Austin ISD reviews

The district did not give correct information. Unfortunately, this district treats loyal employees as cogs in a machine. This post is in response to a mat leave query. I was asked to grade papers, come to back to school night and communicate with parents during my maternity leave. I took 8 weeks leave and although I had been assured by the person in charge that the deductions in my pay would be spread throughout the rest of the year, I returned to work with no paycheck for my first month. The person in charge in a follow-up said that after the six weeks, they just deduct the time you are missing wholesale. When I was asking for the details before my leave, he assured me this was not the way it worked. Imagine returning to work with a newborn (having worked at home for 8 weeks, and made trips into the school to deliver graded papers) working for a month in the school, and then not getting a paycheck. Do not have conversations by phone. You will need written confirmation of all communication.

The students run the district. Central has decided that grades essentially don't matter but that attendance and extracurricular activities reign supreme. The high graduation rate is completely founded on the policy that no student gets less than a 50 on a six weeks average (even if they don't show up!). There is no will power to hold students accountable and it shows - teachers are essentially babysitters now. The emotional baggage and lack of real pay in one of the most expensive cities in Austin makes it impossible to be single income and afford to live near any AISD school. This is largely not the fault of the district, so much money is sent away to the state, but it doesn't make the life of a very poor teacher any better.