A sinking ship

Last night one of my friends at school, a teacher who mentored me when I was first hired there 17 years ago, who has become a dear friend and a partner in my union work, let me know she accepted a job at another school. She turned in her resignation letter last night, and they posted her position this morning at 8 am. After 23 years of the district of the bullshit, she’s moving on. For the longest time, she was the only other staff member who helped me with our union work at school at all, and I have been training her to take over for me. That won’t be happening now.

Today during her last bargaining meeting with us, my other bargaining team member, my friend I have known for over 10 years at the school and who lead the charge to organize my classified staff and bring them into the union, let us know she was late to the meeting because she had a job interview at another school today. I am positive she will get it.

With all the shit at my district, almost everyone is leaving. We are getting to the point where we won’t have enough staff to stay open.

The staff that is staying have all said they “are giving it one more year” – because I already told them I am giving it one more year.

After 17 years and all I have done, the way that my current administration treats me and the rest of my staff is fucking bullshit.

I finally sought out professional counciling to deal with trauma from something that I have not written about here yet. But in talking to my counselor about the school, it says a hell of a lot when she tells me the way I talk about my current superintendent and how he treats staff is apparently the same way that people deal with domestic abuse talk about their abusers. That the stress and anxiety I now feel going to school or even checking my fucking school email and seeing something from this man I describe in the same language as someone dealing with PTSD.  – Which I have not been diagnosed with – yay me?

Add in I say things like “I am staying for the kids…”

No one should ever describe their job as being abusive, ESPECIALLY when that job involves educating kids.