Q&A: “Dear BCECTA, what are the pros and cons of working in multiple districts?”

Q&A: “Dear BCECTA, what are the pros and cons of working in multiple districts?”

Participants: Nicole (BCECTA president), Kristine (BCECTA Co-Vice President) & an anonymous guest teacher.

Nicole: Back when I started as a TTOC in 2012 there weren’t as many jobs available as now. That was before 2016 when the BCTF won the Supreme Court Ruling. In 2012, you usually had to work in multiple districts and potentially also work an evening or weekend job if you wanted to earn a living. At that time there was also a rule about “Scale Pay:” in order to get a day rate corresponding to your salary level on the pay scale, TTOCs needed to work 4 days in a row in the same district. In short, there were advantages to working in multiple district (ie, more days of work, more experiences, possibility of getting work on a pro-d day), there were also disadvantages, such as navigating 2 different callout systems, 2 different email systems, 2 different calendars, and less of a chance you’d hit those 4 days in a row. For me if I suddenly taught in another district on the 4th day I was earning about $120 less retroactive to the first day. It could get confusing and stressful because I had to really watch my paycheques to make sure corrections were made from period to period. And if I wasn’t available on one day I had to book myself unavailable twice – once in each dispatch system.

Kristine: “See… I never took a TTOC position because I wanted structure… and I am fluent in French so I got offered a position right away.”
 
Nicole: “I was lucky in that my French meant I got to work every single day if I wanted to, and was usually booked in advance. I didn’t need to deal with 5 am phone calls often.I enjoyed the variety of TTOC'ing and it meant I had time to work in a restaurant evenings and weekends too."

Guest Teacher: "I remember the Pay Scale 4 day rule! Also, we only got $3 per day in-lieu of benefits then, and the salary cap for TTOCs was something like Category 5 step 3. I’m really glad TTOCs get better compensation now. To be honest, I didn’t TTOC much… I wish I had the chance to get to know the cultures of different districts before I was locked into one."

Nicole: Why didn’t you have that chance?

 Guest Teacher: Because I was hired as a full-time teacher I was not hired as a TTOC. I got hired straight into a position so I have only ever covered other people’s classrooms recently during failures-to-fill. This was before the supreme court ruling ordered the province to restore approximately 3500 jobs). At that time nobody was hiring so it was really hard to change districts. I had the impression that if you were trying to move districts there was an assumption that ‘something was wrong with you’ and that’s why you needed to switch districts, but then when suddenly there was a teacher shortage the stigma around switching districts disappeared.  

Nicole: Interesting. So you would have moved earlier if you didn’t feel there was stigma?

Guest Teacher: Yes. I specifically wanted to leave because in my first district, the admin weren’t very supportive. I wanted to go somewhere with a more positive culture. Now that I made the shift, this hasn’t been my experience at all. I mean yes, some haven’t been strong leaders but by and large at least they haven’t been discouraging. That makes SUCH a difference when you’re a new teacher because you don’t have the confidence… when a principal is hard on staff, inconsistent or unpredictable, a new teacher might risk internalizing that as a ‘it’s a me problem’ imposter syndrome etc. and it leads to feeling inadequate. New teachers are very vulnerable to being more easily discouraged, fearful, disillusioned, scared to ask for help.


Nicole:  How do you think new teachers can ensure they get to know culture in diff schools and districts?

Guest Teacher: “My advice is to TTOC far and wide for the first few years. Get into a few different districts, and try to branch out to different schools and grade levels, subject areas as possible so you get to ‘taste test’ a whole buffet of what’s out there. You notice who is welcoming. Do the staff spend time together outside of school? Do they spend time in the staff room or stay in their own classrooms? Are there strong personalities that are entrenched? Are there a lot of postings that year? IF yes there is probably something about the leadership that they didn’t like, so you might not want to apply to that school.

We have made significant gains for TTOCs in the last 3 rounds of bargaining, so now you get $11 per day instead of benefits. Now TTOCs can better afford private insurance with Green Shield or Blue Cross or BCAA, or they can just save the $11 per day for incidental medical and dental costs. If you’re working most days that schools are in session it adds up to over $1000 per year.

Kristine: “Wouldn’t TTOCs just go on the district health plan?”

Guest Teacher: “Well, they probably could choose to opt into the district’s health coverage, but the employer doesn’t contribute towards the premiums for TTOCs in most districts. The BC Teachers’ health benefits plan is so comprehensive that the premiums are pretty expensive. It’s probably only worth it for a TTOC to go onto the district plan if you have dependents and a spouse without insurance, or if you have a chronic health condition. 

I have heard that some districts offer full benefits if you take a partial contract though! It’s a nice thing to make the new teachers feel cared for. I wish more districts did that.

Nicole: This makes me remember that when I TTOC’d at one highschool there was a little ‘free coffee’ ticket tucked in the front of the TTOC package at Johnston Heights Secondary every morning I worked there, and we could take the ticket to the cafeteria. Another school – Frank Hurt Secondary - gave the TTOCs feedback forms that we could submit back to the school admin so they could learn how to improve things for the TTOCs.  Both of those experiences made me feel like the schools had positive culture and I would be more likely to want to go back. Those small acts made me feel cared for and I would want to get a job at those schools as a result.
 
Kristine: “Speaking of applying for jobs… We had someone reach out to BCECTA to ask for some coaching for interview success. A lot of preservice teachers especially feel anxious about job interviews. I know we have gathered some examples of questions already for our website and to help us coach members, but what kinds of questions does our guest teacher recommend new teachers ask in an interview?”

Guest Teacher: “I don’t feel I have ever been good at that…umm.. *thinking* …As a candidate I would be interested in asking the principal what do they do to support their staff’s ability to have work-life balance. The best question I would recommend new teachers ask in interviews is “’What does your admin team do to make sure your teachers have work-life balance?’” So if you’re interviewing for the district to become a TTOC you could ask what kind of initiatives the districts lead to include TTOCs in professional learning series or in-service training.

“If you didn’t want to ask that question, an alternative could be ‘What kind of mentoring exists within the school?’”
 
Thank you to our anonymous guest teacher for participating in BCECTA’s Winter Interviews!

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