teacher

special assistant

custodian

signaller

elementary school teacher

Madison Metropolitan School District

Pretty much every teacher I've worked with has been dedicated and hard working. The administrators are too, although often the district hires people to be principals who have never actually been responsible for a whole classroom's learning (like social workers, former school counselors, reading specialists who've only ever worked with small groups), or only did so for a couple of years before shifting to an administrative license. That's not ideal, because they have no idea what's needed for a smoothly running classroom (so they can't effectively help new teachers with tough classes), or what building practices support learning at the classroom level. Still, almost all of my principles have been mostly reasonable people. 

But. OMG. This district is so top down that they will not listen **at all** to teachers or principals who are trying to improve their buildings. They keep shifting resources away from schools to district positions and initiatives. I almost laughed out loud when the last superintendent (or was it the one before?) started creating positions like "CEO of Secondary Schools," etc. The superintendants come and go. They view Madison as a stepping stone. But each one creates more positions downtown for their buddies, and has some new initiative that looks shiny and accomplishes nothing or actively makes things worse. 

Also, the people who work downtown always assume the very worst of teachers and are super quick to throw people under the bus. Everything is the responsibility of classroom teachers. Everything is the fault of classroom teachers. Instead of a supportive, problem solving approach and a growth mindset, it's a suspicious, kind of toxic mentality. They are looking for ways for people to be wrong, so you can't call them for help. Instead, they do things like create wildly impractical school discipline plans or poorly thought-through mandatory grading policies. The HR at the district level is so messed up that it **actively makes it difficult** for principals to hire good candidates for teaching jobs. And the district level offices suck down resources that could create new social work or school psych positions, or could reduce class sizes so you actually have time to do all of the parent contacts you need to do.  I've stuck with my school because I love my colleagues and the kids, but man, the central office is messed up.

I was primarily an art metals instructor although I did teach courses in advanced drawing. As a metals teacher I taught fifteen to eighteen year old students the basic processes of piercing, sawing, cold joining, soldering (using acetelyne, MAPP and natural gas torches), stone setting (bezels for cabochons) and finishing of non-ferous metals. Advanced course work included casting, enamelling, lampworking (glass beadmaking technique), forming, chasing and repousse, and prong setting for faceted stones. I maintained and repaired the metal shop's equipment and inventory of consumable materials.
As the department chairperson I oversaw the budget (28,000 to 32,000 annually); determined teaching schedules and course assignments for staff; developed long-range and short-range departmental goals; liaised between department staff and school administration. I also managed the LaFollette Art Gallery. My role was in soliciting and scheduling artists to display their work then preparing and promoting exhibitions. I hosted for monthly gallery openings to promote awareness of the role of visual arts education. I was responsible for the gallery budget, and procuring food and beverages for gallery events.

I have worked in the district for four years at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The teachers in this district are the best I have ever worked with in my 14 years of experience. However, the mental health needs of the students are well beyond the supports available.  When schools reach out to upper administration to advocate for more support or alternatives for the highest need group of students, we are routinely told “you have all the resources you need in your building to meet the needs of the students“.  However, everyone in the buildings knows this is not true. We have a sizable number of students in each building whose needs cannot be met by the resources within the school. There are no alternative programming options available for this highest need group of students. Therefore, in any given passing period, We have about 40 students wandering the halls and causing disruptions. When class starts, many of these students refuse to go to class. The ones who do, are so disruptive to the classroom environment that teaching and learning cannot take place. We are losing many of our fantastic teachers because our school climate is so poor.

MMSD has a great mission -- but my former principal took this to the extreme. My former principal (still at the same school with MMSD) would come into my classroom and only acknowledge my black students, not even saying hello to me (the classroom teacher). I was questioned during my time, making me feel like I was making constant errors. I didn't feel supported, but rather that the issues occurring were my fault. I felt minimal support from the admin team. They were extremely cliquey and didn't check on our wing hardly ever. This was my first year teaching public school and it broke my heart. Coworkers (for the most part) were kind, supportive, and validating. My experience with the entire "admin" team was horrendous. I had a mentor assigned to me since it was my first year, and my principal somehow got involved and changed who my mentor was -- without my approval. Principals weren't supposed to be involved in the mentor program since this is to help establish relationships, trust, and validation within the job without judgement. I unfortunately wouldn't recommend MMSD for others based on my experience. 

