substitute teacher

special education paraprofessional

teacher

paraprofessional

english teacher

Denver Public Schools

I am currently leaving Denver Public Schools at the end of the year as a guest teacher. I have had many experiences working in different schools working with a variety of grade levels, cultures, and ability levels. The level of diversity in this district is second to none as is the teacher's abilities in the clasroom. They champion the core values and are not only teachers but mentors for the kids. It is amazing how they can still teach despite all the "extras" like data collection, classroom management, and attending meetings are going on around them! They truly care about the kids and want to make the experience kids-centered while higher ups want to bicker about things like test scores, curriculum changes, and evaluative criteria for teachers. These things are NOT kids centered and in many ways are detrimental to their progress. Leadership seems contradictory in many schools and will first start off very personable and friendly but then start acting like they could care less about much of anything unless it is district stuff. Some of this is beyond their control as principals are held to a very high standard and their jobs are on the line at all times! The sub system is well-organized and one can work almost everyday if you are not picky and are willing to go into the unknown. I started out doing this, but slowly began to pick and choose as time wore on as my respect level increased around the district. I knew which schools were better run and managed and those were the ones I tried to pick up jobs at. This job does teach you a lot about following schedules and deadlines, micromanaging, and multi-tasking for sure! The pros of being a guest teacher are picking the schools you return to and your schedule (however, you need to work at least 5 days a month so keep that in mind), not having any work to take home at the end of the day, and building close relations with others in the building. However, the latter one could also be a con. SEE BELOW. You also get respected by many if you do a good job and do it for a few years as I have. They WANT you to return and that does make me feel good!  I also worked as a long-term substitute and did short-term substitute jobs as well. The BIG problems with the district are school cultures can become very toxic and despite being a sub you will have no control of being drawn into this at times.I only go to a few schools now to sub so I see this more actively occuring. People will not hush-hush about anything and will be openly critical of others in the building and/or discuss things that need to be held in a private conversation. Stay out of the teachers lounge! I received no benefits for my job and no career advancement either. I substituted in this district for a few years and received no full-time teaching offers despite my attempts of trying. Principals would give a wide variety of excuses and it sometimes became a little awkward if you wanted to return to the school to sub. Principals wore me down with this and I eventually decided to leave teaching altogether. I still do believe my heart was in the right place, but the educational system and how it is set up currently were the real reasons why I was never hired. My suggestion with substituting is this: if you want to use it for any career advancement look elsewhere. If you want this job for some extra spending money on the side then it will work for you. This job cannot be a full-time career and works best with other income coming in. Or if you are retired.

Taught secondary students in Language Arts classes.Currently, I am a GED instructor for the Colorado Department of Corrections. I have taught Adult Basic Education classes, Pre-GED classes, and GED classes to adult female and male offenders since February 2008. This is a very rewarding position; and I have seen a large number of offenders make “amazing” accomplishments. I am ready to teach in an unlocked facility to insure that my global perspective about life and liberty is not overshadowed.

•	Prior to teaching GED classes for the Department of Corrections, I taught GED classes at Emily Griffith Opportunity School under the auspices of the Denver Public Schools System.

•	I also taught Basic Education classes for the Manpower Development Act Training program at Red Rocks Community College, Golden, Colorado.

My additional adult education experience is with adult learners in at Red Rocks Community College, Front Range Community College, Aurora Community College, and  Chapman University. I taught English and Speech classes as a full time and adjunct instructor. My Denver Public Schools assignments were in high schools as a Language Arts and Pre-College Education teacher and program coordinator.

Out of the 110 students enrolled in my Basic Education classes since February 16, 2008, eighty-seven of the students have moved to GED classes. The classes are open entry–open exit based on scores from Tests of Adult Basic Education. Students receive one-on-one teaching; and lessons are prescribed according to academic weaknesses indicated below grade level achievement scores. 

My Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees were earned from the University of Colorado at Boulder and The University of Northern Colorado, Greeley Colorado respectively. My Master of Arts degree is in Secondary Curriculum Design. This academic preparation and professional experience prepared me to find and write curricula for Adult Learners who are reluctant to “start again”. Teaching to sensory modality weaknesses has resulted in helping the adult learner find her and his paths to learning. 

