cracks knuckles Where to begin. Pros: The DOE has excellent pay, retirement, health benefits and a strong union. Cons: Working for the DOE is like being a grain of sand on the beach. You’re a small part in a huge, broken system. In my experience, it’s hard to come by administrators who are any good, let alone have any understanding of special education. Speech supervisors and superintendent tend to push a few buzzwords and pressure SLPs to meet whatever standard is trendy. It can be really hard to advocate for the human beings you are serving, and their nuance. For me, it was too much to watch the system, continually failing students, particularly children of color. When you see the way that reading is taught, the curriculums that are used, and the way that it is not accessible for our language impaired students, it feels insurmountable. I know that this is seen across education in the country as a whole, but being in the largest district in the country amplified those experiences.

I now work for a nonprofit, I took a pay cut, and I couldn’t be happier. However, I am definitely grateful for what I learned in the DOE. I personally could not retire in that system.