And we wonder why our best and brightest don’t want to pursue a teaching career …
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Tex. — Just as Judy Gardner answered the phone on Wednesday afternoon, a coach stuck his head into her empty classroom.
He wanted to know if she had swept her floor yet, because he had students offering to do it as community service.
Entering the new year, Ms. Gardner’s district can say something that fewer and fewer schools in Texas can — no teachers have been laid off as a result of state budget cuts. But the Dripping Springs Independent School District has eliminated custodial positions, and that has left teachers with new tasks after the bell rings: sweeping classrooms and taking out the trash.