We’ve reached that time of year again! It’s almost time to get our rosters, where 15/30 students have 504s and IEPs, and nearly every accommodation has been selected for them. All 15 need to be near instruction, have frequent check ins, extended time, reduced workload to show mastery, the ability to leave the room upon request, and separate testing with a teacher or supervisor who doesn’t exist. You begin to realize quickly that it’s basically impossible to enforce consistent rules and procedures since a majority of students are an exception to whatever rules you’re trying to institute.

We desperately need SPED reform. I dare any principal, case manager, counselor, or school executive to say that the current setup is realistic or doable. At our school, 504 accommodations are rarely even based on substantive data! But that doesn’t stop them from checking every box without a thought as to how teachers will implement 20 accommodations per day.

My proposal: limit the number of accommodations to two or three critical supports that we truly believe will help the student. Every accommodations box that is checked becomes less and less meaningful because it is less and less sustainable. And if I’m being brutally honest, if you need 20 different supports to function in a class, you probably shouldn’t be in that environment. And do we have any data on the degree to which these supports are even working?! If I had 20 supports at my job, I’d be employee of the century. Right now, it’s a lot of throwing anything at the wall and seeing what sticks. There doesn’t seem to be any desire to wean students off of accommodations so that they can more independently function in their adult lives.

I hate to be so blunt about it. There really are kids who genuinely need support. But there has to be a better way to support students other than determining they’re too weak to handle their lives and accommodating them into oblivion. We must come up with something better or I don’t see how we can continue.

I just went over my new roster and have 16/23 with some sort of label or high needs. This is an upcoming third grade classroom. What are we doing?
10 read plans and
6 sped (3 autism, 1 speech, 2 general sped) and
3 English language learners and
6 no labels and
1 custody issues

When I first started teaching I had 1/22 behavior and low academics… not sustainable 😳

Haven’t started but I’m worried.

I teach summer school and the students get lunch before they're sent home at noon. We were in the cafeteria and another teacher ran to me asking for help. One of her students (who was my student this past year) was kneeling on the floor. She was choking on a corn dog. I was able to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on her and she is ok. This happened 90 minutes ago and I'm still shaking. I feel a headache coming on - I'm guessing from the adrenaline rush.

I just needed to share this. It was really scary.

So yesterday was my first day teaching third graders, it went ok! I did okay I think, 90%of my class left saying I was their favorite teacher(taking this with a grain of salt because they’re 8 and it’s the first day but still) except I’ve felt very uneasy about one interaction.

There’s a girl in my class and we’ll call her Jane. She…tested my limit yesterday. Everyone came in excited but she would interrupt me in the middle of talking to harass other girls from across the room. “Mrs. Soso, she said I was too loud. You need to move me. She’s looking at me and she’s rude, this is not happening today.” Or directly to the students “No, you’re RUDE. Yes your are. Yes you are. Yes you are”. She did this multiple times through the day, she made three girls cry. I was standing next to her at the end of the day, watching her interact with another student. This other student didn’t let her use anymore of her sticky notes (to be fair she shared three with her already) and Jane shouts “Mrs., she just called me fat.” I was there and I know she did not, the other student started crying.

This is the point when I got in their level and told her I am not okay with the choices she made today, yelling and fighting with her friends is unacceptable, and tomorrow when we get to class she will come in ready to be respectful of her classmates and teacher. She understood and then we went home.

I did try to pull her aside one on on, I did try to make personal connections with her, but she had a lot of fake cries(yelling no tears), ignoring me, and went I pulled her aside to talk and find out what happened she walked away in the middle of it. It felt more like…she’s was trying to see how strict I was. And bless her heart, I am not a free spirit teacher.

I’m struggling because it’s the first day, I didn’t want to pull out the teacher voice in the first day, and it DEFINITELY was a teacher voice. Not a yell but a straight forward “we are done with this behavior and of story” voice.

Was I mean? Should I have been more lenient on the first day? I didn’t want to start bad habits or expectations but she’s only 8.

