teacher

elementary school teacher

english teacher

special education teacher

educator

Wake County Public School System

Work starts at 6:55.
Students arrive to class by 7:25
Class begins with a warm up exercise of lesson taught previous day.
to assess the competency of students of material taught on previous day.
After the checking of warm up exercise on how well the kids did, we then move on to the lesson of the day. An example will be placed on board for teacher to demonstrate.( The problem will include the previous days lesson so that students will see the connection from the day before. 

Teacher would model the new lesson through practice and guided practice with students. Students would then be given self practice exercises in class. Teacher would then observe and perform what I call the 4 C's. This is a model to assess students comprehension of lesson. The 4 C's stand for Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity.  These skills are observed to see the students work through the lesson taught. This is a great way for the teacher to assess where the kids are having trouble understanding the lesson. Teachers can focus on mini lessons to help build the foundation in the subject taught.

This instruction happens for 4-88 minute blocks of time. 

The day ends at 2:18 with kids. Then teachers work on tutoring, self and professional development until 3:45 or 4:00 pm.

Once the day is over, I reflect on the days events and write notes for myself on evaluating what I did that day that worked well and also what I did that I could make some adjustments on.

This can be a fast paced workplace culture. Planning is a must for this job.

The hardest part of the job is making the adjustments to meet all learning styles of students. Some students have modifications that need to be met, and language barriers that hinder their learning.

The most enjoyable part of the day is seeing the light bulbs shine when the students have successfully learned a standard and has showed proficiency in the subject.

A typical day as an elementary school Spanish teacher involves planning for the lessons that will be taught the following week. Each day entails something different, given that every class is on a different schedule and are learning a variety of skills. Working with children ages 5-11 can bring certain challenges, like figuring out how to teach to such a broad audience, but it is very rewarding in the fact that I am able to see each child learn and develop within the target language. 
It has been extremely fulfilling to see each child grow within the past year. I have learned how to manage different learning styles and have adapted my approach to encourage children with learning disabilities. 
Classroom management has been a challenge at certain points, but I have recognized my strengths as a teacher and utilized them to create a fair and encouraging learning environment for my students. My school's administration has provided me a substantial amount of support which has allowed me to develop new skills as a teacher and an individual. 
I have found teaching to be a truly collaborative experience between students, parents, and other teachers within my school. 
The most difficult aspect of teaching is creating a positive learning environment for every individual student, each of whom has their own separate learning styles and comes from different socio-ecomonic backgrounds/ life experiences. 
The most rewarding part about being a Spanish teacher is seeing the students learn and grow as they encounter the challenges of learning a new language at a young age. Not only can I see them advancing within the language, I can recognize that they are aware of their growth within and outside of the classroom.

I have worked in three school systems and a major corporation for over 40 years. At age nine, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. At Leesville High School, my day started at 7:20 A.M. Classes were about 90 minutes long. Lessons had to be developed into segments since the students' attention needed to be re-directed and changed. My colleagues and I worked closely to make certain students were learning the objectives that the State mandated, and that requirement was the hardest part of my job. Teachers have different styles, and parents and students were always making comparison. I enjoyed seeing my students develop and grow in their thinking. It was exciting to note a shift in their maturity. When they were divided into groups, I listened as they discussed some profound issues and share their opinions.
I worked under three principals at Leesville. Each principal's style was different; therefore,I had to adjust my expectations and teaching style to meet their expectations.
My colleagues had different teaching styles and could be judgmental
of another teacher's style. Sometimes, teachers presented opinions that they felt were superior to others'. I did not appreciate their attitudes because I believe in sharing and taking the best of what each other has to offer. In that way, total quality could be established, and each teacher was validated.

Wake County is your best option as far as making a decent wage in NC as a teacher. Unfortunately, it suffers from the problem that education has, aka being a political pawn and held ransom by the powers that be in the senate and congress. For example, the state budget wasn't passed in 2018. What does that mean? They reinstated the current operating budget for another 2 years, leaving teachers without any kind of raise yet again.  They finally passed a budget (late by about 4 months) in 2021, where they increased the pay by 2.5% Not awful, except that raise was meant for the 2018 budget and inflation in 2021 was 6%, making it relatively meaningless in the grand scheme. It isnt all about money, but it sure makes it hard to deal with the annoyances of teaching and dealing with students and parents and admin when the entire state barely values your position, and despite being proclaimed as "heroes" receiving nothing more than words as far as making any meaningful differences to improving education as a whole. Until serious education reform is passed, Teaching is not a viable option, especially if you want to in/around Raleigh without a roommate.   

