Is anyone a public school teacher that is somewhat knowledgeable about how contracts work

[Only me]

My dd is 24 and therefore I have no control over what she does. Unfortunately she has been making some bad choices which I won't go into but she wants to move out of state. She is a teacher at a public school and is very unhappy in her job. I thought she would finish the year but just found out through her sibling that she may be planning to leave before Christmas. I know that she had applied for a license in the new state but as of a few days ago she told me she hadn't received yet. She told her sibling that she has been in contact with a possible new employer. Her brother expressed concern about her breaking her contract. She is under the impression that she just wouldn't be able to teach in the same school district again. I've tried to do a little research but can't find anything official. From what I've read she may not ever be able to teach in our state again and it would put a black mark on her records and make it difficult for her to get other jobs. She is moving in with a boyfriend who she has basically just known for about 2 months. He lives out of state so they have actually only spent 3 days together. If this relationship doesn't work out she will have nowhere to live and I feel she is risking a lot. I know she is an adult but I think she is making a terrible mistake. Also I cannot bring this up to her or she will know her sibling told me.

[bettyandbob]

She should be able to give reasonable notice and leave. 30 years ago this was explained to me in unPC terms (people get pregnant and husband's get transferred).

 

She doesn't need to give a reason, but she does need to give notice. Moving across the country is is a reason if someone wants to be a busy body.

 

Since she plans to leave before Christmas, I would advise giving notice tomorrow and staying until her school's winter break begins.

 

 

 

OP don't be surprised if she gives notice and they send her home that day.

[CinV]

All the teaching applications I have filled out have explicitly asked if and why you have broken a contract.  It does, in my opinion, move you to the absolute bottom of the pile if the reason doesn't meet their (hr &/or principals) expectations.  

 

[Only me]

All the teaching applications I have filled out have explicitly asked if and why you have broken a contract. It does, in my opinion, move you to the absolute bottom of the pile if the reason doesn't meet their (hr &/or principals) expectations.

That's what I'm afraid of. She is young and compulsive and not thinking about future consequences. What if she gets a job in Florida and hates that too or somehow loses it? This could affect her whole life. She doesn't have a good reason except that she is unhappy and wants to be with this boy.

[MomatHWTK]

Everything we do affects our lives. She is young. If she makes a choice that closes this door, she'll just have to wait for another to open. The best thing that anyone who cares about her can do in this situation is to be available should she need advice later. She is in love or thinks she is, there isn't much that can counter that. 

 

What methods did you use to help her overcome her compulsiveness as a child? Does she have a solid understanding of logic? Did she have instruction on controlling her emotions? Was she evaluated for executive function issues? 

Edited November 21, 2016 by MomatHWTK

[porque]

I am a teacher in CA- My understanding is that if we break our contract the school district could basically put a "block" on our credential so that we can't be hired until our contract term is up. It is at the discretion of the school district whether they do this or not. '

 

I don't have personal experience and have never really needed to know,so U could be wrong, but that is my understanding.

And good luck with your daughter! These things are so hard!

[Only me]

Everything we do affects our lives. She is young. If she makes a choice that closes this door, she'll just have to wait for another to open. The best thing that anyone who cares about her can do in this situation is to be available should she need advice later. She is in love or thinks she is, there isn't much that can counter that.

 

What methods did you use to help her overcome her compulsiveness as a child? Does she have a solid understanding of logic? Did she have instruction on controlling her emotions? Was she evaluated for executive function issues?

She was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and Possibly OCD at 14. Really we didn't see much compulsive behavior until more recently. Since she is an adult and won't share with me so I don't know what they are doing in therapy. I'm pretty sure she hasn't been very honest with her therapist as she has also changed the story with other people I know. She is making people think that she has known this boyfriend for 2 years when in fact they were very casual coworkers 2 years ago (never hung out or anything and rarely had the same shift). They kept in very casual contact on Facebook and only started talking in late September. She is telling people that they have been good friends for 2 years. She flew out to see him for 3 days in October and now has decided to move in with him. She hates her current job and misses college life (she just graduated in May). Grass is always greener and all that. I'm just worried that her OCD is not allowing her to think clear and he is also 6 years older than her.

