teacher

elementary school teacher

english teacher

substitute teacher

high school teacher

Clark-County-School-District

Research and Substitute teach before investing in a career in education!  Know what you're getting yourself into before investing a lot of money, time, and energy into the education field!  Job satisfaction relies heavily on work location, school climate, admin attitude and aptitude.  You might get the respect and support you deserve, but there are no guarantees.  Pay and benefits are not what they should be all things considered.  Education is very political and teachers get blamed for all things that are failing (little -if any- accountability on the part of students and parents).  If you find admin that are supportive and effective stay with them (ie. if they move to a different school; ask to transfer with them).  If you plan on making this a career, after working for the CCSD for five years, you can buy PERS service credits while they are at the cheapest rate possible!  You'll be glad you did later on in your career when you are tired and fed up with the system.  Go to RPEN meetings (contact them for info) to find out about the VERIP program (in contract currently) which helps you retire early.  Good luck with the current "CU raise program"; it's a mess and confusing!  If you can figure it out, then max out your rate of pay as quickly as possible as it also heavily influences the value of your retirement.  You can talk with a PERS rep at anytime during your career.  Teachers association is expensive but there are other national ones (research).  Unless it changes, strikes by teachers are illegal per NV NRS 288.230.  When you do get a raise (doesn't happen often enough) fees go up across the board (in one hand out the other).  I was enthusiastic and content when I first started my career.  About half way through my career I noticed a serious decline in moral among teachers.  After twenty years in I was more than ready to retire.  It can wear you down which is why I recommend purchasing PERS service credits for yourself as early as possible.  Talk to current teachers before investing in this type of career.  There is no tenure; annual contracts.  However, if you do a good job and get good reviews you're pretty much guaranteed a job at a school (there are many) and you can interview annually and move.  Teachers do have the advantage with job location as there is always a teacher shortage.  I know I've listed a lot of "cons" but a career in education can be rewarding.  Just know what you're getting into before investing money, energy, and your time.  Teaching is not what it used to be decades ago.  About the only thing that doesn't change... you get weekends off (but most do work related activities on their own time!) and summer vacation (just enough time to forget the stress of the previous school year before the next one begins)!  If I had known then what I know now, I would have seriously considered a career in engineering (compensation considerably  better overall)!

Teaching is a family trait that I have curbed towards my niche, adult learning and corporate training. During this recession, I have been working with the Clark County School District on an on-call basis. While this is not my dream career, during such difficult times, it is closely related to workforce development and training . I am grateful for the opportunity to experience K - 12 student learning and school management environments. Hats off to all K - 12 educators! You have a really tough job!

I have seen some difficult times over the past several years including yearly financial setbacks and denial of advancements. I have also experienced daily behavioral setbacks which are commonly guaranteed to substitutes. I clearly see the need for a bridge to fill the gap between high school graduation and entering the world of working everyday. I long for the day when I can utilize my acquired skills, education and learned experiences gained from working at the school district as well as in the business world.

Oftentimes, young people within the district, are distracted by various influences just like I was from time to time. It is a normality as we grow, develop change and make choices. My incorporation of workforce training skills and career choices grasped their thinking patterns as a whole group and I was able to successfully teach the lesson and the necessary skills to achieve in the workplace leading towards being successful. For example, in English class we discussed careers related to the lesson such as past/current authors and actors while in science class the focus might surround medical technology or cooking issues. This worked as a great attention-getter and interest tool.

My second part time job, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) allows me to enjoy the adult learners style of teaching as well as I practice my hands-on instructional training skills. Overall, I have had a full educational leadership schedule that is closely related to my actual career goalof becoming a Corporate Trainer .

In summary, I have been fortunate to maintain employment with the school district for 9 -10 months out of each year. 9/11 ruined my career dreams yet I have maintained my teaching, lesson planning, records management and training skills. I look forward to acquiring a FT position where I can become a valuable and meaningful employee that contributes top-notch performance training and development twithin the business world. Jobs are beginnig to increase and I relish the fact that it won't be much longer before I am on my way to a FT career in HR training and development or equal.

