Teacher Shift

Making a Big Change After 23 Years of Teaching

January 25, 2023 Darellee Naccarato Episode 43
Teacher Shift
Making a Big Change After 23 Years of Teaching
Show Notes Transcript

Today, Ali and JoDee sit down with Darellee Naccarato, a former teacher of 23 years who took a new role with a major hospital. Together, they’ll discuss how Darellee’s new role has given her a better work life balance, the impact a toxic work environment can have, and the teacher brain skills she uses in her role.

Connect with Ali and JoDee:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachershift
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachershift
Teacher Shift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-shift
Ali’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisimon/
JoDee’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodeescissors/

Website
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/

Episode Transcriptions
https://www.teachershiftpodcast.com/blog

Ali  0:00  
All teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift or change, and that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning who am I, if I'm not a teacher, I'm your host, Alexandra Simon.

JoDee  0:31  
And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.

Ali  0:34  
This is The Great Teacher Resignation.

Today, our guest is Darellee Nacarrato. She served as a teacher for 23 years and recently resigned. Darallee has moved on to a new role with a major hospital. And she is so glad she took the leap. Welcome to the show today.

Darellee  0:59  
Thank you, thank you so much for having me.

Ali  1:01  
So congratulations on your new job. We're really happy to hear that you're satisfied with your transition. And we want to hear about some of the rewards that you found in this chapter of your career.

Darellee  1:13  
For me, it's just been so nice to have more of a work life balance. You know, I think, when we are going into the teaching profession, you know, we're sold this bill of goods that does not materialize. For me when my kids were little, it was great, because they went to school with me and or at the same school. But even when they were at the same school, I wasn't given time to go on their field trips. Or nobody would cover me while I could go and see their award ceremonies. If they were sick, it was always okay, do I try to get a sub and stay home with them? Or do I drag them to school and hopefully that they can make it through part of the day? And now I'm able to be there for my kids, when they're sick. I can take my daughter to school or pick her up if that happens. And so for me, it's just been more of a balance of that mom to professional, that I missed so much when I when I had my kids. I mean, I didn't have my kids till later in my career. But from the moment I had my kids, it was always a struggle to decide what was more important, my personal life or my professional life. So that's definitely been a huge, huge bonus.

JoDee  2:27  
I'm glad you're with us today, because we do get quite a bit of messages from people that are 20 plus years into their career, and all these people that are 20 plus, they feel a little bit stuck. And a couple of days ago, my sister kind of coached me through this lesson on the difference between stuck and choice. And did you ever feel stuck? Or how did you get to the point of making a choice?

Darellee  2:55  
I've always looked at my teaching career as more than just the day to day. It's what am I teaching my students and my own children for a lifetime? And I had to ask myself, do I want my kids and my students to see me as a role model forever? Or do they want to just see me taking all the stuff that had been thrown at me, and thinking that they couldn't make a choice, and they couldn't decide to do something different? You know, our whole life, you know, we can make choices. And that's the wonderful thing about our lives. And we either stay and just keep taking what is given to us, or we change the drapes, and we change the way the furniture is rearranged or you know, whatever. We can make those choices. And I wanted to be a role model to my students and say, you know, hey, she did it. I don't have to do this for the rest of my life. If I like something different, I can go do that, too.

Ali  3:56  
That's what JoDee always brings up about modeling behaviors and modeling good examples for the young people that we teach. And also, I think, for our own children, you know, there's times in our lives where we realize like, it's too much, or it's not enough, and we want to do more good. And we want to do other things. Maybe we want to volunteer, we want to do something extra. So I think you're just creating that example. And you're modeling that behavior for the young people in your life. But change is really scary, especially after you've been in a career for so long. Was there something in particular that really got you to take that leap? Or did you just decide you made that choice kind of on your own?

Darellee  4:39  
So there was a lot of things that led up to that. I've always been a person that is very, almost stubborn, I guess is the best way to look at it. You know, like I don't want to give up on things. You know, it's like, I was truly dedicated to being a teacher and being around kids and trying to make an impact because people had done that for me. You know they had changed my life and taken time out of their lives to help me. And I really believed in that, as an educator. That was truly something I looked at every day, like, what can I do today to impact just one kid, because I can't change everything. But if I can just do something good for one kid, whether it's a smile or a hug, or making sure that they had a lunch, or you know, whatever it is. You know, it didn't have to be big things, you know? But for me, because I had that dedication, it took me years to make the choice. And it started, I guess, I think it was in 2018, where the first thing that happened with an administrator. And then more things happened. And a little bit more was piled on to me. And then I just was like, why am I doing this? She's never going to appreciate what I've done. She's never going to respect the dedication I have. She's just going to keep expecting more. And I can't do this. I'm not being true to myself. And I saw myself changing my attitude towards my students. And I knew when it started impacting how I felt about my students, I couldn't stay anymore.

