teacher

para educator

human resources business partner

dispatcher

bus driver

Renton School District

What is the best part of working at the company?
Best part is the time off. However, it doesn’t balance because the amount of work expected from bus drivers exceeds the amount of pay received, hence the high attrition rate.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Bus drivers perform a lot of work that the school district refuses to pay them for. To be truly informed, being part of a gossiping click is almost required and the gossip is consistent and not positive nor productive. The directors continue to resign or be released from their positions. Large buses have no air conditioning. Children are left unchecked (for the most part) concerning bus conduct and although the community continues to support the district, that support is posting to paychecks of the administration not bus drivers pay increases. The administration squeezing as much work as possible out of bus drivers, asking for 30+ hours of work while only paying drivers for 8 hours, overtime isn’t particularly optional even with a driver shortage. Overall the work is part time .

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment can be positive and supportive. However, there are employees who are the ‘mean girls’ that like to rule the roost. They are given free rein to do so.  New hires, when struggling, (at times) are treated rudely by other bus drivers and helped by others. The gossip, intimidation and inappropriate behavior is allowed to persist. Management receives bonuses the more lean things are and they aren’t looking to change that any time soon. As with any workplace, there are some diamonds in the rough, however amidst those watch out for all the broken glass. Management in all levels are aware of this and the trainers warn everyone. However it is allowed to persist. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long days-starting around 6am or earlier and going until 5pm or later. Exposed to toxic fumes and constant follow up work that drivers are not compensated for. The break in the middle of the day is helpful if the drivers home is nearby.

A typical day at work would include typical office management duties including but not limited to: answering phones, assisting parents in inquires, filing, assisting Program Director in daily tasks, etc. I had an incredible amount of responsibility in regards to helping run the school. There were only two office staff members including myself. Making sure the school was running smoothly and functioning on an even level was the daily goal. Not one day was the same as the next. I learned that patience is a true given gift and respect goes a long way. You learn a lot about humanity when it comes to dealing with personal lives especially with children. My management was incredible. Very personal, direct, compassionate and involved. Same goes to my co-workers. They as teachers had a common goal and with the unique nature of our type of school, it was easy to get along well with everyone. The hardest part of the job was having to coordinate with the neighboring school. We were placed with a school complete opposite of what our school was about and it was challenging at times. However, the most enjoyable part of the job was working with the parents and children. Being able to work with them on a daily basis knowing that you are affecting their lives in a positive manner made the day well worth it.

I have worked in the education field for the past 2 1/2 years. I substituted for the fist year and a half then last school year was hired to work at a school full time. 
 I did recess duty and title 1,LLI. I would give small classes for reading. I have worked in the library and done some office duty. I have only worked at elementary schools. I really enjoy working with the younger kids.
I also have enjoyed the friendships I have developed. It has been very rewarding. 
I am hoping to stay in the education field. 
I have learned a lot my self. I like to learn so that was very rewarding for me also.
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At the end of the school year I was doing 6 recess duties and 5 reading groups. I tried to make it fun for the kids. I think I did succeed at that, I got thanked by many of my students for helping them. 
I also helped with some writing. Mainly thinking of ideas or helping them to think of ideas to wright about. Getting them started and things like that.

Renton has an amazing set of values compared to most school districts and really cares about serving their most vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, schools as a whole are severely under supported and this is most apparent in high poverty schools, more so since Covid. Working in a school here puts you in danger of assault by students and asking for support shows how overtaxed the system is. Most teachers and staff are very stressed and burnout is common. The goal is to push students along and get through each day. Renton does a good job of giving teachers space to  teach instead of micromanaging, but teaching as a whole has become a job many dread doing each day, especially for fear of escalating student behavior which goes unaddressed. 

You will enjoy working here if you want to serve marginalized communities, but you will not enjoy working here if you want to protect your mental health and safety. You will face the same issue in most teaching positions.

Overall, my cumulative years of experience …,16 years with Renton School District and 5 years with Seattle School District was/is enjoyable.  I would say, “never a dull moment life as a school nurse.  Being part of a system that  supports the youngest learners through adolescents is personally rewarding . Having strong support systems, advocating as needed;  working with student, staff and families, provide training opportunities, etc.  

Colleagues at the building level are supportive and professional.
The District office has seen a lot of "revolving door" personnel changes in the past 3-4 years, creating a chaotic, non-cohesive structure of support. Systems that used to work well seem to be very broken and mismanaged currently. Resulting in teachers at the building level feeling confused and completely isolated - a sense that "we are on our own" to figure out how to do our jobs.
The hardest part of being a teacher, is the expectations change every year, depending on who's the leader "du jour". The State Legislature thinks they "know" what teachers should be doing! They are allowed to make policy that significantly impacts our ability to do our jobs.
The most enjoyable part of teaching is the kids! The systemic problems in K-12 education are becoming insurmountable.

Overall, staff within the district are good at what they do, dedicated, friendly and cooperative.  
Special Education is all I can really speak to in the area of improvements needed. Felt unsupported many times by lack of experience of the assistant principals, principals and sped teachers I worked with. Lack of experience equates to limited perspective which becomes cumbersome to navigate and at times demoralizing and unsafe.

Another point is that the district appears to have great difficulty hiring enough teachers and para-educators for all the sped slots which makes a stressful job even more so.

As a public school teacher, your typical work day is long.  I start around 6:20am and go around 4:00pm; to then start up again when I get home to grade. It is strange because as a teacher you really get to do whatever you want inside your own classroom.  What you plan goes in most cases as long as it is challenging and interesting.  The students are the best part of the work day, even when they are usually 14 and 17 years old.  

I suppose the hardest part of my job is after school is over.  When the adults have to meet about everything but nothing really can ever get changed or finished. It is also hard pleasing everyone all the time when it comes to education.

Each day is extremely busy, with a variety of different tasks to be completed.  Through my job I have increased my ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.  The management teams within the district are positive and supportive and I have the good fortune of working in a building with many wonderful people who work as a team to complete tasks and provide daily support.  The most difficult part of the job is constantly being required to take on more and more responsibilities, but I see this as a part of everyone's position, with District's being required to do more with less.  The part of my job that I really enjoy is supporting the teaching and nursing staff.  By assisting and supporting them I know that our students also benefit.

Typical day including answering program questions. Working with parents and the ET Team to schedule meetings for IEPs, etc...

My co-workers consisted of an equal mix of tenured and new teachers. All with a common goal of serving the students to the best of their abilities. 

This was a new position for the district. I was unable to attend traditional training, as this was not afforded to me. However, the on the job training that I was able to gain I found to be invaluable. Probable moreso than that of actual training. It allowed me to better connect with parents, and their student(s). 

The hardest part about my job was leaving it. However, at only 3 hours per day with an hour long commute, it just didn't make sense anymore.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 6 salaries reported	$76,333 per year
Para educator 3 salaries reported	$24.50 per hour
Human resources business partner 5 salaries reported	$130,651 per year
Dispatcher 2 salaries reported	$41.47 per hour
Bus driver 2 salaries reported	$33.90 per hour

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