Teachers in Texas- how much summer vacation?

Question

A teacher friend of mine in Texas says that she only gets 3 weeks of summer vacation because after school gets out, she's got meetings, paperwork, etc. Can that really be true? I've considering teaching in Texas, but really prize my summer vacation to be able to study abroad and visit family. Three weeks just doesn't seem like enough to me when you consider that teachers usually put in more than 40 hours a week, year round with no extra compensation.

Answer 1

I live just outside of Fort Worth, and my husband and I both work in public schools (separate districts). What you have been told is not entirely true and also greatly depends upon the district that employs you. Sure there are meetings and trainings to attend, but a lot of that can be worked around.

First thing, the state of Texas has passed a law that all schools in the entire state will start on the same day beginning this coming school year. Because my district normally begins at least two weeks earlier than that, I have an extra long summer this year - almost three months. All districts will begin August 27, and all the beginning of the year professional development and work days begin within the two weeks prior to that date.

At the end of the school year, a teacher can opt to teach summer school. I opted to help out with a week-long science camp. Our core content teachers also spend some time updating their curricula within the first couple of weeks after school gets out. My position requires me to complete a lot of paperwork by the last day of school, so I don't get to clean and organize my room until school let's out, but that's a personal choice.

Your friend's district may require her to go to extra trainings; perhaps she is a 1st year teacher. I went to a week-long training last summer, but it was just before the beginning of the school year. But it's more likely that she is exaggerating.

As for extra compensation, should you choose to teach summer school and extend your personal school year, you would receive extra pay. I receive extra pay for all that paperwork that I do, so I don't mind coming back for a few days after all the other teachers have left for the summer. Also, some teachers have a longer contract year and are compensated for this - my husband is in this situation; he's on an 11 month contract instead of 10 month, so yes he does work an extra four weeks during the summer, but he's still getting about a month and a half off.

I suggest you go to the district websites of the districts you are interested in working with. Their school-year calendars should all be posted by now. A good place to start is by going to the region service centers and linking to district websites through them. The Dallas area is region 10, and the Fort Worth area is region 11.

http://www.region10.org/

http://www.esc11.net/escrxi/site/default.asp

Answer 2

try another state it.s not that good of a erea to work at i have been there in the dallas erea. my honest opion?