para educator

high school teacher

elementary school teacher

substitute teacher

teacher

Worcester Public Schools

There is a general atmosphere of gossip, power hungriness and toxicity among school and some district leadership. Shouldn't we all be cooperating toward the same goal of ensuring kids are safe, valued, and able to develop a love for learning and a place in our world? Very little collaboration between different bodies in the district, and it's sad to see all the egos at play. The lack of diversity in leadership is a huge problem as leaders are unable to empathize with students' or families' experiences and often are downright discriminatory. I've witnessed several instances of clear bullying of staff at all levels that are tacitly condoned. Human Resources has a couple of kind staff, but is generally incompetently run, has huge delays in hiring and follow-up on requests - thinks months for both - and the heads treat staff with consistent disrespect. Teachers have no time for PD or collaboration - I've never seen another district with only one PD day a year! There is a lot lot of funding available to work extra hours for pay, grow professionally or provide extra opportunities to kids, which I suppose is a benefit. There's also some openness around curriculum and at least a cursory nod to culturally responsive teaching. The families and students are great and come from a total diverse array of backgrounds, languages, and experiences, which makes it a dynamic place to work where you learn something every day.

My review is in regard to the high school level. Most of the teachers I worked with have left the school that employed us. The students come from a middle school that has not taught them appropriate boundaries. Further, all of the discipline where I worked was placed on teachers, and we were hassled by students who skipped class and hung out in the halls. I used to call parents to inform them that their child had detention in my classroom, after school, but few parents made their child stay for it, and administration refused to help me follow up. Teachers held meetings to try to solve their own problems with this issue, to no avail. One teacher offered to run an afterschool detention for the entire school, if principals would support it by speaking to parents. Unfortunately, his administrator would not allow that. As well, there were incidents, where teachers and classrooms were treated with outrageous disrespect that was not investigated by administration or addressed in any way, whereas minor incidents were sometimes given too much attention, probably because of politics.

kindergarten-2nd grade sub separate
Always start the day with bus duty, getting your students off the bus and to the classroom, starting their morning routine with either breakfast or play. I learned how to respond to students needs to the best of my ability and work with a BCBA to provide for the student. I learned how to take various types of data and run teaching trials and incidental teaching programs. The management of the classroom worked on an hour-by hour schedule as per classroom teacher and it worked real well. First half of the day was with mostly the same students and switched to different students in the afternoon. My co-workers in my specific classroom were phenomenal. We were able to communicate with body language and basically without words when we needed help or anything at all. The hardest part of the job was being understaffed in a classroom where mostly 1:1's were needed but not specified in an IEP leaving each staff with 2 students and then 3 when lunch breaks came around or staff absences. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with my staff and students and seeing real progress and goals happen. It is an amazing feeling to be apart of the process where students who once struggled now strive and hit their IEP goals.

Working in the special ed program as an assistant our day begins getting the children from buses and inside for breakfast. We go through our day to day on a very structured schedule, which helps the students and staff alike. The end of the day buses are generally late, forcing staff to stay anywhere from 10-45 minutes past their contracted time and causing them to work without pay. Depending on what school you work in you will experience very different levels of involvement and help from administration. The hardest part of the job is working alongside people who don't have the same work ethic as you and having no one to successfully report to about these issues with coworkers. It's extremely discouraging to have no opportunity for personal raises while making the same salary as coworkers who are less qualified and less motivated than you. The only enjoyable part of the job is working with the students and seeing them progress and achieve their goals.

I work in an inner city elementary school.  I work with families and children that are from low socioeconimic status.  They have many challenges and difficulities in their lives that can impede their ability to be ready to learn.  I enjoy working with these families and to help connect them to opportunites and services in the community.  Most of the children are curious, joyful, and extremely resilient.  It is very rewarding to see them grow and change as they progress through the years.  

I also love working with the Teachers and Administrators as we collaborate to make the culture of the school safe, engaging, and full of opportunities to learn.  Collaborating with my colleagues from the Child Study Department and the staff within my school is professionally very satifying.  

The hardest part of my job is it is often fast-paced and stressful and I have to prioritize what I do first.  It is not like this everyday but I have to monitor my level f stress and take measures to keep my mind and body healthy.

Working with the Worcester Public Schools was very rewarding. I went from a 8-12 special educations students classroom setting to an office position which required contact with parents, going to their homes all kinds of weather and documenting visits. The position of acting secretary gave me office skills that I didn't have previously. Working in a fast paced environment, I learned confidentiality, keeping records accurate and filed, and how to successfully deal with sometimes irate people, monitoring teachers and students daily and keeping attendance.  The hardest part of the position was trying to keep everyone happy. The most enjoyable part was knowing that I was making a difference in a lot of lives and it was keeping me active. I would rather be busy than have a lot of down time

In the 6 years I was employed with Worcester Public Schools, I had the opportunity to work for a nationally recognized and award winning CFO.  Management on all levels knew how to bring out your very best without intimidation or fear. Many of the daily tasks at hand were very challenging, due the complexity of detail needed in the final result, and the antiquated database the city used.  Prior to working there, I had very little use and basic knowledge of Microsoft programs.  After spending several months grinding out labor intensive work, I was able to use Microsoft programs to manipulate that data provided from their financial system to provide accurate data in a time efficient manor. The most difficult part of the job like many others in the Public Sector/Government was the staff that had no interest in learning new methods and processes to be more productive and efficient. I was also very fortunate to be on a team surrounded by very bright individuals who were very forthcoming with help and ideas to increase transparency and productivity.

Gave 30 years as teacher. First 20 or so were great. Then downhill. New principals with limited to none actual classroom experience. It's stressful when the people in charge of evaluating you have no idea what they're talking about. School committee is clueless and mainly there for political/ popularity reasons. Last election, only about 10 percent of the city voted. Superintendents and admins are pretending they know what they are doing. They have no actual interest in students or staff. Primarily there for the bucks. Students are great. If only admin held them responsible for their actions. Poor policies re: cell phones, behavior, attendance. Basically every kid passes. Basically every teacher gets blamed if they bring up issues. Stay far away from this district. Get your beginner experience here, then go elsewhere. Metrowest schools pay more and have fewer issues. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I feel management where I work is best .They know how to “manage” They guide very well.
All have extremley good patience. This is the group that leads our big group.This is why this school & I would imagine all the other smaller schools(some not small) work. Very organized. I appreciate the guidance.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
That I have a hard time understand other than English language.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Good except hard I can only say for me to understand.I am sure for all the people that do not speak English.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working with co worker getting lunches ready for few schools to be delivered. Break then either serving line to get things ready for students to start to come in for lunch.Or getting breakfasts ready to be picked up for delivery.Or getting fruits& vegetables cut and ready .Helping where help is needed.

The Worcester Public Schools is a very good place to start a career in education.  There is a variety of schools and populations to work with which allows you to experience a plethora of work situations within a public school setting.  The system does face challenges but often works hard towards the growth and progress of its schools and students.  Because of this, I have found WPS to be a promising place for growth as an educator.  The workplace culture will vary due to the building administration.  I have observed and experienced this as being very positive but have also, unfortunately ,seen this as a difficult challenge for teachers to feel appreciated in their roles as educators. The hardest part of the job is putting it down at night as you transition into life outside of work.  The most enjoyable part of the job is breaking through to student understanding, growth and seeing their appreciation for learning.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Para educator 104 salaries reported	$38,812 per year
High school teacher 60 salaries reported	$70,679 per year
Elementary school teacher 51 salaries reported	$73,910 per year
Substitute teacher 9 salaries reported	$40.21 per hour
Teacher 9 salaries reported	$75,137 per year

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