Ali  6:16  
So you mentioned to us that you left because of what you're kind of describing here, like a toxic work environment. So an administrator that really wasn't appreciative of the work that you were doing, and maybe setting unrealistic expectations. Was this impacting like, the other teachers at your school? And did you notice a different climate than maybe, maybe a past administrator or a different school that you taught at?

Darellee  6:42  
The last school, I was at where I was at for nine years. I wasn't a teacher that changed, you know, schools, frequently. I went to a job because something else had happened, or, you know, something better was offered to me. For 15 years of the 23, I taught in low income and high ESC population schools. So you know, they're really hard places to teach. You know, with low income families, both parents working two or three jobs, high Title I numbers, things like that. And so when I came to the school that I left, after nine years, it was really like, I mean, they're gonna get out of teaching, or I'm gonna go to the school. And when I first went to the school, it was like, you know, I felt like I had like, gone to heaven as a teacher. You know, it was a great community, great parents. Totally involved. Supportive administration. Amazing teachers. And then our amazing administrator left, and the administrator that came in just changed the climate of the school completely.

JoDee  7:45  
That happens, for sure. I know that when my daughter's school went through a transition...her school has a reputation for high teacher retention. I'm talking like 96% or higher for decades. Okay. And when new administration came in, parents had lots of questions. My one question was, how are you going to retain the amazing staff that we currently have? Because that will tell you a lot about the new climate. And a lot of times administrators go in just taking it all in that first year, and then they don't start implementing and changing things until year two. And so these past few years, I've been really observing and absorbing. Who is staying? What is happening? What is retention look like? Because one person can change a lot. 

Darellee  8:38  
Yeah. And I know it's hard. I mean, there, there's a huge deficit everywhere, from administrators down to parents. It's across the board. So I know that that's an issue. But when you hire principals, and you see that teachers are leaving that school, I just don't understand why administrators are allowed to stay in school. I don't get it. And you know, I'm not trying to toot my own horn. But I had been a teacher of the year and are counting, there's a very prestigious award that's given to teachers. It comes along with a monetary award that is quite significant. I won that award. And five minutes before we were supposed to be at the recognition dinner. My administrator texted me and said that she was not going to be there. And that's one of the things that made me realize, wow, if she can't even come to this fancy dinner, and recognize this award for me. I was the only one there without an administrator. 

Ali  9:42  
Wow. So it sounds like you were in a place where you were kind of questioning whether this was a good fit for you forever anyway, and then this work culture started changing for you feeling underappreciated, which JoDee and I talk about that sometimes too. Feeling underappreciated, undervalued, for all the time that we put into the education profession. It seems like that led for you to transition to a new role. And you're working for a major hospital now, we're really curious, what did that transition look like for you?

Darellee  10:18  
Um, well, I was very fortunate that I was able to transition and stay near where, you know, my family is. I didn't have to move because I know a lot of teachers are now moving out of state to take jobs or, you know, having to go through a bunch of training and things like that. So I was really, really fortunate that that's another reason I chose to take this role when I did, because I'm like, well, it might not come around again. So I needed, you know, a bachelor's degree. I had that was my teaching profession. I went through two rounds of interviews. And it's just been amazing. The support that I've been given to learn this new role has been amazing. You know, when I was a teacher, if I needed anything, I had to beg, borrow and steal to get something. 

Ali  11:05  
Yeah. So your new role, what exactly do you do in your new job, and what that's been like?

Darellee  11:12  
I have a hybrid where I can go in to an office, or I can work remote from home. And I was given a laptop and monitors and you know, a headset, and a keyboard and all the stuff that I would need. And if I go into the office, there's a huge room where you can just set up your staff and utilize the equipment there as well. I meet with my program a couple times a week, and I help with interviewing new employees. So I'm kind of like HR, you know, human resources for individualized areas of specialty. So it's been challenging. There's days where I'm thinking, I'm not smart enough to do this, I was a teacher too long. Why did I do this to myself? But then I just remember what they said to me on the first day, that, you know, they're giving me three years to learn this role. And they're just so supportive. If I have a question, or I don't know how to do something, I have a hierarchy of people that I can call. And it's just been amazing. 

JoDee  12:15  
Well, I think with all the teacher brain skills you have, you are going to be leading in three years. Because wasn't that one of the characteristics of being a teacher is they're always putting new curriculum, new strategies. They're always putting something new on you that you have to learn or relearn. So, in your new role, what would you say are your biggest teacher brain skills that you bring to your new team?

