I was going to title this section "Chapter 2", but I think I am way beyond a second chapter. It has been almost a year since my last post, however, I believe I have a good reason. Allow me to explain...
In May of last year, after much deliberation, I decided that it was time to retire from teaching. I had officially passed my 30-year mark and leadership in our district was changing... again.
As coordinator, I had a wonderful working relationship with our administrative staff. Our ELD program had made great gains with their support and things were finally falling into place and working well. The EL population within our district continued to steadily increase. The student to teacher ratio was up to 60+ to one in almost every building. Our superintendent and I had discussed this and I was assured that this year we would be allowed to hire additional staff.
My ELD Specialists were stretched thin but they were doing great things for our district. We were also fortunate to have several teachers who were completing their ESOL certification through a grant at a local college. These were teachers who expressed interest and were nominated by me for the program. I was confident these willing participants would enhance our district's program.
I decided it was time to approach the new leadership. I took my time, gathered my data, and felt confident that my plan for adding one additional ELD Specialist and utilizing the newly certified teachers was the best scenario for our district. I presented my plan to the new superintendent. He said he was very impressed. He appreciated my thoughtful planning and promised that he would do all he could to follow through with it and would definitely see that we hired at least one additional teacher to meet the needs of our growing population. This new leader also shared that he was pleased with all the work I had done as ELD Coordinator and that he wanted me to continue in that role possibly making it my sole position in the district. We collaborated on a new plan that would allow me to oversee ELD training, curriculum, paperwork, newcomer enrollment and placement, translation and interpretation services, and any other ELD related issues... If that were what happened, I would probably have stayed working in the district a few years more. God apparently had other plans in the works.
A few weeks passed and I had heard nothing of moving forward with my proposal. As this was the prime hiring season, we needed to move quickly to interview the best candidates. I called and emailed asking for an update with no response. I contacted our human resources coordinator who also had not gotten any information regarding hiring or my position for the coming year.
The next week the HR coordinator had an opportunity to speak with the superintendent who then shared with her that he had decided to make some changes to our ELD department. I was to now share the responsibility of coordinator with a teacher that was newly hired from a neighboring district. I would continue to follow my current schedule. His thoughts were that this would lighten my load. We would also not be going to hire an additional teacher (as was promised) and would make do with our current staff. There was no discussion. I was never contacted.
The following week, I was approached by someone outside our district who asked if I would be interested in applying for a position at the state level. Our current state ELD Director was leaving to take a position that would allow him more time with his young family. It felt that this progression of events was a message that it was time for me to make a change. Funny, that same week I had read in my devotional study that God cannot open doors if you keep your hand on the doorknob. So, I let go. This was the point that, after careful consideration, I decided that it was time to retire from teaching. I applied for and was hired for the state position. I felt bad for my colleagues in the district but felt this was what I was led to do.
The transition has been so very smooth. It is as if this is where I have belonged all along. There are still days where I question whether I am worthy of the position, but don't we all have those days? I truly feel blessed to have the honor to serve in this capacity and to really make a difference. I learn so much each week. I gain confidence and direction with each accomplished task.
I am happy I let go of that doorknob.