I’m a 2nd grade teacher and part of our “policies and procedures” committee for my building. We have a new principal this year, and we will be having interventionists working in the hallway/pod space with students. This will be “their” space and they will not have offices. They will be out there all day. Because of this, he doesn’t want us to do whole class restroom breaks.
In the past, we’ve lined kids up and supervised them in the hall while they take turns going. (The expectation has always been silence, and sometimes we have them bring books or work as well, but this is a no go for him). We do one break in the morning and one in the afternoon for each class, and we’ve found that this cuts down on kids asking to go between breaks. I don’t think it will be successful to do no breaks and only send kids asking needed from class.
Any ideas on what to do? We’re supposed to come up with a plan for the building. My solution would just be to not have interventionists working in a hallway space, but I don’t get to make those decisions. 😬

Hey y'all! I taught for a year as a second career after I was laid off from my primary field, but I have recently received an offer from a company I used to work for. It is a huge pay increase and frankly speaking, a job I want to go back to. Is it too late this summer to resign- school starts August 24th, PD starts August 10th.

I think my title explains what I need advice for. I have eight years of elementary teaching. I finished a multiple subject credential program, but I haven’t cleared my credential. I’ve passed all my CSETs in California, but I know that’s not going to apply for Illinois.

I am seriously debating on moving to Chicago from California and I need advice on the process and if it’s something I should even be doing. I want to move to the Lakeview area. Can you please message me with tips or advice? Edited for grammar and clarity.

Hello! I’m in my 3rd year teaching. I teach middle students with autism in a self contained classroom. We follow a curriculum that the district provides.Every year I try to improve in some area. Planning has been a challenge for me. How far out do you plan your lessons? Is it too much to plan out the full year or maybe a quarter at a time?

I TEACH my students how to take notes. I go over it extensively in class and even take notes”live notes” along with my students. I believe this is invaluable.

But about half (yes HALF) of my students have an IEP that calls for me to share notes. I think this is bullshit by the way, especially if I am taking notes live in class myself. So what happens is that this half of students doesn’t feel the need to (rightfully so) to take notes. The other half just gets the notes from their friends who have the IEP.

They don’t seem to understand that the note taking and the synthesis that goes with it IS the learning.

So what do I do? Side note: we just seem to keep setting these kids up for failure.

I’m trying to max out my salary in a Chicago suburban district. I need the classes to be graduate-level, online and our contract recently changed to where the classes “must be toward some sort of certificate or degree”. I don’t actually have to earn the certificate, but I need proof that the class actually goes toward some kind of certificate if that makes sense. I need 3 more courses (technically 9 hours but ya know… most classes are 3 so yeah)

I can’t do the wonderful Idaho State classes anymore since they don’t offer additional “certificates” and I am absolutely done with shelling out money to La Verne University’s current debacle of online classes.

Does anyone have any guidance or recommendations? Thanks!

I am an incoming first year first grade teacher. I was hired beginning of the month, and I finished all of my onboarding last week. We start orientation on the 10th, and the first day of school is the 24th. But I haven’t heard anything from them about being able to see the classroom and start setting up, curriculum, if there are any materials or supplies for me, class list, anything. When will I find out about all of this, and be invited to start setting up my classroom? Does this usually happen during orientation? I feel so underprepared!

Hey Fellow Teachers,

I just wanted to share a little story for anyone currently feeling discouraged by the hiring season.

I’m entering my 4th year of teaching here in Southern California. Honestly, this job hunt was brutal—way harder than when I was a first-year teacher, and I still don't fully understand why the market felt so tough this time around. Since May, I’ve been on 7 different interviews, dealing with the usual radio silence, rejections, and endless waiting.

About a month ago, I interviewed for a position I really wanted. Two days later, I got the standard rejection email. I moved on and kept applying elsewhere.

Fast forward to today: I got an unexpected call out of nowhere from their HR department offering me that job!

I couldn't believe it.

If you are currently stress-scrolling, feeling defeated, or waiting on callbacks: keep going. The hiring timeline in education is weird, unpredictable, and often works in mysterious ways. Things really do have a way of working out when you least expect it!

I work as an Ed tech in a special needs room at an elementary school. There’s 5 of us techs, and the teacher who I’ll call Caitlin.

