elementary school teacher

special assistant

special education teacher

high school teacher

instructional assistant

Seattle Public Schools

What is the best part of working at the company?
I have an amazing administrator who respects my ability/knowledge as an educator.  She is supportive and caring professional who truly puts the students first.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The complete lack of support from the district office.  The lack of accountability and knowledge is concerning. They seem completely unaware of the ramifications of the decisions they make, and the detrimental effect they have on students and staff.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment can best be described as self serving.  The culture is one of self preservation at any cost.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day consists of trying to fit 8 hours of subject material into 4 hours of actual teaching time. During “planning” - if you’re lucky enough to have a sub show up for your consistently absent special teachers- you get to respond to inane emails from obtrusive parents who believe that they can perform your job better than you. You’ll eat a quick lunch and use the bathroom while you attend to this. Afternoons are spent addressing discipline issues from students whose parents will place the blame on you and the way you teach them, even though every prior teacher that student had has experienced the same issue with the student and parent. At the end of the day you can look forward to staying late and engaging in a mandatory online PD on navigating the newest curriculum that you didn’t want or ask for and that will be absolutely worthless to you.

This is a great company to work for, I been here for 5 yrs and absolutely love it here!!! I'm relocating and going to miss it. I'm just going to put things down as they come to me:
amazing co-workers to work with all very different in their own ways, did have problems with a few co-workers at first but worked things out and everything is fine. you would only work as an alarm monitor two days a week either day, swing or grave shifts available. some departments really lack in being punctual with important information and have been like that for years. Local 609 union are the best, they will have your back and they're like pit bulls when comes down to getting anything handled. This job can be fast pace and hectic at times so multi tasking is a must between radio, phone, cameras, and typing on computer. You don't really have a chance in moving up in this department because everyone has been here for years and not retiring too soon plus everything is seniority based. you do have a chance to move up in different departments. you do have the chance to pick up as many hours that come open. this job would be good for College Students. Management are very down to earth but can be non helpful with certain situations.

As with all public school districts there are things to be desired. However, SPS really tries to give as much support as possible across the board. The salaries and benefits are competitive, and the schools are allowed to have their individual character. They have dedicated themselves to equity training over the last few years, and, in all trainings, strive to find the best researched based practices.  

I'll be frank, I love this district. And. I will say, may latest position with them, sub, is only viable with SPS as a temporary situation. I cannot speak for Para or Admin positions. However, for FTE in class teachers (which I have been in the past) this is a great situation.  

That said, it is likely standard across districts for subs to be an afterthought in this process. And if ANY district was going to do better, I bet SPS will be one of the first to implement a program - when it becomes a priority. 

All in all, I highly recommend this district for FTE or PTE classroom teachers and long term sub specialists. 

School nursing is a rewarding and challenging profession. You are a "lone wolf" in this area of nursing, but provides you with the ability to work directly with children and their families in a community and public health setting. The work-life balance is great, especially for those with families. The best part of school nursing is the ability to do a lot of preventive care, health education, and counseling to families. Especially as you are likely their first healthcare contact person. There is a wide range of ages in which you can work with, from 2.5 years of age requiring possible early intervention services, all the way up to 21 years of age, in which students are receiving school to work transition training. School Nurses are more than the "nurses who give ice packs and BandAids". Health education and treatment can range from as simple as encopresis and constipation issues, sleep issues to more complex, such as behavioral issues, substance abuse, pregnancy, and reproductive health. It truly is a rewarding and challenging field of nursing, which is even more challenging in that the school district I work in is the largest school district in the state with the widest range in ethnically, religiously, and socio-economically complex and diverse population!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Getting paid and health benefits for me and my family

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
This is an organization that treats its employees with the utmost disdain. It is a hierarchical, top-down employer that does not listen to or care about its employees. Speech therapists are routinely overworked and caseloads are too high. I have nothing good to say about working for Seattle Public Schools

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
At the level of individual schools, many teachers and some administrators are delightful to work with. However, schools are not given the resources or time to provide an adequate (never mind optimal) education for students.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arriving at least 30 minutes before school starts to face an overflowing email box. When the students arrive, therapy sessions are back-to-back in an attempt to serve all the minutes on students' IEP's. Often, an SLP does not leave until 1-2 hours after the school day has ended because there are assessments and IEP's that must be written on a tight timeline. It is very stressful.

My first year, I stayed at one main school, I learned a lot but also messed up quite a bit. The teachers and people who work at the schools are helpful, especially if you have not been at the school before. My second main school is where I learned the most, I had a really nice manager, who is organized and knew what they were doing. It was great learning from them, very reliable. There were something’s though that were a struggle throughout the whole job, like communication and this job can be very stressful. You kind of have to be ready for anything to happen like the fridge or freezer turning off, the electricity going off, not having enough food or having too much so that you end up having to throw it away. So if you have good organization skills, planning and able to work on pressure and like working in a school environment with kids and teachers, then this job would be good for you.

I used to work in Seattle schools many years ago being just temporary part time on call guest teacher employee. I left them being horribly treated with the full level of hostility, bias and discrimination. Lots of things happened in Seattle Central community since that time, but nothing good changed in Seattle Schools District, unfortunately. Just to bring you up as an example a common terminology that is in use now in SSD like "substitute friendly" schools. What is it? It is a bias and hostility. "Dogs friendly", "Substitutes friendly", and what else? I think Seattle Schools need to have thorough and severe very serious State audit every year to find out what does "Substitute friendly" terminology mean to bring this organization to the legal compliance. It is extremely hostile place to work now. Shame would be the best characteristic for their management style they practice nowadays, unfortunately.

The culture in Seattle Public Schools is definitely inclusive and they make an intentional effort to respect individuals' rights and need for accommodation.

Before teaching full time, I was a substitute teacher so got to experience first hand almost every school in the district. In general, the students are kind and welcoming. I can strongly vouch for this aspect.

However, I would say is that the administration and culture of discipline in many of the schools can be lacking. In effort to accommodate every single student ( a lofty and admirable goal), they sometimes bend over a bit too far. This sometimes created a feeling that there was no 'sheriff' in town. Students with difficult behavior can, and often did take advantage of this.

Having moved there from a midwest city with more 'old school' values, the unintended consequence of the city's militantly liberal culture were very obvious.

Overall though, I would say on balance it is a district I would recommend. They have a very strong and active union that works aggressively on behalf of the teachers. 

Working for this district has been an overall positive experience, largely due to strong leadership that provides clear direction, support, and genuine investment in its staff. It is refreshing to work under management that listens and follows through.
The coworkers are a more complicated story. While some are wonderful and collaborative, others have displayed openly racist behavior that creates an uncomfortable and at times hostile work environment. It is disappointing because it undermines what could otherwise be a great team dynamic.
Similarly, most parents are supportive and appreciative, making the work feel meaningful. However, a portion have directed racist attitudes toward staff, which is unacceptable in any setting, let alone one centered around education and community.
Overall the foundation is solid thanks to great leadership, but the district would benefit from stronger cultural accountability among staff and clearer consequences for discriminatory behavior from parents and coworkers alike.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Elementary school teacher 260 salaries reported	$96,904 per year
Special assistant 209 salaries reported	$54,651 per year
Special education teacher 72 salaries reported	$109,509 per year
High school teacher 43 salaries reported	$102,606 per year
Instructional assistant 33 salaries reported	$36.64 per hour

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