Maternity Leave Question - long vent

I just have a question about everyone's maternity leave.

I work in NYC as a teacher. I teach 1st grade collaborative -- I am the special ed teacher and there is a regular ed teacher in the room as well.

I did it last year and LOVED the experience. I was in Kinder last year. This year I'm a grade up -- moved up with some of the kids, and have a new co-teacher. I wsa due Oct 9th so was only there for 3 weeks before I left on maternity leave.

You don't get paid in NYC for maternity leave unless you have days in your bank. I was only there for 2 years before, and was hit by a car last september and lost 2.5 weeks of work due to that, so I had no days in my bank. In fact I owed the city 7 days -- so basically thecity allowed me to "borrow" 13 days(normally it's 20 but i owe them days already) and I got paid full for those 13 days but it will be taken out of my summer pay, and now I'm on a grace period until dec 5th where i get paid nights and holidays --basically itworks out to about 100-150/week.

I feel like if I'm not getting paid I shouldn't have to do work for my job while I'm on leave. I want to be able to enjoy the time wiht my daughter and not have to worry about my class. I spent a LOT of extra overtime staying late when I was at the end of my pregnancy and meeting up with my coteacher who is a new teacher after work to get plans together, organize and set everything up for her so that she would be set once I was gone.

The first week I was gone she was calling me multiple times a day! She'd call me in the middle of the day to ask me silly little questions, and finally I hinted towards the idea that I just wanted to be able to enjoy some time iwth the baby and not really think about the class that much and she stopped calling as often.

Now report cards were due today. She got the principal to give her an extention so now they aren't due until Monday, and so she didn't do them. She called me on Monday to ask if I could help with them and if she could come over after school one day this week so I could do them with her. I told her I really didn't know what I would put for the kids since I haven't been there in 5 weeks and I don't know how they are doing, but I'd be willing to get together to help her write the comments -- to help her word them and stuff. I told her thursday night would be good for me because she said they were due on friday. She then called me wednesday and said thurs wasn't good could she just drop them off wednesday and pick them up thursday so I again said I didn't feel comfortable doing them without her since I dont' know the kids, but she gave me a song and a dance, so I aggreed. I admit I'm a bit of a pushover sometimes.

Anyway I realized there is no school tomorrow, so it turns out they were due today, not friday. and now I have them here and I suggested that we get together over the weekend to work on them together because I don't know how the kids are doing, especially the new kids to the school who I didn't have last year and we got 2 kids new in the class AFTER I left. We made plans for saturday -- for her to come here at the house and me to work on them with her, and then she called me back and said saturday isn't good because she doesn't want to drive all the way out here and waste away her whole weekend. Couldn't I just do them and she'd pick them up? SO I said if saturday was a problem we could meet sunday night and I reassured her that MY PART -- for my special ed kids, would only take 45 minutes and that it wouldn't take too much of her time.

Basically I feel like I shouldn't even have to do this on my maternity leave as it is -- and I feel like she's pushing it off on me because she is underconfident or is afraid of doing something important -- that's the drift I got from her from the beginning -- not wanting to meet with the reg ed parents for meetings, not wanting to make phone calls- - puttingi t all on me even when I let her sit in on many so she'd see how I do it.

I almost feel like calling up the principal and speaking with her about it, but I dont' want to seem like a baby and maybe I'm completely wrong.

So after that whole long winded thing -- my question is -- am I wrong for wanting to just enjoy my baby and not have to worry about work things? Is it really my responsibility on maternity leave to do this -- or is it hers? How much work, if any, did you all do on your maternity leave and was it a paid maternity leave?

She does have a substitue teacher in for me -- shouldn't she and the sub be working on it together?

Please, someone, give me your opinions because this is really bothering me.


Melissa

Message edited 11/10/2005 4:46:55 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

It is technically illegal to do work while on disability (which you should have gotten since it is paid by the State, not your job) and if you are not being paid then you are not supposed to be working. period. Call the principal and explain that while you don't mind answering a question or two during the week you are recoverying from the birth of a child and trying to spend as much time caring and bonding with your child as possible before you come back to work. If she would like to pay you hourly for the report cards then that is fine, if not I would not do them. I would do this nicely since you are not tenured yet. You can also call your union rep and ask what to do.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

OMG.....I would be so ******....You are way too nice.....I wouldn't have even offered for her to come over. It sounds to me like she is taking advantage of you. She should have been working around your schedule not keep calling to cancel when it wasn't convenient for her. i also work for the Dept of Ed.....just like u I teach inclusion and I am the special ed teacher.....didn't they get a sub for you? I know they have a dub for me and no one has contacted me once and I know the sub has no clue how to write an IEP....and still no one has called...and if they did I would say NO WAY....plus like you said...you haven't even been there how can you comment on their performance.....Ehhhhh...this makes me mad.........I say you call her and tell her that soemthing came up and she needs to pick up her report cards!