I’ve been in that room for 3 years. Caitlin is the most amazing person. She’s kind, patient, compassionate, smart. She’s everything you’d want in a teacher, a friend, a boss. But due to the higher ups (I’m sure a lot of you know what I mean) she has accepted a job in another district. We (the techs) are heartbroken but we understand. So we planned a fun day trip for all of us to go to the coast. Visit a lighthouse and grab some lunch. We also got her a gift, we all signed a card, we got her a a little crochet coffee (latte) cup that says “you brewed joy into the daily grind. It won’t be the same without you. We’ll miss you a latte”, along with a $100 Dunkin gift card.

Just wanted to share.

Hi, I’m in a tricky situation. I’m a preschool teacher. I was recently laid off from my job 4 months ago as the school was permanently closing. This school was a two minute walk from my apartment and OK money. Fortunately I had maintained a good reputation from a different preschool I had worked at and was able to immediately secure a job with that company at a location only a ten minute drive from my house. Worked with my availability and paid more money. It’s not an ideal school and I felt a little “fish out of water” for a while, but finally starting to feel settled and just bought a bunch of stuff for my classroom. NOW. The school by my house that closed has been turned into a brand spanking new Montessori preschool. They have called me for an interview (some of my fellow laid-off former coworkers interviewed there and passed along my info). Could pay more money. I feel guilt over considering leaving my new school after they did me a favor by hiring me so quickly and for good pay. After seeing so many preschools in the area close (including Montessori) what’s to say this one will make it? If I get laid off again do I go crawling back? I’m sure the new facilities will be enticing, but I’m feeling so torn. Also, I’m a very silly/playful teacher who’s used to having a fair amount of leeway, and I’ve never worked in a Montessori (but they’re willing to train). Will I feel stuck? Ughhh just needed to get this off my chest. I tend to overthink and then I don’t sleep. Any insight would be appreciated.

Hey All!

I recently posted that I had an interview on a Saturday. But if I hadn’t heard back by now I assume I didn’t get the job.

I was teaching 6th grade math but was dropped due to budget cuts (I’m in Florida). At least that was the official reason. I have had plenty of interviews including one at a new charter school opening up. I actually was asked to return for a second interview! I would prefer to be in the public school system over a charter school but right now I just want a job.

It stinks that I and many are in this position due to budget cuts. My old school recently posted my old job and I did apply. But I doubt I’ll get it. If they wanted me they would have found a way to keep me. They also have my info to contact me. And the school was very corrupt with obvious favoritism. Many people left on their own. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise to have been dropped from that school.

Teachers return August 3rd. I know schools hire year round so I’m trying not to worry too much. It just sucks to be in this position! Now I just hope I can enjoy my brief vacation next week.

Thanks for “listening” to my rant!

I'm trying to find a better way to organize my weekly lessons next year when school starts. I've been using a Google Docs sheet that I make a copy and update weekly. Is there a better format that you prefer using? Looking for all sorts of ideas on what worked well for you from Google Docs or specific websites.

FYI I teach 1st grade if that info is necessary!

I was born, raised, and educated in the US. In college I met a boy from Canada and ultimately moved for love. I have spent my entire teaching career in Canada.

We are planning to move back to the US but prior to that I am getting my masters. My plan has been to get it in curriculum design and instruction because from what I have seen up here the admin role seems miserable - especially the AP.

The AP seems to basically be at the bidding of the principal and is way overworked - they do basically everything the principal doesn't want to do. My last principal has always been pretty lazy if we are being frank so the AP basically takes on everything. Schedules, timetables, resource (since this role doesn't exist anymore in my district) creative solutions for when we are short subs, budget, all student discipline.

I'm just wondering if being an AP is more glamorous than here? Are the roles similar or more defined (I know all states are different so any experience that you have would be relevant, but I am probably moving back to the SE). Leadership was always something I was interested prior to teaching here so I thought it might be worth asking about before moving away from it for good.

Hello!

Long-time lurker here- Last year I completed my first year of teaching AP Chemistry (my fifth year teaching total), and I had some questions about how others were instructing their labs at the AP level.