There are many plusses in working in the Madison school district, among them the opportunities to support students in their educational attainment.  I particularly appreciated the chance to work with students with challenges.  As a BRT, I worked with students whose first language was not English.  As a language learner myself (I learned Spanish as an adult) I understand the effort it takes to acquire a second language.  A typical day at work entailed working with students from different countries, with different proficiency levels in English, and it was always a challenge to accommodate all students' learning needs.  The workplace culture was a definite challenge, as I worked in a high-poverty school with students who often came to school with trauma, and it was a full-time effort to help students get through their trauma and be ready to learn.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Wonderful diverse and positive community or learners, teachers, cooks, farmers, and other community members in a neat modern building. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Constant building and upgrading the facility was stressful on the Students. Children should not have to put up with constant construction that will benefit kiddos int he future but cause a lot of anxiety today, in the only childhood they will get. Most thought needs to be put into the REAL lives of children not just the "big picture".

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Mostly harmonious and inclusive

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
With different groups sharing the same facility conflicts are sure to arise, but they were generally solved with grace and thoughtfulness. Watching kids learn and grow is beautiful. Sad that we often penny-pinch the school food program, but such is life.

Administration has, in general, a poor relationship with the various bargaining units representing teaching, paraprofessional, and custodial staff.  Hiring practices often result in people who are unqualified and/or inexperienced filling district level and school administration positions.  High turnover in the teaching and paraprofessional staff, and a lack of custodial staff often result in a difficult work environment.  Emphasis on young inexperienced teachers over those with teaching experience, and a lack of consistency in decision making and policy at the district level negatively impact student outcomes.  In short, the pay is okay and benefits are good if you can stand the culture and climate.  If you want to have a life outside of work, and supportive, strong leadership, you may want to keep looking.

A day at work can be a mixed bag of fun with kiddos learning and just being kids, and administration coming in with new curriculum to have ready to present tomorrow. Stress!
I have learned to let go of things I have no control over, to enjoy being an advocate/esteem builder in young kids of all types.
I have notice the lack of communication and trust between the Office and the rest of us. (or so it seems)
The hardest part of the job is putting our most 'clobbered' kids back on the bus at the end of the day, knowing they may not have supervision, a meal, help with homework, a bed to sleep in, and least of all a bed-time story read to them.  :(
The best part of the day is enjoying the little joys one discovers when working with kids.  :)

Art teaching in the public school has grown more and more challenging as budget cuts have occurred. The schedules are now back to back with limited time for setting up or resetting ones soul. Any young person going into the field of elementary art education needs to be throughly dedicated to the children and have the stamina to run the race. I partly retired from this job because I was finding myself feeling unable to do large programs and felt like my creativity was being stifled. I hope this changes in the future but be prepared you will work extremely hard and will have to have a heart for children to make it meaningful. This is not the districts fault entirely but how our society values children and the arts.

When working at MMSD, I found that site leadership was weak.  A handful of students were able to be disrespectful to other students and staff.  These students would face no or little consequences.  Disrespect included intense name calling and swearing, continual instruction disruptions, and total disregard to any classroom expectations.  These students would make classrooms miserable for other students.  Site administration would empower the students who were acting out and not take time to listen to the students whose learning was compromised by their actions.  Engaging lessons, hands-on activities, differentiated materials, and computer enhanced learning did not alter behaviors of misguided students or leadership.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 110 salaries reported	$51,828 per year
Special assistant 61 salaries reported	$24.51 per hour
Custodian 40 salaries reported	$28.38 per hour
Signaller 45 salaries reported	$50,765 per year
Elementary school teacher 18 salaries reported	$51,953 per year

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