Principal availablity during summer

HazeDoll

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122471849#Comment_122471849

But the OP didn't ask if the principal is doing any work. They asked if the principal is available. The fact that principals don't make themselves available to answer every phonecall is probably the reason they get so much done during the summer.

witchgirl26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122473372#Comment_122473372

No they don't. Where did your understanding of that come from? I mean yes a principal would have extra work than a normal teacher but they also, generally, have time during the school year to complete that too. I'm just curious to know why people think that someone would suddenly go from having the summer off (well apart from in-service days) as a teacher to not having that time off as a principal. Why would someone want to be a principal to have less time off than before?

Like I said, my dad was a primary school principal. He would go in for about a week after the school closed at the start of the summer & about a week before it reopened. If something came up during the summer to do with staff or the school building, he'd deal with that but otherwise he was off.

Deeec

My friend is a deputy principle in a secondary school. She works June due to exams end of year etc, takes the month of July off and its back to work for the full month of August. She said its full on due to class planning, timetable planning, locker allocation, staff interviews, admin etc.

While I dont think a principle will be available to meet with parents, I would imagine they are very much working to plan for the year ahead. They may possibly respond to parents emails if a reasonable query is made but I would imagine there is no onus on them to do this.

I would think a principle of a primary school may have to work less during the summer but still have to work a few weeks to plan ahead for the coming year..

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474233#Comment_122474233

Did your Dad ever interview for new teachers?

SodiumCooled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474376#Comment_122474376

Hiring for schools is done before the end of the school year, I have seen a family member interview a few years in a row now (she is on contracts) and she always had her job for September sorted before the end of the previous year as thats when panels are formed so classes can be allocated.

As for principals, I am not sure where the expectation of principals being available all through their holidays came from - they have the same holidays as any other teacher though they may do a week or so extra at the end and start of the school year. I have some level of visibility on two principal, a work colleague who I am quite friendly who's wife is a primary school principal. They have young kids and they don't have childcare during the summer as his wife is off most of the time as she aways was as a normal teacher.

There is also a secondary school principal who also has a farm in the area and he spends his summer farming to catch up on all the stuff that couldn't be done all year.

Why would any teacher become a principal if it meant giving up one of the main perks of the job?

bureau2009

Contact the school anyway. School secretary or porter will know when Principal is due in. They're not obliged to be there during holidays but there's so much work in running a school I'm sure they'll have a presence there at some stage.

witchgirl26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474376#Comment_122474376

Course he did - he was principal of a school for over 14 years! However he always did the interviews prior to the school closing for the summer as (has been mentioned by someone else), the new teacher would like to know where they're working in September, they'd want their summer off & honestly hiring in July would be almost too late for a teacher to start in September. My son's primary school has a maternity leave cover teacher starting in September - her name was on the list of the teachers in the final newsletter before closing and the pupils for her class knew the name of their new teacher.

Now I do get there are the odd times where something happens & you have to hire a teacher last minute but those were very rare indeed & I do remember my dad doing the interviews at the end of August with the new teacher not starting until a few weeks into term. They managed on subs until then.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474686#Comment_122474686

I know of schools that are still trying to fill teacher roles. My deputy head friend is interviewing this week - she mentioned 10 roles to fill. In the past all this would be wrapped up by the end of the school year but not anymore.

Also last year my 4th class primary school child returned to school in September and had no new teacher in place until October!

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122473063#Comment_122473063

100k is pittance.

BTW it's not a 'senior management' role, they are The Boss, they are the CEO.

byhookorbycrook

Funny how the teacher bashers rail against our holidays- and then others expect school staff to be available throughout the holidays. The principal is supported by the in-school management team, so some of the work load is shared out.

Csirl, I'd be interested to know what's wrong with those schools you reference?

Grey123

I would expect a CEO to be available during their holidays.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122492197#Comment_122492197

What kind of a CEO

am_zarathustra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474765#Comment_122474765

I think this may be a thing of the past in urban areas especially. The chronic shortage of teachers is putting massive pressure on timetabling and I don't know a single school in Dublin with a full compliment of teachers in the correct subjects at this point. Interviewing is almost constant now at secondary level.

Most schools I know are partially open at this stage with staff in and out. The new book scheme in secondary is being rolled out and there will be summer camps and induction and all sorts happening from next week. July is probably a safe bet for most secondary principals I know, but June and August are, at least partially, spent in house.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122492197#Comment_122492197

So if you're a principal let's say up the Eiffel tower and you get a call from Mrs Murphy about changing her son's teacher.. would you take the call and give her the 40 minutes she wants?

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122492197#Comment_122492197

An we all would have expected that you'd have heard about the work life balance…..

Calahonda52

AS for all the teacher bashers on this thread, a bit of word substitution in the Snake Island exchange would work wonders

Russian warship: "Snake Island, I, Russian warship, repeat the offer: put down your arms and surrender, or you will be bombed. Have you understood me? Do you copy?"

Ukrainian 1 to Ukrainian 2: "That's it, then. Or, do we need to f**k them back off?"

Ukrainian 2 to Ukrainian 1: "Might as well."

Ukrainian 1: "Russian warship, go f**k yourself."

Deeper Blue

Thinly veiled teacher bashing thread. Poor effort 3/10

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122492197#Comment_122492197

In theory CEOs are available during their holidays.

In practice nobody in the management team will be brave enough to make the call 😊

FionnB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122492123#Comment_122492123

Not throughout the holidays. At SOME stage during one of the summer months. This was a genuine question, for very practical reasons.

selectamatic

Tbf you said at times in the op as in more than one occasion.

If you've a genuine reasonable query I'm sure an email to the school secretary would have most likely garnered some sort of a response.

This was more or less pointed out to ya earlier in the thread.

Expecting availability however isn't reasonable.

You've the last week in August all the way till next June for expecting availability.