The King Has Returned

A couple of weeks ago, one of my dear friends mentioned that a teacher at my former school, on my former grade level, had resigned and that they needed to find a teacher to fill the position.

I'm not going to lie – the wheels in my head immediately began spinning because the three teachers on the grade level who needed a new teammate are three people I adore. I taught with them several years ago and the idea of being on a team with them again was exciting.

However, I went home and looked at my calendar, and realized that my schedule was just too crazy over the next few months to make a full-time teaching position work.  I emailed my friend and explained that there was no way I could be full-time until February 1 because I already had conferences and travel planned that I could not cancel, as well as the graduate class I teach every Friday morning.

She asked if I wanted her to mention me to the principal anyway, and he gave me a call the next day.  I explained my scheduling issues, and in all honesty, thought that would be the end of it.

I was wrong.  The principal has worked some magic and as of Friday, I am once again a fifth grade teacher!  November through January, I will be teaching part-time, and then beginning February 1, I will be teaching full-time!

I resigned from my GRA position, which was bittersweet, because I have enjoyed being a GRA for more than three years, and I absolutely love the people I work for and with.  It also means that my life has suddenly become much more busy, because I am still involved with several ongoing projects for my doctoral studies, and I've got a lot of work ahead of me to set up a classroom, get to know students who've had an unusual start to their school year, and dive right in to the actual instruction!  Plus, I'll be planning for the 20 days I won't be there because of my schedule, and if you know anything about how much work goes in to sub plans, then you know what I'm in for.  Fortunately, my sub is going to be a retired former colleague who is a phenomenal teacher, so the students will be in great hands!  Plus, my "new" teammates have offered to help me in any way they can.  I am counting my lucky stars – these three teachers are just about the kindest and most thoughtful people you'd ever want to meet and the thought of teaching with them made my decision to return to the classroom very easy.

I also have this little thing called a dissertation to complete, so I'm not sure I'll have much time for fun in the foreseeable future!  However, I've made no secret of the fact that I have missed teaching, and this seems like the perfect scenario for me while I complete my Ph.D.

I love the school and I am looking forward to this new challenge in my life, even if things will be a little crazy for me.

This was definitely not something I was looking for.  Had it been any other school, or any other grade level/team, my response to hearing that they were looking for a teacher would have been, "Good luck to you!"

But THIS school, and THIS team?  A completely different story!  I am always saying "Life is short - say yes!" so I took my own advice and jumped at this unexpected opportunity.

I can't wait to get started!

Happy Tails to you!