Job Expectations in a School

[peacefulone61]

I am a theater manager and teacher at private high school with an ever growing job description.Besides teaching a full time class load by the schools standards. I am expected to cover all events in that occur in the theater and any event that happens outside of the theater that requiers sound or av support, and athletic events and event rentals (about 100 events outside the school day) and most of these are sprung on me last minute. I have a meeting to discuss my role in the school soon.

I was wondering how other high school td's function and balance there classroom and other obligations. Also are there ways you use to manage the administration and educated them to the time required to setup for event.

Thank you for any help or guidance.

[JLNorthGA]

Can't speak about high school - but usually rentals should have a tech fee associated with the rental. If you are assisting or doing the technical stuff - you should be getting a piece of that pie.

What do you want to do? IMO, you should be getting extra compensation for your extracurricular activities. That's a given.

As far as educating the administration - have one or two of them help set up for an event. It may open their eyes.

[jonliles]

In Cobb County school systems, the Theater teacher gets an extra stipend to support post school activities
Footer should be along shortly. He was a TD at a HS here in Georgia. He should be able to descirbe all of his duties. It might even be a good idea to PM him.

[misterm]

I keep a small, trustworthy, trained group of students who know the ins and outs of set-up, strike, and operation of most everything that we do for other groups who use our equipment. And if you're not already getting one, you need to request a stipend for assisting with these events. I have one as a "coach" of drama since we compete at various one-act competitions and because my time sheet is comparable to a coaches by the time we do 3-4 productions.

[josh88]

I know your pain to a T. You're in the exact same boat as me. First part of the job is knowing when to say no, or knowing when to say its not possible for me to do all of that AND this. Sometimes they just keep trying to pile more on. It seems like, more than other places I've been, folks at private schools just think everything happens by magic and that its easy to do so why can't you just do that too? I would say that as much as I wish TD was the first part of the job, teaching always comes first, so that the students don't suffer. I agree that having a couple of trusted students who really know what they're doing can make or break you. If you've got them you can let them handle some of the smaller stuff so you don't have to be there. I'll say this, as a first year teacher, I didn't really manage it. I got through the year in one piece but I've had a couple of talks with the headmaster about my role and what my job should be next year with changes to my contract. The school at large needs to also know that random teachers who want to make presentations at meetings or assemblies can't just eat your time up in a week. I had one guy who was so anal nervous about this thing he was doing that he'd call me and text me all hours of the day as if I was his own personal servant.

/rant

just assert yourself and let people know something will suffer if they keep piling on more stuff.

[Chris Chapman]

You need to clearly document your hours for events. Especially non-school functions. I get my hourly fee charged to a client for these events, which I get as over-time. But any admin will need to see hard documentation on your hours before they even consider budging.

With a class it is MUCH harder, but see if you can get it in your contract language that any of your classes can NOT be before 9 or 10 AM. That will help with some burn-out on your side as well. You can work a late gig and rest a little more comfortably knowing you don't have to be in for a 1st hour class.

Make sure your job description is for your PAC only, so you don't get dragged into the Athletic stuff. I'm sometimes dragged into ours, mainly due to the Gym Sound System and the PAC Sound Systems being linked (don't ask). We are doing a system upgrade this year that splits the systems, and after I check out the AD on it, I'm never setting foot in that facility again.

You have to advocate for yourself, 'cause no one else will do it.

[josh88]

You need to clearly document your hours for events. Especially non-school functions. I get my hourly fee charged to a client for these events, which I get as over-time. But any admin will need to see hard documentation on your hours before they even consider budging.

Also true, whenever we bring in outside rentals they're charging the renters $25-$35 an hour to get my services. So anything on the side like that that isn't strictly a school function I get separate pay for my time. Generally then the school either cuts me a check or the group will pay me directly depending on who it is.

[Footer]

In Cobb County school systems, the Theater teacher gets an extra stipend to support post school activities
Footer should be along shortly. He was a TD at a HS here in Georgia. He should be able to descirbe all of his duties. It might even be a good idea to PM him.

Nope. None of the teachers at the performing arts magnet school got the "extra curricular" stipend. I did get about an extra hundred a week because of the extended school day we had because we were at the magnet school.

To the OP:
Are you a certified teacher or you just teaching on your degree? I know your at a private school so things can vary. Are you a member of a teachers union? Do you have minimum hours on your contract? What is your class load like?