Darellee  12:43  
I think definitely the organization, you know, knowing that you need to have like a place for everything, you know? And a way to put documents and organizing things and kind of thinking two steps ahead of what you know what you're doing right now. Okay, I'm doing this right now. But I also need to do this, and this and this tomorrow, and the day after. And again, flexibility and you know, I'm constantly switching over and doing different things, if an email comes in, I stop what I'm doing and take care of that little fire and then go back to what I was doing previously. It's just different because you know, when you're in a classroom, you're not only thinking about the curriculum, or what you have to teach, but you're also you know, making sure that kids are getting along and making sure that you've got your attendance in, you know, all the other little things that your brain is going, you know, 1000 miles an hour, the minute your kids walk in the door. So I have all those things going in my head, but it's not the pressure of all the other stuff that comes with teaching.

JoDee  13:47  
would you say your workloads a little bit lighter. 

Darellee  13:50  
It's definitely lighter, but heavier in other ways. Because I'm constantly wanting to make sure that things are turned in, deadlines aren't going to pass me by. There's more of that deadline driven things in this new role than I had as a teacher. Because, you know, with teaching, you kind of know that, especially since I was a teacher for 23 years, I kind of had my whole routine done. You know, like I knew what I was going to do on a month by month basis. So this is just learning that now in this new role, but it's gonna take me a while.

Ali  14:24  
One question I was wondering, was leaving your teacher salary of 23 years a concern for you? 

Darellee  14:30  
It wasn't. And this was something I had to learn. I had to learn how to negotiate a salary. You know, when you're a teacher, you're just told what you're worth. In our county and in our state, you know, our salaries really haven't gone up in probably 10 years. They had a system of giving teachers a salary increase for their years of service, but that's been frozen for a very long time in our county and in our state. So when I took this new role, first they told me what I was gonna get paid. And a good friend of mine said, Well, you know, now you're on the private sector, you can negotiate. I'm like, what? And so she kind of coached me through a couple back and forth. And I actually am making, you know, a significant amount more than I did as a teacher. I mean, I'm working, you know, through the year, I don't have the same breaks as I did as a teacher. But when I was teaching before, I would work a lot of the summer to make up for, you know, not having a paycheck in the summer. So it's a trade off a little bit. But I haven't ever said, Should I go back to teaching. I haven't said that yet.

JoDee  15:39  
I'm really glad that you gave that piece of advice, because you left knowing what your value was, and you got more... probably what you should have been making in the first place. But something that in the past episodes, that I don't think it's been mentioned, the negotiating skills that you kind of have to come with, sometimes when you're trying to, to leave, and you have all these years of experience. We live in a society that doesn't exactly value the worth of a teacher and all the skills they come with. So building up your negotiating skills to be able to get the value for which you believe is the right and appropriate compensation.

Darellee  16:20  
Right. I'm so lucky that I have such a diverse group of mom supporters that are my friends, you know? And this one in particular, she's been so supportive of me throughout the time that we've known each other. And I couldn't have done half the things that I've done in my career without this one particular person.

Ali  16:41  
The majority of our guests, we find have cheerleaders. They have people in their corner that are, that are rooting for them. They're helping them, whether it's with their resume, whether it's with their LinkedIn profile. In your case, salary negotiation, knowing what your worth is. And it's really important to have those people. And I'm so glad that you had that advice, because it took me a number of jobs outside of the classroom, to really realize how much I should be asking in salary. And that you always ask for more. Like you always want to go above. But that is such great advice for our listeners, who will be potentially applying for jobs anytime now. So thank you so much for sharing that with us and really for sharing your story. It's incredible to hear a 23 year veteran, transitioning into a different career, has a different work life balance, feels appreciated, feels like you have the tools to be able to do your job successfully without question. And that must feel great.

Darellee  16:41  
I'm so thankful for you guys that are giving a voice to teachers. So other people can hear that they're not alone. Because I think we do feel so isolated, that it's only Oh, I'm the only one that's having a hard time right now. Or I'm the only one that has a problem with the salary or you know, whatever it is. And you know, we're not alone. You know, like, that's one of the things I wish more of us that were teachers or are teachers and we can all band together and support each other things could change so much, but we just, we feel like we're by ourselves sometimes. We put up those walls because we're in our individual classrooms. And so I think you know, things like this, that you two are providing for teachers and people that are maybe thinking about getting out of teaching is so imperative. So thank you so much. 

JoDee  18:29  
That's all we want to do is help. We want to use our skills as teachers to continue educating but also build the bond between teachers and and the community to know that we can all do this together. We can do it in a positive and constructive way. And I think that your advice is going to really help a lot of people. So thank you for lending your voice for reaching out to us.

Darellee  18:52  
 Aw, thank you so much.

Ali  19:01  
If you liked The Great Teacher Resignation, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and Audible. Today's episode was written and recorded by me, Alexandra Simon, and my co host JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Brain. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr. Special thanks to our sponsor, Paper Planes Ed.