Disappointed. Again.

Let me start by saying that, yes, I left. I considered all of my options, discussed them with my husband, and searched my sould before deciding that it was time for me to leave Ridge and move to a new school. It wasn't an easy decision--I'd been at Ridge since the day the doors opened to students. I'd gone to every meeting, training, workshop, planning session, and professional development asked of me, and then some. I'd taught every subject thrown my way, which literally meant a different prep in each of the 5 years I was there. I'd put in the time during school and after school, done the grades, built relationships with the kids, and grown to feel like I was part of something worth all the work and time and effort. It wasn't always easy. There were students I didn't get along with, and colleagues with whom I didn't see eye-to-eye. There were injustices and frustrations and disappointments. It wasn't always easy, but I loved that school, and while I was there, it had my 100%, sometimes my 110%, sometimes my 150%. Often the effort I put in to my students' learning was a strain on my personal life, not to mention my finances. No, leaving wasn't an easy decision, but I made it, and I left.

So I was extremely disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised, when I heard today that the staff at Ridge voted to not to include last year's teachers in the bonus money awarded to schools who move up a letter grade. The larger slap in the face was not only that last year's teachers who have since left will be excluded, but that teachers who are new to the school this year will receive the bonus money. That includes brand new hires, transfers, and essentially everyone else who happens to work at the school this year, regardless of where they were last year when the seeds were being sown for the reward they are to reap.

To add insult to injury, I also learned of a rather impassioned and one-sided speech given by another faculty member, who seems be incapable of entertaining ideas other than her own. This speech seemed to encourage the idea that all current staff receive the bonus money, and other staff who tried to speak in opposition--either in support of all faculty from last year or for only current staff members who were at Ridge last year--were summarily shut down. Unfortunately, I am again not surprised, as this individual is a large factor in why I left in the first place, for much the same reason. This person, who should, in theory, have no more authority than I do, somehow managed to make my job so miserable that I couldn't stand to be there anymore. And I'm not the only one, by a long shot. I'm just the only one who left.

The longer I sit here, the more I realize that I can't really say any of the stuff that I want to, because at the end of the day, it would be petty and unprofessional, and we've all seen in the past how rants on the internet can come back to haunt you. So I'll just say that I'm very disappointed, and somewhat discouraged, that I will not be rewarded for the hard work I put in for the last 5 years, the more so because people who never even HEARD of Ridge will benefit from my effort. There are plenty of other schools who voted to include last year's teachers in the bonus money, correctly realizing that they are the ones who directly contributed to the raise in student achievement, which is what "it's" all about it. Like my mom said, good thing I don't do it for the money.