity, and  finances are a shi-t show. Most people hired in managerial positions are clueless about the district and use it as a stepping stone to go somewhere, or simply stay idling replicating a culture of toxicity and hopelessness. Let alone a good chunk of teachers  who don’t know how to spell or complain about not being able to handle students.
I feel very sorry for the kids who must attend AISD, and feel sorry for the city. 
I feel sorry for certain people that must work there.
A typical day: lots of emails and work orders from idling people complaining, and resolving issues whether they were part of my job or not. Just because the person in charge wasn’t doing their job or driving around the city but never at their assigned schools.
The hardest part of the job is, as mentioned, the general feeling of hopelessness and toxicity.
I learned that I could do better than this.
What I enjoyed: the holidays and whenever something went right for those schools and kids. Poor kids.

The experience varies from school to school depending on the administration that's in place. There are some positive things in the district, such as the commitment to inclusivity, the professionalism of downtown staff, and the support of innovation in the classroom. However, district goals and state politics have permeated into the classroom and you feel micromanaged. District leadership has become callous, caring very little about the quality about the mandates they hand down. For example, the district mandates that every core content teacher be finished with ALL tested content before spring break. This is the "unspoken mandate", as all TEKS will be tested on Short Cycle Assessments and there are negative consequences for schools that don't perform well on those assessments. The district has never released planning documents for these Assessments on time, and teachers must scramble to re-do calendars  and shorten the time students have to master content. Would you feel comfortable sending your student to a district that expects them to master a complicated topic in 2 class periods? Regardless of their status as a Special Ed or 504 student? Then Austin ISD is the district for you. 

There is way too much politics involved. Oftentimes, teachers (including myself) are not given the full support they need from administrators and upper management. Budget shortfalls (as a result of administrative mismanagement) are a daily issue within the classroom for both students and teachers. For example, teacher layoffs (or those moved from full to part-time) oftentimes leads to over-crowded classrooms, lower test scores, a more stressful classroom environment, increased student discipline problems for teachers, increased grading time at home, and a higher teacher to student ratio which can lead to many students not getting the quality or quantity instruction time they deserve. The above description, for many teachers at my school and across AISD, describes some of the many pitfalls that we encounter in a typical day of teaching. Mind you, the actual teaching and learning time I spend with my students is very rewarding and is the reason I became (and stayed) a teacher in the first place. The teachers I work (or have worked) with are for the most part a dedicated group of people who often go above and beyond their normal duties to ensure student academic and personnel success. It has been a privilege to work with this wonderful group of people over the last 9 years. In addition, seeing my students succeed not just academically, but in life as a whole, is the most rewarding part of my job.

Subbing AISD is a great place to work if you are right out of high school or college actively looking for a stable job. Recently, the pay has gone up for subs because of the pandemic and the lack of teachers. It is not a good long term position and honestly I don't think being a teacher in AISD is that great in general. Yes, summers off are great and you get decent benefits but the workload and some of the crazy requirements during the majority of the year is not really worth it. My mom has taught in the school system for AISD for more than 36 years; so I know some of the ends and outs of the job. If you have patience and really care for the children then it is a doable and profitable job individually. I advise people who are looking to teach/ sub to do it in a different district with better pay and benefits. I have been in the AISD school district for almost 4 years and working with children gave me great insight and helped me grow so much as a person and even though the pay isn't that great; the kids made it worth the while. The best thing is that even though the mornings are early for elementary school, getting off at 3:30 everyday is the best. Great work and life balance.

Fulfilling ones civic duty by helping advance the next generation of productive adults into society can be a fun and rewarding experience. It is always gratifying to have students excel and move on with a quality education. But teaching large groups of teenage students who are filled with angst and emotional issues can be stressful. Dealing with those interpersonal issues while teaching the pertinent material for them to be successful can be a daunting task. Most days there is a balance, a few reconcilable issues offset by extremely enjoyable exchanges with bright, rambunctious minds.

The Teacher salaries that are currently provided are marginally adequate for living in the Austin area. Many new teachers maintain roommates, while many seasoned teachers live on the outskirts of town to avoid high rent/mortgages. Dual household incomes are a unfortunate necessity to obtain any amount of expendable income.  Teaching Assistants and other staff personal make roughly half of a teacher's salary, and is therefore insufficient, by itself, at providing a living wage. The same strategies as above are utilized, in addition to getting a second, part time job, in order to survive.  Salary increases are rare, and minimal.

Overall the health and retirement benefits are adequate, and the management is devoted and dedicated to providing the best working environment possible.

There is a lack of cohesive and consistent policy and alignment with strategy.  I believe it says somewhere that its something given to all employees at onboarding, but there is no mention, no reminding, no aligning employees with strategy.  Compensation hasn't REALLY increased in two years given the healthcare increases are outpacing the tiny pay raises.  There are biases, lack of training (unless you are a teacher maybe), you can get held back if management wants a stable department, favorites (and not necessarily the hardest working) might be advanced, get promotions or placed.  Employees opinions, ideas and feedback are never taken seriously, and then performance reviews will reflect all your frustrations with lack of ability to develop, grow, or contribute ideas.  You can also depend on no guides, training, or intro to the numerous systems and places to find info and consistencies are nonexistent because there is an overall lack of communication.  However, if you are lucky enough, you might work under the right manager or department, and if you can get a great position with decent compensation, you will be hard pressed to leave.  I'm sure there are those, but I'll leave those reviews to those that are fortunate to have those experiences.

It was a great job working with students.
A typical work day consists of getting the rolls from the office, checking attendance and sending these back to the office before 11 in the morning.
The Sub goes through the lessons plans and implements them to the letter.

The students are very happy not having classes. Its time for them to play.
The Sub will try her best to  make the students stay inside the room, 
control too much bathroom excuses and  make sure that the students go to lunch in order. If they were elementary students, they are accompanied at lunch.

Some students are very disciplines and appreciative that the Sub was good and knowledgeable.

After lunch would be Recess for children. That, too is a challenge because the order that was in place in the morning  could be hard to bring back after they got excited at Recess.

The day is done when the Students are sent to their school buses.
In High School, there is no need for that.
 The only problem was the absence of grievance procedures. Whenever a substitute teacher would be in a fix with the students, the students can report anything they want, half truths or lies and there would  be no investigation to hear the side of the Substitute teacher. It's just that the rule is the rule. Three Exclusions and that its. You get out of the rolls.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 26 salaries reported	$57,962 per year
Elementary school teacher 3 salaries reported	$57,367 per year
Special education teacher 3 salaries reported	$63,000 per year
English teacher 8 salaries reported	$57,750 per year
Substitute teacher 12 salaries reported	$18.79 per hour

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