I enjoy teaching Creative Writing, reading aloud to students, and staying current with today’s events. I have developed an exercise for the low-low level reader that allows her and him to complete writing and reading assignments while learning about “NOW”.

I am an older American who plans to teach until my expertise and passion for teaching are no longer needed. I look forward to working with your organization.

I worked for Denver Public Schools For six months and been late do to some family issues but When my Personal problem started to become overwhelming I asked for time off to gather together all my difference situation I was dealing at that time. I felt that it was an emotional time, So I wanted to have about a month or so off I asked Director of the Denver location for this time; explaining my situation he stated I can take time off but he can not guaranty a job when I return. 
I continued to work their as I tried to balance work and home responsibilities.... Then about a month later I had an altercation with an employee and try to walk a way but that employee keep egging me by physical touching, hitting, and grabbing on me. Do to what my situation was I feel I protected myself. There was other instances that this employee had grabbed me in that manner but I walk a way with telling her do not do that, I do not like that, but she continued.
Right away we both got suspended for the policy. In about a weeks time I finally got a meeting and sat down with a Onion Rep. and the Director DPS and he said he was going to have to let me go because of my written statement which was ''fighting''. The investigation with the cameras did not show anything, but he did not want to like at other dates. I one thing about that was I made mistake, by not reporting the situation earlier. I rated low because I have never started a fighting and If they would have did more than looked at that day then it would of been apparent who's the one starting altercations. I believe not being able to work back at DPS is the one reason I was going to file a grievance.

I have worked with DPS for over 20 years in various positions from instructional paraprofessional in Special Ed: Behaviorally Disturbed teaching Literacy and Language Arts to fully Certified Teacher with an Endorsement in Language Arts. I am now an in-building Guest Teacher covering all emergency situations throughout the building. Everyday I come in, sign in and everyday I am presented with an assignment of concern. In this position I have needed to write lesson plans, create grades, establish and/or maintain an instructional environment, etc. Basically, I provide consistency of instruction throughout the building. 

With this position I have learned to be extremely flexible and open to adapt to any subject area while establishing great classroom management skills. This is essential to any day being a good day of teaching high school highly diverse students. To accomplish this task I needed to have a good relationship with everyone in the building from custodians to kitchen to fellow teachers to the administration, in other words, I needed to establish an academic village. 

The hardest part of my job is maintaining a controlled academic atmosphere in various situations on a daily spontaneous basis, while the most enjoyable and rewarding  part is the relationship of trust and respect I have come to know between myself and the staff, but most importantly, my students.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences throughout these past years.  At the schools where I worked, I felt challenged to create the finest learning environment for all my students and to have my paraprofessionals feel very included in a teamwork approach.  I felt fortunate to have co-workers who really cared about our students. A typical day in the classroom was having lesson plans prepared before hand so that  when the students arrived they would feel excited and comfortable and cared for, each individually with their own set of challenges.  The most difficult part of the job was trying to meet all of the needs of each student since their abilities and interests were so varied.  The most enjoyable part of the job in the schools was getting  to interact with the students in small groups and, at times, individually.  Singing, listening to music, taking walks outside, reading and acting out plays were exceedingly fun and enjoyable.  The hardest part of the job was keeping up with all of the required paperwork. And the other part of my life as a host home provider was equally as exciting and challenging, and, I would not change it for the world.

For a long period of time, I was embedded with a department to assist with defining rules and criteria to move to a consistent model for various reporting needs and application use. I created an Operational Road Map for key items that needed to be delivered at various times by different development teams and it was used as a guide to secure resources, drive requirement and status meetings and move the items into production. Last Spring, I scheduled meetings with contacts in the schools to talk with actual users to get a whole picture of their needs and wants for tool and process improvements. It was nice to see the excitement and passion as teachers and principals talked about the struggles and successes of support their students. This was the most fulfilling period of my employment at DPS.

