Hi Bradleyk,
I would like to speak to the support question if you are really interested. Bryan has unrealistic expectations on what one person can accomplish in a classroom, in a day, in a week, in a school year. I can only speak at the elementary level. I am not sure how things are running at the secondary campuses. Instead of putting proper reading and GT pull out support in place they choose to shove it all right back into the classroom while raising expectations at the same time. The finances you mentioned are real, but elementary campuses in Bryan all employ full time Instructional coaches who DO NOT work with students and are highly qualified to do so. In my opinion, they could find existing resources to help at minimum. The expectations that are told to the teachers are sometimes physically impossible so they have to immediately figure out how to fake it or evade being watched. Its not realistic for the same human being to pull several sets of small groups AND do lengthy verbal reading testing at the EXACT same time, but this is one example of a real situation at a real campus in Bryan. Please also remember that to take a highly disruptive student out of your classroom costs time and money and paperwork. So teachers are often expected to do all of this with a furniture throwing, cursing child that is shoved right back at them if they ask for any assistance so they can actually do their job.
That is just one component of a very complex scenario. There is a lot of pressure felt on everyone from the tip top of the triangle all the way down. Teachers get the heat, because admins get it because ICs get the heat for things to be a certain way. Teachers are often told when they present an impossible scenario to their superiors "Im sorry but that is the expectation". The Bryan campus Im familiar with takes up an illegal amount of a teachers lunch, every conference period and often after school meetings until 5, leaving the rest of their lesson planning, grading, prepping, planning, cleaning jobs to the night time. PLEASE also remember that at most elementary campuses teachers are teaching up to 5 subjects a day.
This all breeds burn out. There is no one to trust, no where to turn. We want these teachers to feel competent, confident, and free to ask for support or even advice. Every child is different and their needs are different. It is crucial to foster an environment of collaboration. It is also important that teachers have a some what balanced life in order to function with 23 children every day.
Bryan likes to raise the stakes and put no plan in place to get to those goals, again putting pressure on the classroom teacher. IMO you cant run a district with those methods. You cant be a bully and push everyone around until they somehow magically clone themselves over 4 times to take care of business. It is human nature to break down at some point.
My opinions about Bryan were formed first hand. I have no desire to squabble with someone about it that has never run a classroom in that district. Im simply putting this out there so that people will think twice when they think the teachers are just whiny. IMO we need a plan for a more collaborative working environment to improve quality. God Bless those men and women out there working their tail ends off to make it happen everyday. Bryan deserves better.