Every classrooms level of education is different. In the special Ed classrooms there was mild to severe/extreme mentally, physically, and with behavioral issues. When called out to a school my job was to assess the student and work on their behavior. Documentation was vital. 

      Learning from the nature regarding our special students was that they needed direction, understanding, patience, love, and needed to trust. The emotions that go hand in hand with these students are on a daily basis. Inconsistencies, unpredictable daily, is guaranteed. As one day a student is an Angel, and the next day a terror. That it is wise to never take any student for granted. The training I had was immense in dealing with our students. Even the mentally challenged.


      The Management team were usually supportive of my work. It is a team effort. They allowed and respected my training in that field to deescalate a behavior. If it was to take down a student, I was in that position to do so. If it was to comfort and sit with a student all day in observing, documenting, deescalating, changing, feeding, walking with, even blind students, hearing impaired, and teaching I did. All with the support of staff, and management. 

      Having the privilege of traveling from school to school, may it be on a daily, weekly basis in the same classroom, or another location, the workplace culture was dynamic. The diversity, and the needs were intense. From the homes where our students live, plays a gigantic role in their behaviors, and their character. From assisting with the blind,, or disabled. One in a wheelchair who cannot walk, nor talk. This diversity of our students is not known nor noticed until one witnesses the impact and challenges of silence, and hide. 

      The difficult times was hearing of a student deathly sick, or succumbing to death. A student who relocated, and I know we will not see anymore. The emotions that are tied to the job there is no way out. You tend to get so attached to not one but many students. Especially those who need the greatest assist while keeping a straight professional face instead of breaking down. The student that comes to school in a gurney, who cannot walk, talk, from almost dying of an attempted suicide as a teenager, yet their eyes and smile says the world about them. The difficult challenges we as educators endure on a daily basis. Mentally, physically, can be draining by the days end. 


      The most rewarding times is seeing the improvement of a student. Especially seeing a few walking on stage receiving their diplomas, even walking with walker, instead of being wheeled in a wheelchair or assisted because that is what they wanted to do.

Do yourself a favor and research a teaching career before beginning the exhausting and expensive college coursework.  No rose-colored glasses.  Find out what it's really like by talking to teachers.  Substitute teach as much as possible.  Subbing isn't the same as actually being the teacher responsible for everything, but it will give you really good insight as to what to expect and it provides you the opportunity to check out a variety of schools  (climate and culture).  Talk to as many teachers as possible while subbing.  You will have to jump through a lot of expensive and time consuming hoops just to become qualified for the job.  There is no coursework reimbursement provided by CCSD; you pay for it all yourself.  
Some of the pros:  opportunity to transfer among schools annually (as positions open), summer vacation, medical-dental-vision benefits, annual contract, can opt to join a teacher's association, you may find great schools to work at during your career, it could be a rewarding career for the right type of person.  Some of the cons:  bureaucracy, more than likely you will experience negative interactions with some parents, and/or administrators along the way (you can't please everyone all the time), lack of funding (schools are increasingly relying on fundraisers for even basic supplies), overworked, underpaid, under appreciated, you may find some terrible schools to work at during your career, burn out.  
In hindsight, I would have majored in a different field in college in lieu of education.  My career in education started off really rewarding, but started losing it's luster near the end due what felt like a constant struggle for adequate funding for everything, along with the lack of a reasonable salary (compensation is not commensurate with education, experience and cost of living) and benefits (benefits have changed and are not as good as they were when I first began my career).  In general, teacher training provided by the district can easily be described as "standard substandard training" and then you're expected to do your job on a superlative level.  It was typical for me to spend anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars (it happened once!) for supplies for my classroom annually.  I got tired of the repetitive mantra of "do more with less".  My experience and overall opinion about my teaching career with the CCSD is that it wasn't a terrible career, but it wasn't great either.