OMG...next she'll be asking you to come in for parent teacher conferences!

Message edited 11/10/2005 6:05:05 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

def not! I am also a nycteacher and know how tedious those report cards are but you should not even touch them! It might even lead to problems inthe future, a parent might question something on it and if she dares mentions you helped a parent might get angry because you weren't there. I know teachers in myschool refuse to even fill out report cards in other languages even though they kn0w what it says. Put your foot down, do not answer thephone when she calls. Is she a new teacher? You haveto act likeyou don't care (even if you do) otherwise teachers and principals will def take advantge.

I can't imagine you even having time at this point to even think about those horrible report cards.

(sorry about my spelling I was so mad when I read your post)

Message edited 11/10/2005 6:05:54 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

Thank you everyone -- at least not I don't feel like it's my fault or anything.

I think the biggest issue is that I am not there to see about the kids performance -- and we have a low class, what if we put promotion in doubt and the parents flip out and say that I wasn't even there -- that could be a problem for me.

Unfortunately the girl waited so long to do them -- they were due today and conferences are next week. She asked me to come in for conferences but I said no way -- I am not leaving my 5 week old with a sitter two days in a row when I shouldn't have to go in anyway -- I feel like now I have to help her because they are already late but I really don't want to, but it's too late now to call my principal because it's the weekend. I have my union rep's phone number so I should call her this weekend and discuss the situation with her.

Thank you for all of your responses.

-Melissa

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

Totally sounds like she is taking advantage of your kindness. You are not wrong at all. Do you think she would be as nice if the roles were reversed.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

sounds to me like she is pushing the work onto you. I think that you should flat out tell her that it is not your responsibilty right now. You were kind enough to offer to help but she kept pushing the project off....and now it really is up to her to complete it.

If she asks for more help...tell her that you need to tend to the baby...and then call the principal.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

OMG! Are you nuts!????????

Cal her and tell her to PICK THEM UP AND DO THEM HERSELF!

Tell you have a newborn and do not have time. This is the craziest thing I have ever heard.

Do not- I REPEAT!!!!!- do not do those report cards.
I want to call her for you!

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

This is the most insane thing I've ever heard! You are NOT at all responsible, in the teeniest least bit, for those report cards! This girl has a LOT of nerve bothering you with this ... the sub should 100% be doing this with her. It is so beyond unprofessional for her to be asking you to do this. If you had spent more time with the kids, it'd be a tad different, but that's (obviously) not the case. I think you should tell her you realized that you are not at all equipped with the knowledge about these students to do their report cards and she needs to do them on her own or call the sub.

Geez, this really ****** me off! (It's these idiot people who give teachers a bad name!!)
Good luck! :)

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

We've had maternity leave issues where managers were calling the moms. I had to put a stop to it immediately. We aren't paying our employees while they're out on disability - the state and our disabilty insurance is -- and therefore they CANNOT work. Yes they can answer a question or 2, but that' s it. So not just technically illegal but borders on insurance fraud.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

One thing I'm not sure about that all of you are mentioning is the whole state disability thing. I am not on state disability. Iam just flat out not getting paid by the city. The told me that only after you exhaust your 8 weeks for a c-section and your 30 day grace period would you go on state disability. Maybe someone who works in NYC also could clear this up for me? If I was on state disability I'd probably be making more then the 100-150$/week I'm getting now on the grace period.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

I don 't work for the city but my job doesn't offer maternity leave but they offer the family leave act which is basically disability which is paid for by the state and I was on it for 12 weeks I did now work from home or anything my co worker did call me a few times with some questions but that was it. I totally think this woman is taking advantage and waited till the last minute and is now in a panic and didn 't know what to do how are you supose to judge a child if your out on maternity leave? I would definitely make the phone calls

Message edited 11/11/2005 12:38:36 PM.

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

I realize I dont work for the city but regardless of where you are getting paid your doctor has put you out on disability - that means flat out "no work". If you were able to work, he would have put you out on "partial disability".

Did you give the report cards back? What happened? LIke you need to be calling these people between feedings.. ridiculous!

Good luck!

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

No we do not get state disability. If during your 8 weeks or 6 for v birth you don't get paid because you used up all your sick days and don;t want to borrow you can get some disability but it is from the uft I think. I did the 6 weeks used my sick days (7) and borrowed a couple till 3 days before the baby turned six weeks. By terminating it before the 6 weeks I was eligible for sloac which is unpaid but i keep my inscurance for four months. If you need help call Beverly Soppers at the UFT she will help you get the dates straight. HTH

Re: Maternity Leave Question - long vent

You get the 8-weeks for a c/s delivery and that is state disability. It is $170 max. There is no other payments after that unless your employeer offers you benefits.