Well, Tuesday was not one of my better days. I really haven't had a wonderful day since then. Our district was having to lay off/fire/terminate 500 teachers because of state budget cuts! That is a BIG number!! It is my 3rd year in the district and my 5th year teacher in Texas. I am considered a 3rd year probationary teacher.
There were many rumors flying around the district and all the different campuses about what was happening and how they were going to lay people off. Well, none of us knew what was happening and that made this whole process even worse.
Cody and I finally attended a "special" board meeting that they held on Monday evening. We went and received a lot of information. They had a presentation stating where they were going to cut teachers. It came down to them cutting 114 elementary teachers. I was still upset, but it seemed like I have a better chance of keeping my job. If anything I would have to be reassigned to a different campus. At this point as long as I have a job I am happy. Tuesday morning I come into school, it's Teacher Appreciation Week, and kids are bringing me flowers and sweet notes and just as sweet as always. The morning goes on and I was talking with one of the teachers that was at the meeting the night before in my class. I apologized to the kids and said, "I'm sorry there are lots of things going on right now." To my surprise they all answered, "We know!" All of the kids had heard from older siblings or their parents that were teachers and I was shocked!! I had no idea they knew what was going on because they never mentioned anything to me. They asked me if anyone had been fired from our school, when was it happening, etc. I explained to them that I have no answers and that we can't talk about things we don't know facts about. We talked about how rumors get spread and how information can get misconstrued, we had a great little life lesson! We stopped and I got them started on a math assignment, I was setting up their notebook on the SmartBoard and I turn around and a lady walks in my room with a look on her face. This was not even 5 minutes after we just had this discussion!! I knew what she was there for. I Freaked out and said, "NO!" I had the SmartBoard pen in my hand and I "chunked" it. Opps!!! The kids got it out of the trashcan I later found out! Are you kidding me, is this really happening??? I broke down in the hall and couldn't walk any more. They went and got Michele, my Math partner who treats me as one of her own daughters. She is such a wonderful mother figure for me and she was there for me when I needed it! She walked me down to the front office where I had to go into my Principal's office. A lady from Human Resources was there and she kindly read me the "letter." I got hired in that room and got fired in the same room. It was absolutely awful. As I think back to everything that happened it all seems a blur. I do know that there were so many people there supporting me when I really needed it. I was a wreck! Michele called Cody and told him and he came and got me. I couldn't go back to the room and they told me to leave. While I was calming down and waiting for Cody to come, Michele, my Assistant Principal Angel, my long term sub from when Colton was born Vonneice and I sat on the bench. Many parents walked by and stopped and said such sweet and encouraging words.
That evening Cody, Colton and I were together and at this point that is what matters!!
Driving back up to school Wednesday morning was very difficult. My best friend Jenn sent me a text message first thing. Michele took care of me making sure I was good all day along with so many people from school. People checked on me all day, it was amazing to see the love that people have. My class and parents are Amazing! I came in that morning and all of my kids were wearing maroon!!! The parents coordinated it and one of the boys brought A&M shirts for people to wear that different have any maroon. The notes from the parents were indescribable! Of course every time I read one I broke down. My class today came up with a plan for me for next year! They said that I will tutor/home school all of them next year at our house. During recess they will play with Colton and play the Wii and that Colton will be our mascot. They were so excited and said that we would be together all year. They do know how to make me smile! Two of my mom's asked for a conference and they came up to school and brought me ice cream and a gift card to a local Mexican Restaurant. I love the support that my parents are giving me, it truly is amazing. I told Cody that reading all of those notes makes it worse, he told me it should make it all the better. It just shows how much of an impact you have made on your students and what an amazing teacher you are. It did make me feel better.
All of this is so hard to understand. I feel that our district did not handle this properly. As the lay offs have been happening all week my heart breaks for all of the people that have lost their job, a job that we all love. What makes all of this even harder is hearing of all of the 1st year teachers that did not loose their job. The made cuts by campus and not by the district as a whole. It is not the 1st year or 2nd year teachers fault at all, but I just don't understand what the district was thinking. I know that life isn't fair but how they cut people wasn't right.
Since Tuesday I have had my fair shares of ups and downs. This evening hasn't been great so I thought I would get some of my emotions written down. My thoughts may not all make sense but it feels good to just write all of this down.
As of now I have my dream job of being a stay at home mom. I do not know how long I will be able to do this though. Because they do not know the exact number they need to cut I could very well get re-hired for the Fall. I know that God is in control of this entire situation and that He has a plan for our family. For that I am thankful and keep my head up. I know that right now I don't understand why this is happening, but something great is around the corner for our family. I do pray that I will be back in the classroom, I love what I do. It is such a rewarding job and I love seeing each child grow each year. I am thankful for Cody and Colton and know that we are going to get through this tough time. We are all healthy and we Love one another and are happy. We trust that everything will be fine because He is in control. Please keep us in your prayers as well as all of the other families that have been affected during these budget cuts.