As a substitute teacher I would sign in at the front office of the school that I was teaching at for the day approximately 45 minutes before the first class started.  I would then find the classroom I was teaching in and look for lesson plans if they weren't given to me by the office secretary.  If I was teaching a lesson I would quickly brush up on the subject matter before class began.  Once class started I would introduce myself as the substitute teacher for the day before teaching the lesson and assigning classwork or tasks that I was instructed to assign.  I would then walk around the classroom and supervise students' progress while watching the time.  I got a long well with the students as well as all of the teachers that taught in near by classrooms and the office staff. Everyone was very helpful if and when I had questions regarding procedures that should be carried out in the event of a fire alarm or other unusual occurrence such as a school assembly.  I learned that every student was different and added to the classroom dynamic in their own way.  Classroom management can be particularly difficult for a substitute teacher because some students seem to believe that it is a free day when they have a substitute teacher.  I countered this behavior in the beginning by being stern yet fair and never ran into any major issues.  On occasion I would have one or two students that would disrupt class, however I was provided techniques through my teacher education and experience to quickly resolve the problem. The most difficult part of the job was teaching subjects that I have not specialized in but the lesson plans usually provided plenty of instruction for me to quickly refresh my memory.  The most enjoyable part of the job was teaching students math or science which provided me with a sense of accomplishment when they walked out of the classroom with more knowledge than when they walked in.  The worst part of the job was when a high school or middle school teacher would provide a movie for the students to watch and my only instructions were to push play on the media device.    

What is the best part of working at the company?
For a young, single, fresh degreed person that can live independently and frugally- this is a great opportunity to earn a living with full benefits and vested retirement(after 3 years). Its a large entity and there are times to understand that tediousness and overwhelm of any position will happen. There is disorganization and chaos that seems to work itself out- just learn to ride it out. The entity has policies and procedures in place to stop discrimination on the job, but a certain degree of it will slip through cracks at a site because there is still the traditional marginalization that will not change in public education due to the constant decline of infrastructure. If you are not bi-lingual, make it a priority to be trained the first 2 years you are there. Schools are transient so enrollment will always affect your workload. If you are not familiar in the Canvas LMS system, I highly advise any teacher to have training and a 9 month set of lesson plans before the start of the school year. Ask for a mentor to help you.   There are boundless training opportunities to advance in high need areas- they will train you and certify you if you are willing to work.   The beauty of the district is that every January to April, an employee may transfer to another position or site as the district is large and openings are always likely. The hiring process takes longer than expected so plan 3 - 6 months. Find  housing no more than 20 minutes away or the traffic will suck. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Teaching is always in a state of change as directed from the top.  There is no shortage of a pseudo offer of support; there is never autonomy nor dependable resources. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Schools genuinely have staff members who effectively work in any situation for the common good of the students as best they can.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Contract time on site, emails, 3 meetings or more per week, duty, 6 classes a day, 1 prep period. 30 minute lunch. Try not to stay after contract time unless its grading period times.

CCSD is a government funded institution in a right to work state. Its size cannot truly be fathomed until one is employed there. I rate the job/worklife balance low because it is nearly impossible at the teacher level for the job not to interfere with a personal life during the work year. Administration is on call and works all the time.  Compensation is fair if you are able to manage money and live beneath means without excessive debt. 
Insurance has been fair, if without major health conditions. Telemedicine is available. Job security is fair unless an unanticipated liability happens. This entity legally protects itself and does not provide unemployment insurance without going to court in the event of a labor dispute. There is an educational association, not a union to protect, or mediate. I rate management experience low but there are great people who work hard to make it better.  If an employee has a problem with upper management, they have to be proactive to fix it. Success at CCSD is not guranteed-it is contingent on work location, school administration/site management and the abilities an individual has to manage working conditions. It may take several sites to find a good fit. The conditions for a teacher and support staff are stressful and schedules are always changing and chaotic. Class sizes and caseloads are high.  A person who commits to proper training, mentoring and ongoing coursework can adapt and be effective at CCSD. There are many personal and financial rewards to working successfully over time with patience. But one will experience difficulty and frustration with policy and the systems governing the entity. Transfer season is from January to May with over 600 schools K-12. There are many other opportunities within CCSD to change locations each year and collaborate with teams at the school site or content level departments.

The compensation and benefits were excellent, The pressure and stress were extreme. I multi-tasked all throughout the day.

I needed to be in my classroom to receive my 19 students at 7:15. They did morning work and morning routines until 7:50 when school actually started. After the announcements, I took my students to specials. During the next 45 minutes I had planning. Often during my planning time I had to attend required meetings.

