This ISD has a reputation of being poorly run with low district scores and even lower scores for student achievement. In my experience as a full time teacher in the district, I noticed a large amount of favoritism from the principal and vice principals towards veteran teachers and team leaders. My campus boasted an inclusive environment, but was instead I was used as a scapegoat by my team, my voice was silenced, and the workplace was toxic. This is the only district I’ve worked for where teachers have to prearrange a substitute teacher in order to take the day off. If you don’t find a substitute then you cannot take the day off. This is in the fine print of the employee handbook. My team was also very cliquey. They would go into one person’s room to chat and were kind to me until I realized that they were talking about me behind my back. I asked my administration team for help, a mentor, and repeatedly told them of the toxic exclusionary behavior of my team and I was placed on a growth plan instead of the principal talking to my team. This position has been filled by three other teachers before me in the span of the past three years. Administration allows the team to bully, intimidate, and push out newcomers to this grade level. The environment was so toxic that I had to go to therapy to cope with the exclusionary team that told my principal every time I was late to work, forgot to send an email, or made a simple mistake such as forgetting to call a parent. I learned that colleagues are not to be trusted.
