u/tylersmiler

I am applying for vice principal positions soon but I'm nervous about an accommodation I will be requesting if/when I get the job.

The short version is this:

- I take a medication that has a side effect that is sedating. I cannot legally and safely drive after taking it. That sedating effect lasts 9-10 hours, on average.

- I know principals and VPs/APs/ADs often have very late nights with supervising sports events, even on weeknights, then are expected to be at work the next morning greeting students

- I would request (and my doctor is willing to provide documentation to support) an accommodation where if the event I am supervising lasts beyond XYZ time, I will be permitted to arrive ABC hours late to work the next day. For example: if my event ends at 9, I get home and take my meds at 9:30. My normal report time is 6 am. I would need to come to work at 8 am instead.

How reasonable is that request?

In exchange, I would voluntarily take all weekend events possible, since those would not impact my work start time. Also, aside from these situations I am relentlessly punctual. I am often there 15 minutes prior to contract time.

I know every building or district is different, but how would your building or district respond?

My new principal requires any all-staff email to be sent in the bcc. It prevents the dreaded "never-ending reply-all"..

Been in the game a decade and never thought of something so small but helpful.

Do you have a little hack to solve one of those annoyances we all complain about?

Our jobs are hard, stressful, tiring. We carry a lot on our shoulders. It's easy to forget about reasons to smile and laugh. So I made this thread as a place we can share some of the funny moments we've encountered as a school admin!

I'll go first:

This week I got a call on the radio that I was needed in the principal's office. My heart dropped. I thought "Oh no, what did I do? Did someone make a complaint?" My thoughts raced - who did I offend? I came up with ridiculous reasons why I might be "in trouble", such as "Was it because I ate my lunch while supervising lunch duty?"

Then after a couple seconds, I remembered "Wait, you are one of the principals. Why are you scared??" 😂

I'm not a Banana Ball (or baseball) stats and analytics expert, but I do understand the basics (ERA, batting averages, etc). I see that, on paper, the Party Animals (my favorite team) aren't dominating in the individual stats when compared to last year, and obviously they aren't getting that high amount of wins as well.

My question is for anyone good at actually analyzing the game: what has been the issue? Why have the PAs dropped off so much this year when compared to last? Is there one primary factor, or a collection of several?

We can talk about other teams, too. I'd love to learn more about how to analyze this game!

I'm a vice principal in a large urban district. I'm not new to my role but I am new to my school, due to a forced transfer (my district loves to do a round of those every few years, about 10 VPs were impacted at the end of last school year unfortunately). As a result, I'm working in a new building, new team, and with a new head principal who barely knows me.

I'm nervous today because I had to call in sick (4 am text message) for a stomach bug that had been keeping me up all night. I felt so bad, like I'm leaving a terrible first impression. But I almost NEVER miss work. I've got like 70 unused sick days banked over the last decade, because I never use all the ones I'm allowed. But school only started last week and I'm already MIA.

How do I bounce back, or stop letting it bother me that I missed a day? I'm so nervous about making a good impression at my new school, after spending a decade at my old one and developing a great reputation there. The anxiety is exhausting, on top of actually being sick today.

Is it the end of the world that I called in sick?

I'm successfully digging myself out of a recent depressive episode. Of course I'm sticking with the treatment from my doctor but I've also noticed myself doing some little shortcuts or "hacks" to help with my routines and increase my productivity, which improves my mental well-being.

My most recent one? Brushing my teeth while in the shower. I love a nice hot shower. I hate brushing my teeth. I combine the two. Minor improvement achieved. And I guess I save a couple minutes per day.

What about you? Any little shortcuts that make your bipolar life more tolerable?

I've been sitting on this one for over a decade now. Names and some minor details changed to avoid doxxing myself. Content warning for excessive alcohol use and general bitchy behavior.

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I try to think of myself as a girl's girl. I've won multiple colleague-voted silly end-of-year "awards" for being the friendliest person at work, the person who always tries to make the new people feel welcome and the experienced staff feel respected for their expertise. But in college, I had to deal with someone who nearly corrupted me into a hateful version of myself that I never want to be again. Until she got what she deserved. We will call this woman "Julie".