Relative to all NC public schools, Wake County is a good place to work! They offer an additional supplement to the standard NC teacher pay. WCPSS is a large school system with lots of support systems in place (PBIS behavior department, intervention department, SPED department, Project Enlightment early childhood department, etc.) I have worked for 6 administrations, and 5 of the 6 clearly cared about retaining teachers and promoted as much of a work/life balance as can be expected in education these days. That said, there are systemic problems that cause long days - a lack of bus drivers mean teachers are left to supervise exhausted children long after school has ended while drivers run double routes. Low wages for teachers statewide are improved by the supplement but it would still be extremely challenging to be your family's sole provider if you work for WCPSS and want to live here too. I have enjoyed most of my students and found support amongst most of their families. I have built relationships with wonderful coworkers at all of the schools I've worked with county wide over the last 18 years. If you're dedicated to teaching, this is a relatively good place to do so. If you're considering transitioning to education after working in a different industry, you might not be satisfied with working conditions or pay scale.

As a temporary employee, I had one leg up on my competition because I was already volunteering where my assignment was.
I use to believe that my volunteering would never pay off but it ended up proving me wrong.The staff welcomed me with open arms.

There was no really hard part about my job. The only thing that I found to be boring was Proctoring during EOG's.

I found that substituting in a class where the students "challenged me" was a gift. I made the best of it and made some new friends as well.

Overall I felt working at WCPSS was what I needed in my life right now. The only other downfall was being a temporary employee with no benefits :( Also I was recently told that I may not be able to go back to the site were I was (due to budget issues) so it discouraged me for a little while.

I feel that I do have one leg up above the competition when applying for other jobs and other school districts because of my persistant volunteering in the school system.

Safety Assistant/ Transportation/ Call Center Assist the drivers and WCPS staff in providing safe and efficient transportation for students. Attend special health classes as well as planning and setting enrollment programs that meets the information received from schools or other services system. Perform detailed work  regarding the needs and safety of the student ensuring that appropriate needs are meet base on their I.E.P goals. Designs and writes a variety of reports forms that require the retrieval of   highly complex data and analysis, in report formats using micro soft office and other office software. Managing a diverse population of students. Helps children on and off bus. Loads and unloads children in wheel chairs. Assists in keeping discipline on school bus. Places  children in seat belts, making sure they are securely fastened. Discusses with the school Principals and parents problems which arise on bus. Assists children who become ill on bus. Independently  researches and resolves problems of a common or immediate nature. Performed customer service duties in transportation call center.

A typical day at work:

    As a school bus driver, my typical day begins quite early. I usually arrive to work  in the mornings (5:30am) and afternoons (1:30pm) to check in with the office staff. At that point, I receive needed information to begin my shift. That needed information could range from a new/updated route description, school bus pre-trip forms, time sheets, or field trip information 
 . I normally clock in around 5:45am (mornings) and 1:45pm (afternoons) on the time keypad on the bus. My pre-trip inspection is then completed and I am ready to start my route. I drive three routes this school year. One high school and two elementary routes. My shift normally ends between 9:15am-9:30am for mornings and 4:45-5:15pm in the afternoon.

What you learned: Teamwork, organization, patience

Hardest part of the job:  Dealing with unorganized route planning and dealing with disrespectful student behaviors.

Most enjoyable: Being able to meet new students/parents, new routes/new areas.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The flexibility.  I love being able to check the website and choose the jobs I want to go to.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Its very stressful when the classroom is dirty and unorganized, and when the lesson plans are difficult to find or understand.  Also some classes have students that are disrespectful and have no discipline,  and seem to be used to doing whatever they want.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A clean, neat classroom with very clear lesson plans in plain sight, whether on slides or printouts.  Also, I appreciate when the surrounding teachers are supportive and offer any assistance that may be needed.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Most days are good.  I check in and get a badge and laptop if needed, I review the lesson plans first unless I have to go in the room cleaning and wiping down desks and tables.  I greet the kids as they come in and start the day according to the teacher's lesson plans.  I enjoy the children.

It's a great place to work if you're permanent!  Temps are used for work overflow & the passionate, experienced temps that have been there for 6 months or longer are often over looked for open positions, positions they've applied to and even positions they're currently working in! In Human resources they will tell you to apply but afterwards your efforts are ignored and looked down on and the position is ALWAYS given to an outsider without effort! After being hired and a "no show" they will still give the position to another outsider and NOT the temp that's working in the position! There are people there that will help and guide you because they want you to succeed but the head people, tho really friendly, they really don't care about the time, work or efforts you put into the job, your job skills in the role or YOU PERIOD! WCPSS HUMAN RESOURCES is UNFAIR, INCONSIDERATE, UNCOMPASSIONATE AND WILL ONLY USE CERTAIN TEMPS WITHOUT GIVING THEM A FAIR OPPORTUNITY! TEMPS GET TIRED OF BEING USED WITHOUT EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATION SO FOR THAT WCPSS HUMAN RESOURCES SUCK TO WORK AT!!! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 39 salaries reported	$53,359 per year
Elementary school teacher 6 salaries reported	$56,500 per year
English teacher 5 salaries reported	$54,800 per year
Special education teacher 14 salaries reported	$50,904 per year
Educator 3 salaries reported	$50,000 per year

Working at Wake County Public School System: Company Overview and Reviews

Wake County Public School System

Wake County Public School System Ratings

Popular jobs at Wake County Public School System

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected