My friend from high school is a high school English teacher and it was cool to learn about the details of her hiring process and day-to-day since it’s so different from mine in corporate America. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to her directly with the contact info towards the bottom of the post!
Name: Kyra Farr
Age: 26
City: Tacoma, WA
Company: Public High School (would rather not tell you which one so my students won’t find this)
Title: English teacher
Time at Company: 3 years
How did you hear about the position and what was the interview process like?
I started looking for a teaching job at the end of March 2020, which was a TERRIBLE time to be looking for a teaching job! No one, especially schools, knew what the 2020-2021 school year would look like, so a lot of districts in my area had hiring freezes, and the annual job fair that I was looking forward to was canceled. Hiring season for education usually starts in March or April, as that’s when school districts begin to get their budgets set for the next school year, so I was scouring open positions every day across multiple school districts. I interviewed over Zoom for a position at Bremerton High School, but didn’t get it. About a week later, I interviewed at my current school and received a job offer the next day.
I did not negotiate my salary because the union does that for me. Part of the budgeting process for districts every spring includes negotiations with unions regarding benefits and salaries, and a district and union will agree on a pay scale or a salary schedule. This is a chart that uses your education level and years of experience to decide on a salary for you. I graduated with a Masters in 2020, so that put me ahead of teachers who have a B.A., but behind teachers with a Masters plus additional credit or a PhD.
What past experience do you think helped you land your current role?
I had a Bachelors in English from the University of Puget Sound and was about to graduate with my Masters in Arts of Teaching from the same school in 2020 when I was hired. This included a 2-month long observation placement in a 9th and 10th grade English classroom and a student teaching position in a 12th grade classroom. While my student teaching was halted when schools went online for COVID-19, I was in that classroom for about 3 months. Additionally, I taught reading classes to students aged 5 through 17 over the summer of 2019, and I had previous experience coaching rowing to adults and teenagers as well.
What does your job entail?
Most Americans went to a public high school, so they generally know what I do. Usually people want to know about what subject I teach, what grades, what kinds of books we read. Reactions from people who learn about my job range from “I could never do that, teenagers are terrible” to my favorite response, which is when they tell me all about their favorite English teacher they had in high school.
Hourly schedule: This is my Monday/Friday schedule. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have study support between first and second period, and on Wednesdays I have an advisory class between first and second period.
6:00 – leave for work
6:35 – arrive at work, begin checking emails, last-minute lesson planning, check my mailbox in the office
7:10 – contract hours start. Most of my coworkers are here by now
7:25 – students begin arriving
7:40 – first period starts. My first period is a freshman class.
8:50 – first period ends
8:55 – second period starts. This is my planning period, so I use my time to lesson plan, grade, make copies, email or call home for some students, or check in with other teachers.
10:09 – third period starts. This is another freshman class.
10:38 – lunch begins. I usually eat in the English department conference room with other teachers from my department.
11:13 – lunch ends and third period resumes. The most stressful part of planning for my third period class is knowing when to stop for lunch halfway through.
11:42 – third period ends
11:47 – fourth period starts. This is another freshman class, but I co-teach this one with a special education teacher. About a third of the students in this class have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and qualify for special education services.
12:56 – fourth period ends
1:01 – fifth period begins. This is my only senior class.
2:10 – school ends
2:40 – contract hours end and I can go home. I usually use the 30 minutes between school ending and contract hours ending to check emails, grade, and debrief with other teachers as long as I don’t have a meeting.
Teaching is an interesting field when it comes to collaborating and the level of collaboration between teachers varies widely from school to school. My district sets about two Wednesdays a week to be late start days. This means that students arrive an hour later than usual, and teachers use this time to meet in their teams and collaborate. This is especially helpful for my 9th grade team, as we like to keep our classes relatively similar to each other and it helps us with our growth goals and feedback to the district in regard to curriculum.
Who do you directly report to and does anyone report to you?
My direct supervisor is one of our Assistant Principals, who supervises the entire English department. I also report to our principal, but less often, because he is much less likely to observe me and is not in charge of my annual evaluations.
What are the skills needed to be successful at your job?
- Soft skills are some of the most important when it comes to teaching high school. You need patience, a thick skin, perseverance, tact, leadership, compassion, etc. You must be able to multitask, you have to think quickly, and you have to be flexible.
- You have to like teenagers and you can’t take anything they say personally.
- You need stamina–teaching is essentially one long stand up routine that also teaches important life skills. You have to be able to handle no bathroom breaks.
- You must be able to communicate with parents, and a customer service background can be helpful when dealing with upset or angry parents.
- You need to be able to plan, not just the details of what students will do every day, but also think long-term, including what standards students must meet and how you can get them to that point.
Do you work from home, office, or hybrid?
I work at my school. Contract hours are 7:40-2:10 every day.
How many vacation days do you get per year?
I don’t technically get vacation days. I get sick days and a couple of personal days, but since we’re on a school schedule, the administration expects you to do all your vacationing in July and December. The school year usually starts right after Labor Day and goes through late June, although it can be extended if we have too many snow days. I usually have all of July off, but have training for about a week in mid-August and come back for back-to-school prep and more training about a week before students come back to school.
We have professional development days spread out throughout the school year as well. Some of these are part of our contract, and you have to use a sick day if you don’t come in. Others are not part of the contract, which means you get paid extra (by the hour) if you do come in. I usually go to most of those, because I like the larger paycheck more than I usually need the day off.
What do you do to help your work/life balance?
I don’t take work home with me. I take my laptop home every day, in case I need to call out sick and write up sub plans, but I never check my email after 2:40. I don’t grade at home either. Once I’m off campus, I don’t worry about school again until I’m back on campus.
Have you been promoted at your current company and what do you think factored into your promotion?
Nope 🙂 The only promotion I could feasibly get at this point would be to become head of the English department, and that job looks so stressful and overwhelming. I’m finally at the part where I’m starting to know what I’m doing, so I would be a terrible department head.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My students! I laugh every day at my job! I think adults can forget just how funny teenagers can be. The day I stop laughing is the day I shouldn’t teach anymore.
What has been your proudest moment at your job?
Anytime a student I had previously tells me how I impacted them or how my class helped them to grow as a person. I had a student from my first year of teaching who recently shared that the reason he signed up for advanced classes was because of the research he did as part of an assignment for my class about the impact of a college career and how it can impact a person’s career and future.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ll take away?
Oh gosh, there are so many. Teaching is the kind of career where experience MATTERS, so it feels like I’m learning every day. Ask me again in 5 years.
Any advice for people who want to work at your company or in your general field?
Never assume a student, especially a 9th grader, knows anything. You might assume a kid knows their own address or how to change a font in Google Docs or how to write an email. They probably don’t. Always expect to teach the very basics.
Have you worked anywhere else in the past?
Teaching is my first full-time gig, but I had part-time jobs in college. I coached rowing, sold fruit at farmers’ markets, worked retail, and I taught reading classes. I worked in church nurseries the longest (not surprisingly, there are a lot of similarities between toddlers and teenagers).
If people want to connect with you and learn more, how can they reach you?
I’m pretty private on social media, because I’m actively hiding from students, but feel free to email me at kyra.farr@yahoo.com if you have any questions, especially if you’re considering entering the education field. I was able to ask family and friends about teaching before I committed to the job and it was very helpful.
Fast last 5 with Kyra Farr:
• Last tv show/movie: How I Met Your Mother
• Last book: I’m constantly reading two books at once. Right now it’s A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
• Last concert: Elton John
• Last restaurant: Arthur’s (in West Seattle)
• Last vacation: Los Angeles to visit my parents over Christmas
Thanks Kyra for sharing!