When I taught, I had a pretty small class load. Most of my classes were a few students. One period a day I had my "majors"... even then that class was under 20. Even so, I still had to clock in at 7:35am. School day ended at 4:05. Rehearsal usually went to 7:00. If we were in tech it went to 10. LONG days, especially when most of my venues were 30 minutes away from the school.

Even though I was at a magnet school, I was still responsible for the gym sound system. I still had to do the orchestra and band concerts that were not part of the magnet school.

This is one of the reasons I left the job. We did 10 mainstage shows, half off campus, plus concerts and a bunch of other crap. I pretty much had a show every other weekend. Add to that the other crap (talent shows, beauty pageants, band/orchestra concerts) and your life is pretty much over. I hated it... so I left. I was a certified teacher that was essentially doing a staff job. Making me a teacher allowed them to get my position and not have to pay for it like they did other staff.

So, what is the solution?

First, get a payroll going and get your students on it. I never was able to pull this off, but I was only there a year. Farm all the crap that happens out to them. Get them keys. Teach them what they need to know. You would be amazed how fast a HS kid gets interested the second you throw 8 bucks an hour in front of them... and they don't have to flip burgers to do it. That will both teach them and allow you to go home.

Second, get yourself paid for what is happening outside of the classroom. If you were hired as a teacher, you are getting paid to teach. Babysitting a mic at a b-ball game does not educate anyone, so you should not be doing it.

Third, talk to the administration and get real job lines. This is of course easier said then done. Keep perfect logs of when you are at school, what you are doing, and why. Show what happens to your classroom when you have to work a ton after hours. Sure, no GOOD teacher goes home when the bell rings and never thinks of school, but no one should have to be in the building 14 hours a day ever day.

Finally, if you are having problems get the hell out. Academia can burn you... bad. Some are cut out for it, some are not. I thought I was, I was not. I took a pay cut when I left but it was the best thing I ever did. I truly hated it. I had some students I did like and have since done pretty well, however that did not weigh out the rest of the crap I had to wade through. I probably would have survived if I would have been a staff position. But, dealing with snot nosed kids AND all the school crap really got to me.

[Benjod82]

I am a theatre manager at a high school, however I serve only in a staff role and do not have teaching responsibilities. The events which the high school "produces" such as concerts, meetings, graduations (and even some outside group joint efforts) fall under my normal job. We also have a stable of great student workers who support simple events on their own (usually I stay until the presenter/group is happy then leave). For outside rentals I fill out a seperate time sheet for the school school from a rentalaccount, however it is paid for by the school to simplify taxes (and make sure the money actually comes).

[peacefulone61]

I have been going through a review process with the administration as second year teacher, which has been the gneiss for this topic. I have been sorting out their feedback over my performance in regards to the expectations for my job, which is to teach a full time class load, handle the productions, school concerts, and major school events (wording of contract).
However I was unaware that MAJOR school event meant everything that happens in the school that has a chance of needing a PA or the theater. So I went from 8 events to about 120 counting student events.
I am also not allowed to have students run events solo, I need to be present at all of these events to supervise the students. Students are paid to run some events and others they meet community service obligations with

I have a Masters in Education and hold a state teaching license. (I am one of only three faculty members of the school with a state license and one of 10 with degree beyond a BA/BS). I have been teaching for five years between a few different schools.
We have no union or faculty/Admin board to turn to for help and there is no clearly stated language in my contract (see above). The school is reluctant to put anything in writing more than my base contract. They have decided that my contract is going to be public information for the faculty and staff (which will include my pay) and that they are going to create a calendar to be used to schedule my time by members of the community.
Footer, I was wondering what you were able to transition into after education. I have been looking and most places I have been talking to are weary of hiring someone who has worked in education.
Thank you all for your thoughts and perspectives in this thread.

[josh88]

Making the contract public and having others schedule your time based on what they want says to me, get out. Or get that changed. There's a point where it will burn you out, not to mention anybody who comes along after you. Calendars are good, but not when people an say, oh he's free from 3am till 6am I need him to come in because it said I can do that in the contract we all saw. Extreme example but it starts to happen. I was getting woken up by texts in the middle of the night because someone thought I was their personal tech helper. Some strong words finally fixed that


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[Footer]

Footer, I was wondering what you were able to transition into after education. I have been looking and most places I have been talking to are weary of hiring someone who has worked in education.
Thank you all for your thoughts and perspectives in this thread.