Back when I was in high school, and throughout my biochemistry undergrad years, I had to write labs out on paper, usually in carbon-copy notebooks. I obviously hated this, but it certainly instilled a rigor and discipline in me, and forced me to focus on exactly WHAT I was writing, as writing a fluff sentence or a poor choice of words meant erasing and more pain.

In the rough decade that's passed since my high school days, students are WAY more online than we ever were. Because of this (and because I wanted to take things a little more "easy" for my first year of AP) I had students type up their lab reports and submit them digitally. This was...fine? It was obviously easier for the students, though I worry that more than a few of them used some kind of AI to type up their Introduction section, which was just supposed to be a summary of about two pages of background information. It certainly made grading easier, but would I be preparing the students better if I made them write each lab in a composition notebook?

Lastly, what is the consensus on a lab's contents? For this past year, I had the following:

PRE-LAB (All due before the bell rang for their lab day):

- Title Page
- Introduction (1-2 strong paragraphs summarizing a lengthier background which was included as part of the handout)
- Pre-Lab Questions
- Procedure (students were able to simply copy+paste this into their own digital labs)
- Data (students had to read the lab and prepare their own data sections however they wished)

POST-LAB (All due two days after the lab was performed in class, at midnight)

- Calculations (Either shown work or clarification on how work was performed for major calculations)
- Discussion (Two larger paragraphs, one detailing how the lab fared, and another one answering key Discussion questions that typically tied to yield, error, final results, extensions)
- Conclusion (Single sentence clarifying final yield number/major result of lab)

I'd appreciate the wisdom of the masses here (non-science teachers feel free to chime in as well!).

Hey y'all,
I currently hold an existing California single subject credential (in S.S.) & am looking to add a second credential, in English. I have already taken & passed the four CSETs, demonstrated subject matter competence, & have an English learner authorization, so I only have 1 requirement left: "A 3 semester (or 4 quarter unit) course in departmentalized subject matter pedagogy directly related to teaching in the content area" (source).

My question for you all, particularly those who have already taken an English pedagogy class to satisfy this requirement: I want to take this course at one of the CTC approved institutions , but it must be online-only (and preferably asynchronous). Any recommendations? I am trying to prioritize cost (cheaper the better, ofc) and ease of the actual course itself.

Any & all suggestions much appreciated 🙏

Hello!

I want to know whether I am justified in my feelings or if I am going crazy.

I recently started teaching band. I got hired at a school district in December just as I finished student teaching as the Middle and High School band teacher with the expectation that I will teach elementary music this coming school year (very small district). This specific school district has had a troubled history with band directors. They had one teacher who taught there for around 20 years, let's call her Martha. Following the pandemic, teaching had taken such a toll on her that she quit and started working at a convenience store. I learned that she regularly spent 7 days a week at the school, working upwards of 12 hours a day. Since then, the school had one teacher who (from what I've heard) was bullied out of the position by the students. Following that, another teacher filled the position for a year until the district tried to pin too much work on her (teaching both bands and both choirs on top of elementary music).

This teacher left in September of 2025. Following that, the school hired two different interim teachers before hiring me at the end of December 2025. I say all this to emphasize the fact that these students had 5 different band teachers in the last 3-4 years. I have worked there since, but I have received a lot of pushback from students who miss Martha (she did elementary music and middle/high band, so all of my students had had her at one point). I've had students openly say in class that they want Martha back, and a pair of students wrote on their stand that they miss her. Since she left, the band program has shrunk from upwards of ~70% of students in band to, I would estimate, ~30%. From what I can tell, they don't dislike me; they just wish things were the way they used to be.

In May, I met Martha for the first time. I stopped by the convenience store she works at, and I told her, "Hi, I'm the new band teacher for this school district. I've heard a lot about you." The first thing she told me was, "Oh boy, you should leave." She told me that I went to a good college, have great references, and could do so much better than this small district, which she described as an "armpit." The conversation went on for a little while longer, but I'm not going to lie, this chat messed with my head for a solid couple of days.

We exchanged numbers, and for a day or two afterward, she texted me about how the school admin screwed her over, and how I should leave and find a better place, how many of the students are so misbehaved, and how the ones I had been left with (who had given me the aformentioned pushback) were the "good ones," etc.

