TIME TO MOVE ON....

Remember on July 14 when I posted THE MAKINGS OF A CLASSROOM and how I spent all day being really productive getting my classroom, at MAB Elementary School, organized...well a lot can happen in 7 short days.

On July 14 I was a 5th grade elementary school teacher and this is the way my classroom looked:

......and today I am a middle school teacher with a couple weeks left on my summer vacation....and this is how my classroom looked when I was saying goodbye today.

As I said, a lot can happen in a week.

So, to catch you up:

Thursday, July 14th: I set up my classroom at MAB and I am feeling excited for the new year.

Monday, July 18th: I am busy making copies and I get a phone call from a principal, Mr. L, at GMS who got my name from human resources (HR) and wanted to know if I was interested in interviewing for a position at his middle school. My mouth dropped. I was in no way dressed for an interview so I asked him if I could meet him that afternoon. He said that would be fine. So, I stopped making copies and ran home to change.

I felt it was a great interview and apparently Mr. L did too because he said he wanted to have me work at his school. As I sat there, he emailed HR requesting me and told me to inform my principal that I wanted this position.

Now I need to inform you of how complicated this whole process can be.

The steps to a transfer:
1. Teacher applies for position
2. Teacher is asked to interview
3. New Principal requests teacher from HR
4. Teacher informs Present Principal that she will be accepting a new position
5. HR has to get approval for the transfer
6. HR calls teacher to formally accept position
7. Teacher contacts principal to let them know they have accepted a transfer
8. HR emails Present Principal to let them know a transfer will be made
9. If this happens on or after the first contract day Present Principal has the right to NOT release you for the first 20 days (They do this so that school aren't left without a teacher at the last minute.) and if you wish to transfer after the first 20 days Present Principal can hold you until the marking period is over.

Because my contract year for MAB ends on July 19 and a new contract year begins on July 20, if HR couldn't get this transfer completed in 24 hours, then my principal at MAB could hold up my transfer.

The other problem with this is Mr. L needs me to attend 3 trainings this summer (one, for the math program (Connected Math) they use and 2 trainings for the intervention program they use (Math Navigator: which is a modular intervention that targets and fills critical gaps and clears up misconceptions in mathematics understanding to help students catch up.) and America's Choice.) and if I have to stay at MAB for the first 20 days then I can't take the trainings and thus can't take this new position.

Bob, at HR was amazing! I called him after the interview and after explaining my issues he said he would talk to the right people and hurry this along for me. I went home Monday, not too excited because normally a transfer can take 48 to 72 hours for all the steps to be accomplished.

Tuesday, July 19: I got to school to organize and kind of just hang out in the hopes that I will hear something from HR and can start packing.  At 8:30 a.m. Jen, from HR calls me and says that Bob has spoken to her, she understands the urgency and for me to call her back at 9:30 a.m. Now she has to send it on for approval. At exactly 9:30 a.m. I call her back and she asks me to formally accept the position, which I do.  Before she hangs up she says, "Don't you worry. We'll get this done. I have faith this will go through. You can contact your principal now and let her know that today is your last day." 

I run with this new found hope and start packing. At 2:00 p.m. she calls me back and says that everything is taken care of and I am not required to attend the first day of class at MAB the next day.

By 3:30 p.m. I have a great portion of my stuff packed in my CRV and another teacher even volunteers to follow me home with my bookshelf in her car.

Wednesday, July 20: My husband and I arrive and pack up the last remaining things in my CRV and his Civic. I say good-bye to many friends, stop by the gym, one more time, to say goodbye to Janice, turn in my classroom key and by 11:30 Richard and I are unpacking all my stuff into the garage.

My 20 years at MAB has come to a close. WOW!

My new middle school position will be teaching 6th and 7th grade math. I AM OVER THE MOON!!!

There are only 350 kids in the entire school. My old school was close to 1000!

This new school is a little closer to home too.

I can get into the new school to set up my room on August 1st, the trainings will happen on the the 8th and 9th, August 10th and 11th there are meetings in the morning and planning time in the afternoon, the 12th is district professional development, the 15th is a day to work in our classrooms and the 16th is the first day with kids.

The first bell rings at 8:15 a.m. and the last bell is at 3:05 p.m.

Everyone eats lunch from 11:00-11:30. I only mention this because at my old school, there were so many kids that we had to rotate kids through by starting lunch at 10:00 and we didn't finish until 12:15.

There are 5 periods during the day: one is a 45 minute intervention period, one is a 75 minute meeting/prep period, one I teach a class of 6th graders and the other two, I teach 2 different groups of 7th graders.

I LOVE MAB AND WILL MISS HER VERY MUCH!!!!!! TONS OF GREAT MEMORIES AND GREAT FRIENDS. I AM SO EXCITED (AND NERVOUS) TO START THIS NEW JOURNEY. PRAY FOR ME....12-14 YEAR OLD KIDS ARE A LITTLE SCARY!!!