When that 45 minutes was up, I picked my students up from specials and we had a whole group restroom break. Next, we had a language arts block of time. During this time I taught reading (guided as well as whole group), spelling, phonics, grammar and writing while managing student's computer time, library time, and centers (either in pairs or individually).

Next, we had 20 minutes recess outside if the weather allowed, inside if it didn't. When we came back in the ESL teacher joined us for 45 minutes of math. During that time we did problem solving as well as whole group, guided math, and individual math on the computers.

Next, we did either science, social studies or health. I dropped them off at lunch next and after 30 minutes picked my students up. In the afternoon we checked homework from the previous day, and previewed homework for that night. We also had another writing period in the afternoon.

I worked assessments in when I needed to, including weekly timed math tests, phonics tests, etc. In addition, at the beginning of every 9 weeks we had pre-assessments and at the end of every 9 weeks we had post assessments.

After school I had scheduled meetings twice a week, and often an additional day or two. After the students went home, and my meetings were over I did my copying, filing and planning for the next day, week or month. There were also data cards and spreadsheets that I had to maintain.

When I went home, I graded papers and posted grades, filled out my lesson plans for the following week and updated my blog.

This job is dangerous if you have a nursing license because you are consistently asked to go out of the scope of your nurse practice act. At one of the schools I was assigned (you have two), they wanted me to do the counselors job and counsel kids because the counselor was overwhelmed and couldn’t get to them all. This was the year we came back after the pandemic, so to say the nurses were overwhelmed was an understatement with the contact tracing. I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life, and never have I come across as much ignorance and incompetence as the people who made the decisions for how we were going to contact trace. It literally made no sense and the information was disbursed with such convolution and inconsistency that no one knew what they were doing. I have never feared for my license as I did with this job, and I worked critical care. The pay is mediocre and not even close to worth the actual work you will put in with all your responsible for. You  have a hand in every pot and everyone will come to you upset you haven’t done what they need because everyone thinks their request is the most urgent. You are also expected to work off the clock for no additional pay (many of my teammates did, I didn’t because I don’t work for free, especially for the penny's I was getting paid) and you will get text messages from your team all weekend long panicking about the upcoming week. There is no nursing in this job. It’s all meetings and paperwork. They have an unlicensed/uneducated person whom your responsible for training to do all the nursing care at both schools with the exception of some specialized procedures that you’ll be driving back and forth between your schools to do with no gas money compensation. Stay far far away from CCSD school nursing. It is the worst but the people that work there will tell you it’s great and beg you not to quit because I think they live in denial about just how bad it is. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Best part of working for CCSD is your coworkers. You bond because you’re all just trying to make the best of worst possible issues.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is no winning here. You’re the middle man at the lowest possible level. No one is happy with you. Superintendents aren’t happy with principals. Principals aren’t happy with AP’s. AP’s aren’t happy with teachers. Students aren’t happy with teachers. There is literally no one filling our bucket but our fellow teachers and the bucket runs empty quite often.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Negative, very negative. Campus security is horrible on many campuses. Teachers take on many responsibilities other than teaching. We need the district to step up and take some measures to regain control of our campuses (ditching, fighting, excessive phone issues, large classes, lack of teacher supports, etc).

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start you day an hour before you’re on the clock so you can be fully prepared because you can’t multitask. Once students are there, you spend 100% of your time controlling chaos. Admin requires that you fill your whiteboards with content that students don’t read. You wrestle in your mind and heart with belligerent students because admin doesn’t want them written up as it looks bad for the school. Emails written to parents are largely ignored. And let’s just hope you don’t upset a parent because some of them might wait for you outside the school and give you a piece of their mind. You spend your prep period’s trying to figure out what exactly admin needs from you so you don’t get a bad evaluation but sometimes they don’t even know. At the end of the day, you’re exhausted from decision fatigue.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 23 salaries reported	$64,069 per year
Elementary school teacher 6 salaries reported	$55,833 per year
English teacher 5 salaries reported	$54,400 per year
Substitute teacher 7 salaries reported	$18.14 per hour
High school teacher 9 salaries reported	$77,744 per year

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