Re: Anyone teaching in high needs schools?

hi Valerie,--I'm Val,--I've taught seven years in high needs
schools---the south Bronx and Harlem. My experiences have
been mixed. The overwhelming problems are student discipline
and high staff/administrative turnover. You get a new prin-
cipal every year or two--alot of teachers leave--and alot
of nonsense work is piled on.I enjoy what I do(art)because
it's a creative outlet for both the students and myself--
and I always ''reach'' a batch of students each year but,-
the stress is high for a variety of reasons. High needs
schools have many students with moderate to severe learning
and emotional problems.If the school is--what was used to
be called SURR--then you get a reduced class size and extra
pay..however--the going is tough and all teachers are en-
couraged to do extra work before and after school-as per
session teachers--which is ok but not always worth the
headache. --I've found it to be worthwhile and I'm glad
I did it but--I don't particularly look forward to going
to work each morning. Val

On 8/09/05, Valerie wrote:
> Just curious how many of you are teaching in high needs
> schools, and if so, what are your experiences like, and
> what are your reasons for teaching there? I am interested
> in working at a Title One school, and would like to hear
> what other teachers feelings are on this subject...
>
> Thanks - Valerie