The hardest part about not being in a permanent position attached to a strategic business group or development team is that resource allocation will come to an end when the assignment is complete. My position was farmed out as management decided to support one or more groups that required new software or modifications to existing software. DPS uses over 250 different applications which makes it hard to become a Subject Matter Expert of the tools, processes or with the departments that use them.

In DPS, much power/independence is given to principals, so you want to be certain you align with the principal if your site. As a specialist, in DPS (like teaching the arts, PE or a specialization,)  you are not able to count on any kind of job security from one year to the next.  Teachers did go on strike, which helped some of the funding be more evenly distributed across the district (although not to para staff), but since COVID, that system has deteriorated again.  For me, it would be worth taking a bit less pay for some job security, (since that is why I became an educator,) but there is very little security, even as a core curriculum teacher.  The LEAP evaluation system they use to determine your pay and tenure is also broken.  After about 14 years, there is no possible way to advance your salary.  You can only get bonus atop your set salary.  Meanwhile, district officials, (who do very little compared to teachers on the ground,) are making six figures.  
Overall, this was great for the teaching experience and I met some incredible educators, (even formed trauma bonds with some of them in the field,) but I would not recommend this school district to anyone for the long term--although you will gain some valuable (and stress-inducing) experiences and practice.

In a typical day, I meet and counsel with students and parents regarding academic and career goals.  I plan career readiness events including assemblies, college and career fairs and field trips. I also conduct home visits for students who demonstrated negative attendance and poor academic progress. I recruit and train volunteers and staff for before, during and after school programs. I worked with teachers and provided credit recovery training for students who needed to recover credits for failed classes.  I create newsletters, designed and updated websites, inter-office memorandums, brochures, flyers, yearbook and other publications and marketing materials. I am the liaison for PTA; I plan and coordinate parent meetings and activities.  My responsibilities also include planning and preparation for recruitment of students, as well as staff. I plan team building and community activities including skating parties, homecoming events, cooking classes, talent shows, etc.  Additionally, my responsibilities include tracking student attendance and development of systems and processes for increased attendance, and improved social and academic performance.

DPS has some wonderful teachers and the students are, by and large, nice, mannerly, respectful, etc.

The pay program (ProComp) is whack so it's hard to predict what you will earn from year to year. The base salary is very low and forces many teachers to work multiple jobs or to leave for greener pastures in other districts that are better paying. DPS does not offer reasonable wages so teaching is not a sustainable profession there.  Paras make next to nothing. 

Top heavy administrative positions and salaries with low regard for teachers (passive aggression), and charters take higher priority within the district. I guess this is supposed to be educational reform? A lot of money is spent promoting charters, and they get the students with the most advantages.  You will need to pay for some supplies out of pocket, and there has not been a cost of living increase in years. Health insurance has very high deductibles, and all of this makes DPS a difficult place to work because who can afford to work there? Morale is low. Building administrators vary, and some are fabulous.

Working as an SLPA has many challenges. The district does not have a great representation with SLPs or students receiving their mandated service time. 

School assignments were changed in October when all SLP facilitators were fired. This resulted in more demand from the SLPAs. On average, SLPAS have 3-5 s school, and several supervising SLPs (I have 3 supervising SLPs). This is really tricky to navigate as they each have differeing work styles, expectations, experience, and schedules. 

My current caseload is about 45-50 students. I'm supposed to receive an hour of planning and a 45 minute lunch. This is usually not met within the day.  

The pay $28 (starting), I feel, is not adequate for the workload.
 
A typical day starts at 7:30 AM and ends at 4. The first 30 I plan as much as I can then start my block sessions from 8am-12, lunch, plan, then resume block sessions until 3. The end of the day is spent writing soaps and responding to emails. 


I do not recommend working as a direct hire with DPS. The only plus is summer paychecks. 
Go for a contractor position ($40-50 an hour) or work for a private practice. 
The district is a mess and this position and many others are being stretched too thin. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Substitute teacher 7 salaries reported	$22.86 per hour
Special education paraprofessional 3 salaries reported	$21.67 per hour
Teacher 17 salaries reported	$69,465 per year
Paraprofessional 3 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
English teacher 3 salaries reported	$63,000 per year

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