I had a long meeting (over 2 hours) with my new boss yesterday. It was really helpful to actually talk through the issues of my job, and to have some feedback and guidance. It’s interesting to me that her management style is the direct opposite of her predecessor’s, who had the reputation as a bit of a micro-manager. In contrast, my current boss is laidback and pretty hands-off when it comes to my position. She waits for me to come to her with questions, issues, etc. Most of the time that’s probably a good thing, but I do find myself wishing I had a bit more guidance since I am not only new to this position but also new to the way that the central office “works.”

One of the items on my lengthy agenda yesterday was my vision of what my position might become, one that supports remedial classroom teachers. Of course, the tricky part of that is that there is absolutely ZERO funding for remedial education. No money for supplies, training, nothing. Obviously, any training I provided to them myself would be “free”, but paying for me to get the training to redeliver is obviously not. I admitted to boss lady that at this point I am merely treading water, trying to learn the job and to lay a foundation so that next year I might be in a position to actually help these teachers. It was reassuring that she admitted that she, too, is just trying to survive in her own first year as a director.

I also had an epiphany over the weekend during my trek to Tennessee for graduate school. I have a mental two-year plan that has been gradually taking shape over the last two months–meaning, I plan to remain in my current position for two years. I’ve been flirting with the notion of eventually moving into administration, partly because I find that I miss being part of a school. However, this weekend it suddenly occurred to me that such a move would be settling for me. The things I really enjoy doing are notably absent from the jobs of administrators. I like presenting, teaching, planning to present and teach, and I like doing all of that with and for teachers. I love it when something I shared can make someone else’s professional life easier or their teaching better. I also love working with technology and assisting teachers in integrating that technology into their classrooms.

The dilemma: there is a position in our district that would allow me to do all of the above. I think I would really enjoy it. However, it requires a 240 day contract as opposed to the 191 day contract I currently have. In addition, the pay comes out to roughly $60 per day LESS than I currently make. So I would take a pay cut, and I would work 2.5 months MORE per year. Needless to say, these details make the position less than ideal.

So again, I’m treading water. Keeping my eyes open and focused, my arms and legs gently moving, and hoping to see land soon.

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