Room Tour

With the hurricane that came through at the start of the year, I got a little behind on posting. Here is a little tour of my classroom! It is still a work of progress and I still find myself moving things around on a daily basis, but I think it is coming along nicely.  Let me know what you think!

Here is the view from my door. I can't really complain, I think I have an awesome classroom!

This is my circle time area that I use with my little ones. And a close up of their visual schedule. They have gotten so good at using the schedule throughout our session! It helps keep us organized through the chaos that occurs on occasion!

This is my smaller table that I sit at with Pre-K-First grade.

I got these AWESOME visuals from Panda Speech, Kiwi Speech, and Jenna Rayburn. My kiddos and I refer to these constantly! I find it so useful to have some easily accessible materials to use and refer back to.

 I bought this here from Amazon. I bought it a few years ago when I was teaching first grade as my exit ticket. I found a new use for it this year! The best part is that it has a few different overlays that you can easily switch out depending on what you are using it for. The kids LOVE it!

 I organize my materials for the week for Pre-K-First grade here. Once I make copies and prepare materials I just drop it in the basket for the groups that will be using it. On Friday's I make sure that the materials are organized and set for the following week so I can just grab and go!

Up on the top corner is my Cycles Toolkit that I got from Speech Musings. Another product that I use daily.

  Last but not least is my materials closet! No matter how hard I try, I just can't keep it organized! I definitely have my go to games that we tend to play more often, but it is nice to have options to keep sessions interesting.

 Hope you enjoyed the tour!

School District vs. Contract

How many of you are excited that graduation is around the corner in December?!? Now, cue the panic! You need to find a JOB!

I don't know about you, but when I was getting ready to graduate last May, I was set on working in a school. Being an ESE teacher previously, schools are definitely my comfort zone. Figuring out what type of placement I wanted to work at for my CFY was pretty easy. Deciding on whether I wanted to be hired directly by the school system or work for a third party contractor was the HARD part!

Here is a breakdown of pros and cons of each:

Direct Hire:

Pros:

• Benefits - County employees typically get good benefits that include pension and 401k matching
• Planning time - time dedicated for material prep is provided outside of documentation time
• Member of the School
• Training and professional development opportunities are provided
• Easier to order materials - some districts provide a stipend for materials
• You get to pick your own school

Cons:

• Additional duties (bus, lunch, RTI, testing, etc)
• Make less money

Contract Employee:

Pros:

• You don't have to do any additional duties (lunch, parent nights, faculty meetings, etc.)
• Make more money
• Only have to work your contracted hours

Cons:

• Benefits - some contract companies give you the option of benefits, however they do not provide incentives such as 401k matching.
• No planning time - you are only allowed to bill for services directly related to the students. So time taken for planning or lunch is not paid.
• Feel isolated from other staff members
• Limited training and PD opportunities
• You have to purchase your own materials if they are not provided by the school
• You don't get to pick your school, you get placed.

ONE HUGE MYTH: If you are a CF and are worried about your mentorship with a contract company, there is NO need to worry! Yes, of course some companies provide better mentorship programs than others. As long as you ask the right questions, you have no need to worry!

So which route did I decide to go with...

I ended up going the contractor route! I went this route because I have already been a direct hire and wanted to see what it was like on the other side. Am I going to remain a contracted employee next year? I haven't decided yet! I love the company I work for and my mentor is amazing, but I miss feeling like a member of the faculty. This is only my experience. I have talked to a ton of other contracted employees and their experience is way different. I think it really just depends on the school culture. 

Let me know which route you guys decide on going with!