Well, first things first before I took the job I had nothing on my resume calling me an educator. When I got the job I had a BFA and a good amount of quality summer stock experience. I took the job because my other offer by a regional theatre did not pay enough. I did not set out to teach.

I spent one year teaching... and it was my first year out of college. It sucked. I was not really cut out for it so I left. I went back to my summer stock home and then took a job up here at a community theatre. A few years later I got my current job after being an over hire stage and at the place for a few years.

So, my resume does not reflect myself as an educator. You are right though that there is a stigma attached. I dealt with a little bit of that. You have a bigger problem with your advanced degrees. I would advise you to do some freelance work at whatever level you can to start building out your resume. Many summer stocks love educator's, start there. Its not going to be easy.



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[Dovahkiin]

If you're still thinking about staying, the main thing that needs to be fixed is the part saying students can't work without you. If the school is paying them or giving them service hours for their work, you shouldn't have any shortage of volunteers to handle the events. Have the administrators seen the quality of work that your students do? Since you're willing to trust them on their own, I'm guessing they know what they're doing. Maybe find a way to demonstrate that you don't need to be breathing down their necks every minute during every concert or game. Show them that if you get to that point, maybe you would be better able to teach. After all, that's your job.

[jglodeklights]

I have been going through a review process with the administration as second year teacher, which has been the gneiss for this topic. I have been sorting out their feedback over my performance in regards to the expectations for my job, which is to teach a full time class load, handle the productions, school concerts, and major school events (wording of contract).
However I was unaware that MAJOR school event meant everything that happens in the school that has a chance of needing a PA or the theater. So I went from 8 events to about 120 counting student events.

Do some simple math; figure out how many hours a week you are working on average and divide it by what your salary would be weekly if paid as such. Is it well below minimum wage? If it is, there is a fairly serious problem here. Even if you are extremely well compensated, which you should be due to their expectations and your education, this sounds like a relatively typical violation of worker's rights regarding pay and job expectations. Several companies have been forced to pay out large sums of money to compensate employees retroactively for hours they worked but were never paid for because it was all "part of their job." Full-time is 36 to 45 hours a week. If you are salary and one week must work 55 or 60 that may be OK if it works out in the bigger picture. If the bigger picture, though, is that you are working 50-60 hours or more a week with no additional pay and such a vague contract, that is abuse on the part of your employer.

[2mojo2]

Peacefulone, your employer is clearly taking advantage of you.

I work in a very large public school system with strong union protections for teachers and staff.
BY our standards, you appear to be doing two full time jobs plus a stipend position.

We have a job title called Media Specialist Technician. It is a staff position with no official teaching duties, and overtime pay for outside group work.
There is an expectation that the MST will be present for major school events, and the effective burden varies from school to school.

There are a few professional Theater Teachers with regular class schedules and duties.

Then there are stipend positions for Drama Director and Stage Director(Technical Director).
The stipends are rather small compared to the time invested (I get about $4600 a year for two mainstage productions and advising/helping out on some smaller events) just like a coach.
I have a full time job elsewhere in the same organization (Facilities Management).

It is fairly common for the MST to accept the stipend position as Stage Director, but hardly universal.

Unless your employer is willing to get serious about your over-work issues, I think you should dust off your resume.

[peacefulone61]

I have finally managed to get a meeting with the head of school to at least get them to define my contract. Once that happens I will make a choice if I am staying or not. I have also been looking to see if I can find any jobs outside the educational area (if anyone knows of anything in the SE Mass RI area) Thank you for your help it has guided my thoughts for the meeting

[museav]

If you're still thinking about staying, the main thing that needs to be fixed is the part saying students can't work without you. If the school is paying them or giving them service hours for their work, you shouldn't have any shortage of volunteers to handle the events. Have the administrators seen the quality of work that your students do? Since you're willing to trust them on their own, I'm guessing they know what they're doing. Maybe find a way to demonstrate that you don't need to be breathing down their necks every minute during every concert or game. Show them that if you get to that point, maybe you would be better able to teach. After all, that's your job.

Their being required to be present may have nothing to do with the trust or abilities of the students. Unfortunately, in today's world of constant litigation and looking to place blame, I would not be at all surprised if for liability and insurance purposes the school has a standard policy that all school events must have at least one authorized, adult representative in attendance. The school may also feel that in that role the representative needs to be someone who is qualified to supervise and direct the students for the event.