“I think our administration is really good (….) I think our administration does respect teachers and our union really advocates for us. And I think that's crucial, to give the teachers the respect to do their job. Does the community always agree with the School Board, always agree with the superintendent, always agree with the teacher? No, it's not perfect, but I think our community does respect and value the teachers and our time (…) Our contract allows us to have a prep period and a lunch period, and our administration is respectful of that. If you say ‘I'm not available’, they will look for a time that you are available, and if they have to find coverage for you for a meeting, then they find a sub for you for that meeting.”
“I think in general, the respect from the parents in the community toward the staff in the building—toward everybody—makes a big difference. If you don't have somebody to advocate for your contract, you end up with so many classes in a day that you're not prepared for any of them and you're just so burned out and doing everything at home at night. You resent being a teacher because you're taking home stacks of work and [doing] so much lesson planning in your personal time—nights and weekends—that you don't have family time, and you don't have you time. I am a teacher, but I'm also a mom and a sister and a daughter and a cousin—and I have my own interests too, and my own activities that I want to do. If teaching consumed my life, it would no longer be fun.”