[idnib]

I'm not a teacher, but I know someone who did this. A lot of what happens is up to the district and whether or not they find someone to fill your spot. Much of the time the worst thing that could happen doesn't really happen. It's also considered bad form to have two contracts at once, and she should not sign the second until the first has been terminated.

[scbusf]

I broke a teaching contract over 10 years ago. My husband accepted a job in a different state. Several years after that, I applied for a teaching job and I had to explain why I broke that contract.

 

If I applied for a teaching job now, I would still have to explain it. In my situation, I'm not sorry I did it, but I was 32 and DH and I had a solid plan and it has all worked out fine.

[MomatHWTK]

She was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and Possibly OCD at 14. Really we didn't see much compulsive behavior until more recently. Since she is an adult and won't share with me so I don't know what they are doing in therapy. I'm pretty sure she hasn't been very honest with her therapist as she has also changed the story with other people I know. She is making people think that she has known this boyfriend for 2 years when in fact they were very casual coworkers 2 years ago (never hung out or anything and rarely had the same shift). They kept in very casual contact on Facebook and only started talking in late September. She is telling people that they have been good friends for 2 years. She flew out to see him for 3 days in October and now has decided to move in with him. She hates her current job and misses college life (she just graduated in May). Grass is always greener and all that. I'm just worried that her OCD is not allowing her to think clear and he is also 6 years older than her.

Thanks for the extra information, that makes more sense.

 

Given those circumstances, there probably nothing you can do but wait it out. At least you know what you are dealing with. I can understand he being unhappy in her first job. I actually quit my first career less than a year into it and went back to school. LOL But, without treatment for the underlying conditions, she's going to struggle. All you can do is offer support in a non-threatening way. I don't think it is necessarily misleading for her to say that she's known and been friends with the guy for two years. They have kept in touch, maybe there was a spark there all along. Try not to focus on what you think she shouldn't do and instead on how to help her navigate what she has chosen to do. KWIM? 

 

If this ruins her teaching career, it isn't the end of the world. I would suggest that working within the public school system would be a challenge for someone without anxiety. All the rules, etc. Maybe she can find a job that allows her to teach in a more relaxed setting. The mental and emotional limitations she'll face in life are very real. The best thing she can do is find work that is a good fit for her specific needs. Otherwise, she'll be so stressed that she'll be miserable. Give her plan a chance and make sure you are prepared to offer her a safe way to escape her situation if needed.  :grouphug:

[Code Lyoko]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

I have to agree with up thread, you really cannot stop this so try to focus on what you can do to help her follow this course of action in the most positive way she can manage.  She is an adult dealing with a lot of mental health issues and is not ready right now to receive any helpful suggestions going against her current course of action apparently.  You almost certainly cannot rationalize with her.  

 

As for the contract, if someone could convince her to do as mentioned up thread and submit her notice on Monday, explaining she is moving out of state, that may mitigate issues later.  If she could stay until Christmas holidays that would also help.  And not sign a new contract until the old one has been officially terminated.  

 

But I would also look on this as maybe helping her.  I know that sounds crazy.  What she is planning doesn't sound terribly thought out or rational at all.  However, she is probably choosing this path because she (as you have said yourself) is very unhappy in her job and missing being in school and is desperate to change the path she is on but may not be able to think through another course of action.  Therefore, she is grasping at this straw to save herself.

 

 Well, I can understand her perspective regarding teaching.  I admire teachers a lot because their job is NOT easy.  Teaching in the public school system is a hard job.  It is a lot of work, a lot of pressure, and not a lot of down time.  Even when you aren't teaching there are lesson plans and papers to grade and parent conferences to schedule and a zillion other things.  When you are working you are having to juggle administrative issues, kids having a bad day, bullies, kids falling behind, kids needing more challenge, academic material that needs tweaking, parents upset about something, administrators upset about something, plus of course squeezing in teaching the actual lessons and so on and so forth.  It is a LOT of hard, exhausting work, and at the end of the day you have to go home and prep for the next day.  When you are a rookie you don't have a lot of systems in place yet for how to streamline things and how to cope with the stress.  Quite a few teachers quit the profession within the first few years.  

