@roeroe1005 wrote:
I retired in June after working for 12 years as Secretary to a high school Principal. Prior to that I worked 30 years in corporate, until our company moved to Illinois. I started there when I was 19, right out of secretarial school.
In my job as HS secretary, I assigned substitutes to fill in for teachers who were out. This could be ill, personal day, meetings, conferences, etc. There were days that more teachers were out than subs, but I always managed to get it to work. Like doing a puzzle!
I've been filling in for the secretary to an Assistant Principal in a local school district. The secretary covers teachers' absences. I can do this I thought. They use the system AESOP, which I never used before, but had to learn pretty quickly. To me there is no accountability, no need to let the secretary know beforehand of their absence. I don't really like it, my teachers in my old job always gave me advance notice, unless of course, last minute emergencies.
Where I am now, barely anyone give me any advance notice. Last week was a field trip, you know what teachers would be going beforehand, right?? I asked the teacher running the trip twice - please give me the names of the teachers going so I can plan ahead. Never did.
Looking ahead on AESOP I saw that today there was going to be Special Ed meetings, but I was able to work it out. Then everytime I looked at it again, another teacher listed themself out. One teacher told the secretary to the Principal that she would be out ill. Didn't tell me WHO takes care of it. By the end of the day, in addition to the 5 teachers who were in meetings, 4 more were listed as sick. Nine teachers marked out, 4 subs to work with. And that was still early in the evening.
So today, after working 45 years, most of those years working 2 jobs, I called out (on AESOP) because I don't want to deal with the stress. I won't get paid, I don't care. And yet I feel guilty doing it, as that is not my work ethic.
For an 8 week leave replacement, I've been very stressed, working more hours per day than I did in my previous job. I'm in the office at 7:30a every morning, working until 3:30p or 4p (suppose to leave at 3:15p). The secretary I work with is retiring at the end of the school year, she's been taking 2 days off per week. Those days I don't get a lunch break and eat at my desk, which I've been logging. So I am AT my desk 7:30a to 4p with no break. It's crazy!
Thanks for listening (reading). I needed to get this off my chest. My last day is April 8. I told my sister this job may have cured me of ever wanting to work in a school district again!
Hi Roe1005,
I'm a retired teacher and work as a substitute. I don't know where you reside but I'm in Ohio and both districts in which I work are on Aesop. Teachers don't like it because they never know who they will get in their room as you cannot request the sub you want. As long as you hold a college degree, you can sub and the quality of a lot of subs is beyond horrible. I take my work very seriously and everyone wants me but they don't have a choice. Also, if a teacher is out more than one day, there is a different sub every day. Aesop is only concerned with having a warm body in the room and not concerned with continuity or quality.
As a substitute, I have an app on my cell phone that alerts me to jobs as soon as they become available. That's a good thing; it's also a not-so-good thing as I have to act quickly or I'll lose out on the job. I wish the good old days of the secretary calling subs would return but that will never happen. More and more districts are utilitizing an automated system.
I don't know why you don't have advanced notice of meetings, personal days, field trips, etc. as our school secretaries know well in advance becasue these absences must be approved by the principal.
Try to not less the stress get to you. You'll be free of this debacle very soon. Good luck to you. docsgirl
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