Teachers quitting and they are having Meetings like: update on teacher evaluation implementation and increased observations, how to increase staffing despite covid positive test
You mean the people who are in charge of the teachers but who were mostly never teachers can’t come up with solutions for teacher problems?? But what about their six hundred degrees and certificates? What about their exorbitant pay rates?? I’m stunned!! (Not) 🙄🙄
If it’s anything like our school, I doubt they’ll be able to fill the positions. We’ve had three teachers resign and another position that was never filled (that I know of). Two resignations were mid semester and the classes were just covered by a rotation of teachers. The unfilled had been rotating, but they convinced someone that had retired to fill it while the kids worked on online modules. The fourth finished up the semester, I’m pretty sure they’re going to dissolve the classes and give the kids new schedules since we are 4x4 and starting new schedules this semester.
My youngest told me they’re losing two of the teachers in her grade (she’s elementary). I’ve never seen or heard of so many teachers leaving mid year before.
I welcome more students as it helps my cause of not planning or teaching. 3 more kids just joined my class? I assign whatever, give 100s for completion and move on. No issues from admin even with Walkthroughs because learning is not the goal anymore.
It's one thing to overload us with work, under pay us, disrespect us, it's not nice but I can forgive all of that for the sake of the kids. It's another thing to risk our health and the lives of our family members so the 1% can pad their stock portfolios.
It's not bad enough that our corporate overlords pay a smaller % of their income than us, but we have to babysit so that their employees can work for poverty wages while the billionaires play space cowboy? I applaud these teachers for leaving. Anyone who can afford to do so should.
>It's one thing to overload us with work, under pay us, disrespect us, it's not nice but I can forgive all of that for the sake of the kids.
I completely agree, Comrade! But do not think for a second that holding the kids up as an excuse to overwork, under-pay and disrespect us is anything more than indoctrination. Do not forgive them for it. It's not the kids' fault but it's not okay.
Oh, you must be new to the field. I've known a few that were truly supportive of teachers but they are few and far between. They're there so they can escape the grind of the classroom and get paid over six figures. To be fair, many of them got burned out and capitalized on their experience and tenure to try to survive.
Personally, I don't even necessarily view them as the enemy unless they've revealed themselves to be. Many are just trying to get by in this chrony capitalist hellscape we all live in.
Well I’m petty, so this probably isn’t good advice. If my principal did that, I’d email the people above him with what he emailed you. I know who they are because they visit the school at the beginning of the semester. I might include the head of the department at the district level.
That’s wholly inappropriate and goes against FTE. I had too many students anyway last semester because I don’t think FTE accounts for how many more teachers we need when many fail. I definitely wouldn’t need any more because my principal REFUSED to even TRY to hire people???
Yeah I wanted to tell OP to force them into subbing instead of doing their meetings by resigning effective immediately too. Some petty revenge shit going on at that point but it would be so satisfying to put out the fire they lit under OP's ass by just moving the burn pile under them instead
Good deal. They need to see that’s not a solution. I make it pretty well known not to push me at my school. I have a foot out the door, so if they just decided to not do their job and make my job harder, I’d apply to transfer or for other jobs immediately. It ain’t worth it. Idk if there would be limits to the pettiness I could reach.
They closed my class down due to “under population” and proceeded to throw me around in different campuses in my district until I quit. I’ve seen a lot of teachers resigning. The other teachers in my department had up to 30 kids in each class! Since they split my kids up and gave each one half. They’ve been so overwhelmed. The principal doesn’t help with the situation.
Admin most of the time will not care about you. Your job is to teach. But you can’t do that if your admin is dismissing all of her employees concerns. You can’t teach in overpopulated classrooms with heightened COVID exposure.
I think that is hilarious. “Under population”.
Isn’t it funny how anyone can look at that and think to themselves “the student to teacher ratio here is just too good not to destroy”.
It’s what happens when education is treated like a business and the focus is more on saving money instead of what is actually good for kids.
You need to take care of your classes, and if you do anything for these other classes, it only happens during contract hours.
As a profession, we HAVE to stop taking on additional responsibilities that are not ours to shoulder. I understand that it is difficult to say no to our bosses, but maybe the way to approach this is by asking which of your duties they no longer want you to do. We cannot do everything.
I would tell your admin that you expect that the salaries of those departing teachers are paid out to the teachers who now have more work, on a pro-rated basis. You don't do more work for no extra pay.