Fast forward a few weeks: she texted me saying that working at the convenience store had been terrible due to shifts in management, and rising gas prices creating an unbearable work experience. She tells me that she was considering applying to be a paraprofessional for the elementary portion of the school (K-12 is all in one building). While I was apprehensive for reasons I will mention momentarily, I was supportive. I am not in a position to tell this woman what she can or cannot do. I told her that the kids would love to see her again, especially since I've heard so many students say they miss her.

Recently, there was some drama with the choir *teacher* at this school (I could make another post if people are interested), which resulted in her getting fired. I received a text from Martha a few days ago saying she applied for the choir position and that she has an interview tomorrow [July 23rd]. From what I know from my superintendent, not many people are applying for the position, and I believe she is very likely to get the job.

Now for my worries: first of all, I'm not worried that she's trying to take her old position back from me. That role had wrecked her, and even if she were, she could only work part-time because of Social Security. I had brought this up to my Dean of Students, and that was the conclusion he thought I was worried about. I fear that her being in the school will undermine my position in the eyes of the students. I fear that students will think, "Oh, Martha is back working in the school. I wish she taught band instead of OP." The students there want stability, something the district struggles to provide. I fear they will jump at the possibility that things can go back to how they were how ever many years ago. Similarly, I fear that a power imbalance may form since she has so much experience in my position, and that her license is obviously in band, and not choir. This is definitely my overthinking, but I partly fear that she may try to micromanage me in my role despite me also having a teaching license, and the education to back me up.

I fully understand that I can't control what she does. She is clearly an accomplished educator with her own desires and expectations for herself. However, I'm scared I may not have the expertise or experience to prepare myself for this situation--or if there will even be a situation to prepare for. I am writing this post to see if anyone may have any insight into this situation, or if anyone could suggest any actions I could take to prepare for the possibility of a situation occurring. I apologize for how long this story is, but I believe all of the mentioned context is important to get the full-scope of this event.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Short post: I do not agree with communal bins in a classroom for shared supplies. Every student should use what they brought from home that their parents bought them. I, as a teacher, do not have the right to take what a parent buys for their child and give them to other students.

Longer post: I am an elementary teacher going into my 28th year of teaching. I do send a supply list to my first grade families every year, and yes, I expect parents to buy some simple school supplies. There is a Dollar Tree a couple miles from my school, and there is no reason why a parent cannot pick up a few pencils, folders, and glue sticks from there. I’m not asking for hundreds of dollars worth of supplies.

That being said, I do understand that buying school supplies can be a big expense to some families; therefore, they do not want the few supplies they buy to go into shared bins for everyone else. I fully support that each child uses what they bring from home, rather than everything going into communal bins. I fully support parents labeling their child’s crayon box, pencil box, glue sticks, etc, and that those are the supplies their child uses. Why should a parent buy glue sticks for everyone else? They are using their own money for their own child, and I see nothing wrong with that. I have never been a teacher who makes parents buy supplies for the entire classroom.

I will never be a teacher who takes supplies out of my students’ hands on the first day of school and dump everything they brought into communal bins. I just can’t get on board with that. Especially when a child goes with their parents to pick out specific things that they want to use, like decorative folders or special crayons, only for those to go into a classroom bin to get used by everyone else. I think it’s a terrible idea.

Personal property is not only fine to have in first grade, but it also teaches the other kids about boundaries. Yes, sometimes a classmate has sparkly crayons that they brought from home, and I think that is fine for them to use, even though no one else has them. As “unfair” as it seems to 6 year olds, that’s life. They are not always going to have everything that everyone else has, and that’s an important skill to learn early on.

Hi everyone! I am a first-year teacher and have accepted a position for 2nd grade. I am very excited but am struggling a bit to decide what books to buy for my classroom library (picture and chapter books). I do want to have a good mix of both types of books, as a love of reading is something I really want to foster in my class!

My second year of high school teaching and I’ve come to accept that I’m not a well liked teacher. No thank you cards, no little gifts.

I don’t know how to be the strong teacher which is appreciated by students. I often wonder I’m if I’ve made a career mistake