Are you thinking about switching schools? Maybe you’re changing districts, or maybe you’re considering moving to another school within your district. Am I planning on switching schools? No, no, no. I adore my school and community, so I’m putting down roots. However I have switched schools and districts quite a bit during my career, and I’ve learned a lot from it. If you are planning or considering a move, read on for a bit of advice.
Considering a move?
There are plenty of reasons you may be leaving your current school, so let’s talk about the ones that are within your control.
- Distance/commute
- Disconnect with admin
- Relationship with Special Areas team
- School environment
- Program support/funding
- Change of grade levels/content (ie Elementary Music to Middle School Choir)
- Pay
- Just wanting a change
If you hadn’t gathered by my last bullet point, you don’t need to justify your decision. Too often, I hear of people inside and outside of our field talking about teaching like it is a religious vocation. Although I love my school and my students, and I want to help others, this is at the end of the day a job. Life is too short to be unhappy in your job out of fear of letting others down.
If you are unhappy in your school but staying for your students, I have some tough news for you. They probably sense that you’re unhappy and/or burning out. As I explained in my blog post about burning out, I felt that if I left my school, I was abandoning my students. But those students deserved a quality teacher, and that requires enthusiasm and happiness. It’s best that you find a better situation for yourself, and let someone else who might be a better fit take over with your current students. If you don’t feel your best at a certain school, that doesn’t define you as a teacher. The right school climate can make all the difference, so don’t doubt yourself.
Next Steps
Now that you’ve decided to leave your current school, what steps do you need to take?
Tell your admin and your team.
Once new contracts are signed and/or everything is official, be sure to sit down with your administration and let them know. In my case in my last job, I told my admin and team in January that I wouldn’t be returning the next school year. There’s a serious teacher shortage in Arizona, so I wanted to give them plenty of time to find my replacement. However if you aren’t ready until contract signing time at your current position, that’s perfectly fine. Let them know that you will be leaving schools/districts at the end of the year. Be prepared to give them a reason, but you can keep it as vague and professional as you’d like. Remember that you’ll probably want their help as a reference in the future, so be sure to be polite and gracious for your time at this school.
After the admin knows that you are switching schools, you can tell your teammates. They work more closely with you than anyone else on campus, so they deserve to know ahead of the rest of the faculty. Of course you can keep this information hush-hush, but your team would probably like a head’s up that they’ll be getting a new teammate soon.
Get to know your new school/district.
If you have the opportunity, meet your predecessor. When I was about to start at my current school, I was the luckiest; my predecessor opened up the line of communication for me. We talked on the phone, emailed, I visited the classroom, and she even had my husband and me over for dinner. Like I said, I was the luckiest. Check with your new admin to see if you can reach out to your predecessor via email or phone. Introduce yourself, and ask them about their background, teaching philosophy, etc. You’ll be really glad you did.
If you can stand Facebook (I barely can stand it these days with all of the arguing), it might be a good idea to look for and join any district employee or union Facebook groups. You can see what’s been going on, and get a head’s up about any issues/changes going on. If social media isn’t your style, though, make sure that once you start at the school, you interact in person with your new coworkers. Eat in the teachers lounge at least once a week. Go to happy hour, even if you’re sipping on a lemonade, so that you can learn more about your staff and community.
Tell your current students.
This is where a lot of teachers differ. Unless you don’t know about the change until after the last day of school, you should tell your students that you won’t be returning. As hard as it may be, your kids deserve closure if you can give it to them. When I have been able to tell my students, I waited until the second to last week of school. I made sure to let them know that I would miss them, but that I knew they’d be in great hands with their new music teacher.
My last piece of advice is don’t doubt yourself during the process, and don’t listen to anyone else’s opinion. Although switching schools or districts is a big decision, only you can decide what’s best for you. If you are going to be hunting for a new teaching position, I also have a three-part series on teacher job searches. To read the first part, click here.
Happy teaching!
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