teacher

office assistant

high school teacher

school nurse

instructional assistant

Kingsport-City-Schools

If you're wanting to experience life in a high-performing school system with lots of resources, then KCS is a good place to stay for a time. However, with high performance come high demands which can quickly become overwhelming. The school is so large that the administrators are dealing with issues all day and seldom have time for meetings or support (unless scheduled a week in advance). 
And if you're a talented and hard-working employee? Prepare to be used up and spat out.  I had complaints for three years (which I brought to my vice principal and principal repeatedly) about fairly distributing workload across the department which were ignored.  
The size of the school makes it VERY difficult to get to know anyone outside of your department, and the school itself doesn't do things to help create community (for example, they did away with teacher lounges or any common areas because they thought they were places that bred negativity), so most days you only see your colleagues on the way to and from the bathroom. My attempts to create community with regular outings were never attended by administration and soon atrophied after two years. 
However, the WORST part of working for KCS is that the parents have ALL of the say; one parent complaint can completely up-end your plans (especially if the parents complain to the administrative office instead of the schools, and they often do, feeling entitled from years of mollycoddling). I cannot tell you the amount of times I was notified of a meeting because a parent with an issue went 4 levels above my head demanding change. For the most part, administration at the school level tries to protect its employees from undue interruptions, however, the power parents wield is unlike anything I've experienced elsewhere.
The HR department does nothing to protect its employees, only the BRAND, and many decisions are made purely for optics (for example, during the pandemic while in remote school, teachers were forced to come into an empty building every day instead of working from home because parents complained that teachers "only wanted to collect a paycheck" and "weren't doing anything" [said at actual school board meetings]). 
The kids are amazing; having so many resources at your fingertips is a boon. But I wouldn't advise staying more than 3 years.
Get in, get your resume padded, get out. 

I was hired to complete a child find project within/ out the population being served by the district.  With the identification o f several, students, I reviewed legal educational agreements and assessments t;o idenitify if state and federal guidelines were followed.  I created a position to correct the district non compliance with the deaf and hard of hearing population, worked with the assessment team in identification of students with needs as well as creation of goals to address the needs of the population.  Additionally, I was charged with training administration and creating protocols for assessment, procedures for meeting accessibility guidelines, and closing student/ client learning gaps. 

I held a school contract of 7.5 hours per day for 183 school days.  However, they paid me an additional 2 weeks contracted to complete the initial requirements of the position.  The following years I created relationships with the School for the deaf who provided services to some of our students as well as with local speech pathology offices providing private services to our student population.

The most difficult portion of the position was coming in as a part of a mediation agreement and gaining the trust of the parents and staff who were frustrated conflict previous to my position.  In the same hand, this was the most enjoyable portion of my job.  I very much enjoy the development of rapport and seeing the process unfold.  It is very satisfying to see the teachers/ administrators gain confidence in their understanding and skill implementation.  I very much enjoyed being a part of laying the foundation of a program for these students who had previously not had leadership by a individual trained in the education of Deaf and hard of hearing students.

Kingsport City Schools has a long history of providing students with a quality educational experience that prepares them for success in the world beyond high school, whether in their community or the world. Because the world is ever-changing, They are committed to on-going evaluations of teaching, learning, and student achievement to ensure that all students have access to a rich and relevant educational experience.The Department of Curriculum and Instruction exists to provide support, clarity, and leadership for teaching and learning in Kingsport City Schools. The department works with teachers (which is really great), district, and state/local leaders to cooperatively develop a clearly defined, academically rigorous, managed curriculum. The curriculum is monitored regularly to make certain the written, taught, and tested curriculum, is aligned. All of this makes for a really well school system to work for with a great department.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Not much other than summers off (depending on job position)

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Literally everything and so underappreciated and paid and overworked with HIGH expectations with teachers on a pedestal and everyone below

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
dysfunctional, unstructured, chaotic, and all about promoting "new, and diversity"

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Felt like I had been slapped in the face before leaving work daily the days went by so fast bc it is so uncoordinated you couldn't even recap your day and just complete chaos and I felt SO bad and little of myself, because your hard-work and dedication are NEVER noticed.

In providing medical care to students and staff, it was a very rewarding position. Overall school environment was good and provided an opportunity to build a positive relationship with the students. The schedule is wonderful, in having weekends, holidays, and the summer off. Management was poor and when concerns voiced, the issues were often ignored, and worsened the situation. The hardest part of the job was dealing with the inconsistency of treatment and no one be willing to step up to address the issue. As for nursing, the pay is poor, especially if in a health assistant position and there is little to no room for growth.

Overall, KCS is a good school system to work for. However, as a school nurse, the biggest challenge is supervision. Working with children with healthcare needs and advocating for a healthy environment so they can attend school is very rewarding. The schedule is wonderful, the pay is below average. The nursing team is wonderful, but supervision is terrible. Very poor communication and unclear expectations, very little respect for what individual nurses bring to the team, micromanagement to the point of professional suppression, inconsistent evaluations and feedback. School principals are usually very respectful of the role school nurses play. But direct supervision is definitely a challenge. 

A typical day at work would include helping the teacher with whatever was needed done. I learned more about the culture of children in this day and age. Management was great to me, but needed help in setting rules and consequences for misbehavior of students. Most of the teachers and assistants were amazing, kind, compassionate, and great to work with. The hardest part of the job was knowing how to handle a situation with a student that was out of control. Then most enjoyable part of the job was getting to work with the other assistants and share in their day.

A typical work day for me. After I clock in, I start preparing food for the children. We then go to lunch and after, we serve the children which is the best part of my day. Watching the children as they come to get their food they laugh and smile and makes the day so much better. Knowing that some of these children only eat at school is the hardest part of my job because they go hungry though the day. I have learnt to be more patient and understanding. I have learnt to give more. I love being around children and that is the best part of my job. The management is amazing.

When you work for KCS, you have to bring your A-game. You’re expected to be some of the best teachers in the area, and are treated as such. This can be great as it pushes you to do your best work, but stressful as you sometimes feel you are unable to deliver their high expectations. Overall, this was my favorite district to work in, and if I go back to teaching, I will be applying here again. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people and the hours ,the school I worked at was awesome 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dealing with some of the students 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very warm and refreshing and welcoming

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 4 salaries reported	$58,375 per year
Office assistant 2 salaries reported	$15.91 per hour
High school teacher 1 salary reported	$57,500 per year
School nurse 2 salaries reported	$48,147 per year
Instructional assistant 3 salaries reported	$14.79 per hour

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