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I started this job early in college, at an apartment complex off campus but almost exclusively used by college students. 1,000 units! And I was one of the people working the front desk. It had decent enough pay and a significant rent discount. I thought I hit the jackpot, and then I met Julie. Julie had the same job title as me, but more seniority than any of the other student staff. Therefore, she helped train us newbies. One of our duties was a weekly "on call" shift for emergencies and lockouts over night. Julie would do our "on call" with us, per company policies, to "show us the ropes". I thought it was weird when she invited me to her unit for drinks. "I thought we had to be sober when on call, and besides that I'm not 21 yet so no thanks."

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She went from helpful and bubbly to cold and rude so fast after that night. Everything from her was a snide comment. And as we cycled through staff over the year, there was always a weird shift in their behavior toward me and Julie throughout their "training" time with her. I struggled to make friends with my coworkers, while they all seemed to follow her every command. My manager was clueless, spending hours gossiping with Julie in her office like they were besties.

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Then, I realized what was going on when someone accidentally shared a Snapchat post publicly of a new underage employee on their first on call shift, downing beers through a funnel with Julie holding it up! So many things clicked into place that other people had mentioned to me. Julie was getting these underage college kids absolutely wasted while on call, then blackmailing them so she could control them. And I refused to play her game so I was blacklisted.

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We got a new manager. I was hopeful. I accidentally found evidence of more of Julie's misbehavior -- she was misusing the company credit card to buy groceries for herself. Before I could bring it up, the new manager was fired for also misusing the company credit card. Somehow Julie escaped justice.

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I was tired of her nonsense. I transferred to another division where I could stay away from Julie's bullshit. I loved the manager at my new location. She saw my strengths and helped me cultivate my skills. I heard bad things were going on at the old location but kept my mouth shut, it wasn't my problem anymore. Julie was promoted to an assistant manager position when she graduated with her degree.

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Eventually, the other location was in such turmoil, and my new location was behind schedule (new build construction, things were delayed), so they transfered me and my new manager back to the old location so the manager could right the ship. How Julie had the power on paper (as assistant manager), but I had the power of the relationship with the boss. I leveraged it. She pulled her little stunt with the new staff again (as she was still "training" them for on calls, despite her new position and me now being the senior person with that job title). When that happened, I convinced the victim to come forward with me. I also had photos of literal receipts of the credit card misuse, and a long list of other minor grievances against her.

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The allegations stuck this time. She was fired! After several years of damage done, we were free, just in time for me to graduate and not get to fully enjoy working there without her presence. But I guess I left the place better than when I found it.

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Why do I feel a little bit like the villain? Well, 5 years later I saw Julie pop up on my Instagram. I guess I forgot to block her. She was crying over a used negative pregnancy test. She spoke about the struggle with infertility, how all she wanted was to have a family so she and her husband could love those kids better than her parents loved her. My gut reaction scared me. For a split second, I was HAPPY at her pain. I thought "she deserves it". But then I thought about it for a second and regretted what my hate had made me become. I blocked her. No need to continue seeing her content. But I did do some soul searching afterward, and hoped I'd never see that side to myself again. Julie was a bitch but she wasn't worth the effort to hate her.

I've searched through several guides online and can't seem to find the solution to this.

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I was the originator of my school's Canva for Education account several years ago, which labeled me as the "owner". I no longer work for that school and need to transfer ownership to a new person. What the guides tell me to look for doesn't seem to show up in my account settings so I can’t figure out how to transfer ownership. Anyone have any specific steps for Education-specific accounts?

It's happened to over a dozen admin in my district in the last decade. Now it's me.

No write ups. No major issues in my evaluation. I've been at my school a while. I have strong relationships with staff and families. I am heartbroken, and so are many of them. District is moving me into a really good situation, honestly. So I can't even be mad about that. Just the fact that I wasn't even consulted is hurting me a lot. How do I move past that so I can be hopeful for the future?

Edit for more context: The problem I'm having is that they didn't consult me, AND this move does not align with my professional goals or personal values. So while I do think they feel it's in my best interest, I am having a hard time accepting it. I'm going to have to completely shift my goals in a way, and the misalignment with my values has sapped away all my passion for my career. I'm feeling so lost.