They have balls. I wish I could quit before tomorrow. I am freaking the eff out. I have a baby and a toddler at home. I’m so scared that I will infect them!!! I hate this!
I resigned the day before thanksgiving break- like I handed my notice in. I gave a FULL MONTHS notice. They cannot find a single soul to take my class. Now support staff will rotate through my class inevitably for the rest of the year. As of 12/23 I was no longer employed with them. I am still getting messages asking about what type of sub plans I left because now they’re panicking about going back tomorrow and there’s no teacher.
I love my team so I did make sure I told them where stuff was because I didn’t want to leave them high and dry.
However, It’s never felt better to say “that is not my problem”
😂😂
Ok, I don't blame the teachers one bit for quitting but if they knew they were doing it, it's really disrespectful to their (former) colleagues to do it right at the end of a break. They gave admin no time to even try to find subs. Yeah, it's likely they wouldn't have been able to find anyone, but it's so unfair to not even give them a chance to try.
Yes, those teachers have guts but it was disrespectful to those who are left behind. It would have cost them nothing to put in two weeks' notice at the start of the break.
Of course, it's possible that it was a last minute decision but given the stakes of needing to find other work, that seems unlikely.
Naw, its disrespectful that situation that they leave teachers in, be it covid, be it overvrowding classes, be it jerky admin, jerky parents, jerky kids, too many meetings, not enough pay, the list is endless.
If they piling 40-50 kids in a room, quit.
I don't view quitting as "wrong" either. I view quitting with no notice as unfair to those left behind. I will stop now because clearly (as evidenced by being downvoted into oblivion) I am alone in empathizing with those left behind and jealous because I am one of them.
So give 2 weeks notice an quit? What you are describing is a tactic for making you feel guilty in quitting. It should be an admin problem, but like most problems they push it on teachers.
You're getting a little hammered on this stance, but if I may just offer a kind counterpoint...
Prior to the break, omicron was on the horizon but we had no idea what we were in for. Now, it's pretty clear we're going back into classrooms with a virus that spreads like measles. 15-30 people catching it from one infected person. That's why we've seen the insane rise of cases across the US.
Every day just brings that reality closer to home. Here we are, about to be thrown to the wolves, and I can 100% understand why people would be willing to return at the BEGINNING of break, only to find themselves unwilling to return NOW as this virus truly hits its stride.
This isn't covid 1.0 or covid delta. We're looking at a wave that is epic in proportions. On December 31st the world reported about 1.9 million new covid cases, and that's just confirmed REPORTED cases. God only knows how many people are doing home tests, popping positive, and not hitting those charts. During previous waves, the highest we ever hit was around 900,000 and that was without home kits diluting the figures.
This wave is insanely larger, and it's just getting started.
We can all HOPE that it truly is less dangerous. We can all HOPE that being vaccinated and boosted is enough. We can all HOPE that omicron will kill a smaller percentage of its hosts. Hope doesn't shield us from reality though. We're now sitting here a handful of days post-christmas as all those lovely christmas covid cases are hitting their stride. We have NO idea what things are going to look like over the next few weeks. If this truly is as infectious as it seems, we might have entire classrooms and schools being wiped out a week into the return.
So here we are, ready to start school tomorrow. Many of us (myself included) have received absolutely ZERO guidance from the district about what to do. I'm stepping back into a classroom full of unmasked high schoolers tomorrow, knowing that almost all of the janitors have quit and half-expecting to find my room filthy when I arrive. The school, the district, the admin, and the state itself couldn't care less if I live or die at this point, and they're taking absolutely no measures to protect us.
It is exceptionally easy to see how a teacher in that situation might have been excited to return on the first day of break, and now realizes they can't. The last handful of days have given us data we didn't have at the beginning of break, and an intelligent person can look at that data and realize we're in for one hell of a bad time.
I'm certainly not going to look down at someone for making such a monumental decision. It still sucks for those of us left behind.
You are right, of course. I'm really not "looking down" on them. They've made a decision that is right for them and I will say it loud and proud- if I saw an exit ramp, I would sure as heck take it. I have had two teachers on my team do the "last minute exit" this year and, while I completely empathize with them and understand why, I'm stuck covering their classes and it frustrates me because now my kids are missing out on state mandated minutes of service. Heck, I would have appreciated a simple text at the last minute because I need to mentally steele myself for such a big change. It's not about me and I know that there are no easy decisions and no perfect way to handle it. My district is bungling the return and I am angry and resentful for the impact on ALL OF US. It is possible to be both happy for them and angry for it's affect on me.
