Q&A With Springbranch ISD Employees

I don't remember. They did keep asking me for more and more creative ideas that I had used in my teaching position elsewhere. It was exhausting trying to keep coming up with them.

Tell me about yourself

They have no money. There were never enough printers and copier machines.

Nice commute.

Mostly friendly. Favortism toward staff that hang out in the office alot.

Mostly friendly. Some whackos.

Already answered.

No more than is allowed at other districts.

More money for teachers. Less money on new technology. More say over staff development. Quit keeping whack principals and inabstentia principals on staff. Tell teaching staff the truth.

The CEO is not popular. He may have improved, but at the first meeting with our staff, it was a slam against every thing the district was not doing. Except that he made it personal for our building. No charm. He can improve his people skills.

Impossible, as with any full time teaching position. The demands are great and grow more every year.

I wish I knew. Buidling principals make in house decisions.

Well, everyone gets the same holidays.

When I was doing it, it was fine. My last few years there were hard, however. It was a perfect storm of a whack principal, a change of vice principals, a vice principal in abstentia so that most of the freshman class were wild. By the next year, when I taught that class, it was one of the hardest assignments I have ever experienced. I still have nightmares about them.

A yearly survey that means virtually nothing, except it will drive the next year's staff development. And the yearly teacher evaluations. But other than that, not much.

Teachers who can roll with all of the new innovations that Spring Branch keeps rolling out. One year, there were fourteen new innovative things that I was expected to apply in my classroom.

Probably by substitute teaching in as many buildings as possible. Doing a great job at it. And getting to know as many staff as possible.

Both secure and insecure. My building underwent a security overall, as did all buildings in the district. However, every time there is a school shooting incident, I rethink the whole security issue. Until school are as safe as bank vaults and airports, we are all insecure.

That I am now retired! Ha, ha. The other best part was the great friends I made among the staff in the building where I taught.

I think Spring Branch is great place to raise your family. It is a great community with a small town feel in the middle of a giant city. I hope its future is great, but like all parents and homeowners, I wonder about the funding issues.

Fast, I guess. Lesson plans and grading every week. Even with personal planning periods, there is not enough time. But that is true for most districts.

Extrememly difficult in teaching anywhere. Teaching is constantly draining your energy. I could never leave the job on time. I could never leave the job out of my head. I didn't really want to socialize much except during holidays.

I guess a team outing could be a staff development? This topic was already covered in another question.

It is a smaller district, so there is small town feel to it. However, that could also be the community at large. Lots of community support.

That principals are assigned to buildings for dubious reasons. Some principals were whack. Some were inabstentia. Way, way, way too often. And there schedules were never posted for anyone but their secretaries to see. "At the Ad Building" became a running joke among the staff when a principal was out.

Among teachers, not so great. Constantly asked to do more and more. Constantly required to sit in training sessions that are either not planned out well (in building staff development) or have little to do with what is happening in the actual classroom ( district level staff development).