 

A ton of my relatives are teachers, including my mother and grandmother.  Also my SIL.  Depression, anxiety and even suicide rates have increased locally for teachers.  The first years are usually the hardest.  With your daughter's current mental health issues teaching may be a lousy choice for career, at least right now.  Maybe, just maybe, this will be a way for her to find another, potentially more suitable, career path.  Doesn't mean she isn't making a mistake.  Since she is an adult, as you said, you cannot stop her.  But just possibly in the long run this will work out better for her career wise.  Maybe this will help her to find something that she really loves, something to anchor to and keep her going.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:   Being a parent is hard.  Hang in there.

[City Mouse]

I left my first public school teaching job after only 6weeks of work and I only gave 1week notice back in 1991. It was a horrible place to work and when I quit I had no plans to ever return to school. back then, my teaching certificate was still a piece of paper, and the district held it for the rest of the school year to prevent my from going to another district. Since I had no intention of going to another district, it made no difference to me a all. I took a job at a day care center for considerably less money and was much, much happier.

I worked at the day care for a year, then I taught at a private school for 3 years. When the owners of the private school retired and closed the school, I ended up going back to public school in a different district. I stayed in that district for 12 years, and have worked several different places since. I have never had anyone ask in a job interview why I left that job and broke my contract without proper notice. I included the info on applications but no one has ever cared.

 

This may not be what you wanted to hear since it is not going to support the idea that your DD is running her life (she may/may not be, but I don't think quitting this one job will be her ruin) Many a person has left a job to follow a partner.

 

The worst thing I could see happening is that she might have a much harder time getting her foot back in the door in an area of the US that has a glut of teachers. She might have to relocate to a state with a teacher shortage to get the next teaching job. Once she has been stable teaching somewhere for a couple of years, I don't think quitting that one job will be an issue.

Edited November 21, 2016 by City Mouse

[DawnM]

I have to say, honestly, it probably isn't a big deal at all.

 

I worked for 17 years in my first district, but I was in one school that was HORRIBLE and I left after 6-8 weeks.  I even had another job within the same district to go to.  But I didn't quit first, it was more of a transfer.  The school I left was not happy with me, but they didn't stop it because schools typically don't want to keep disgruntled employees.  

 

She needs to find out what the appropriate notice time is though.  When I first got to NC, the district I went to wanted 12 weeks!  When I put in my 12 weeks' notice, even my immediate boss was shocked.  She hadn't realized the rules had changed.  

 

Will she regret this?  Eh, probably, but at her age, you really can't tell her what to do and she has to learn for herself.

[bettyandbob]

Adding to what I said. I think there are a lot of people who leave that first job before the school year is done. I did. I quit in November and got a new job in January in the district next door. So I was employed under two different contracts in the same year.

 

You can't do this multiple times. That track record looks bad. (The exception being military spouse) but this is true of a lot of jobs. If you put in application that shows you stayed at multiple jobs an average of 3 months, unless you are applying for very low level work no one is going to want to put in the time to train you just to have you leave.

 

I don't think the OP needs to think her dd is ruining her life even if she goes through a period of changing jobs and having other issues. Lots of people do major screw ups in their 20s and get themselves together later. It's just extremely painful for parents to have to watch. Hopefully the dd gets on a good track for her mental health. After she does that it will be easier to get on a career path.

 

((Hugs))

[Reefgazer]

Depends how desperate your district is for teachers.  Where we are, they'll take almost any warm body.

[cera2]

And it depends on what her teaching credential is in.  If she is high demand (math, science, special ed) she will have better luck than if she is an english or elementary school teacher.

[abacus2]

I agree with others that if she puts in reasonable notice, it should be fine. Her reason is that she is moving which won't look weird to employers.