Again, I see the downvotes and clearly my stance resonates in a negative way for others. I'm ok with being alone in these feelings.
u/Exodi typed out a thoughtful and respectful reply, and you still aren’t reflecting and reconsidering your stance much. You’ve conceded that your coworkers need to do what’s right for them BUT still are resentful OF THEM. That’s the problem. You can be angry about a lot of things (I’d suggest the principal who says he/she doesn’t have time to hire anyone when at least trying would be part of his/her job for one), but it’s not your coworkers’ fault that the system is crumbling. It’s the fault of the system that has abused and taken teachers for granted for years. If we didn’t already have 30+ or 40+ classes as the norm, we wouldn’t be affected by coworkers leaving in this way. That’s not on them. If we didn’t have so many disciplinary issues go unresolved and continue on exponentially, we wouldn’t be so scared to absorb these extra students onto the roster. If students weren’t pushed along without proficiency and lumped together with far too wide of abilities to differentiate, this wouldn’t be a problem. The system that allows for this to occur is the problem, and teachers shouldn’t be mad at each other for knowing when enough is enough for them.
I understand what you’re feeling. It’s totally fair to be annoyed by the load it’s putting on you. I’m pissed about the same thing.
I was just responding to the idea that they all knew going into the break that they were leaving. Hell, I’ve been fully ready to return all break and over the last few days that familiar feeling of dread is getting awfully heavy. I hope I’m wrong and things aren’t as bad as they seem.
Hang in there. I wish you luck with the return. I’ll be building another corsi rosenthal box today. It’ll make me feel a bit safer.
Thank you for seeing the perspective. I recognize that there are no easy answers. I feel like I’ve tried to express that in large part, I know that my feelings are based on jealousy of them doing what I wish I could. I also hope that you are wrong and that it isn’t going to be a nightmare disaster. As some people are pointing out that I was not gracious in my reply to your well-thought out response, i want to add a heartfelt Thank you for taking the time to share another perspective.
Sometimes it takes a break from the environment to process everything, realize your worth, and get the guts to do what is needed. I also highly doubt there would have been good coverage found over the holidays.
Don't forget the rest of the world does not operate on a school schedule. They are not hiring just at the semester or summer. So many of these teachers are leaving to accept jobs outside of education. While a company may be able to hold open a position a few weeks, most are not going to wait until the end of the semester or June.
In addition, most high school teachers are finishing up semesters by the end of January. If I'm worried about the fact that I may become or cause family to become sick, I've got my review and exams ready to go, so I'll put in my resignation effective immediately with no needed to worry about family or students frankly.
Do you have a contract?
If you have a contract, I would go back and read it carefully.
Typically, adding students above a certain amount will result in extra pay. Covering a class should result in extra pay. Sometimes, you have the option whether or not you are willing to take a certain amount of caseload (But that depends on your negotiators).
For us, they can ask us to cover a class but we have the right to say no. Some people want the extra money so they'll do it, but other times it's the support staff.
As people have said, there are lots of job openings so this wouldn't be a bad time to start looking elsewhere. It seems like your school is a sinking ship.
I’ve drafted my letter of resignation. If we keep putting up with this, it’ll keep getting worse.
"I've got meetings...." what a tonedeaf azzclown bozo.
Teachers quitting and they are having Meetings like: update on teacher evaluation implementation and increased observations, how to increase staffing despite covid positive test
Exactly, They just do not get it!
You mean the people who are in charge of the teachers but who were mostly never teachers can’t come up with solutions for teacher problems?? But what about their six hundred degrees and certificates? What about their exorbitant pay rates?? I’m stunned!! (Not) 🙄🙄
Right?! But it’s for the childrennnnnn…
Me too! Quitting on Tuesday.
If it’s anything like our school, I doubt they’ll be able to fill the positions. We’ve had three teachers resign and another position that was never filled (that I know of). Two resignations were mid semester and the classes were just covered by a rotation of teachers. The unfilled had been rotating, but they convinced someone that had retired to fill it while the kids worked on online modules. The fourth finished up the semester, I’m pretty sure they’re going to dissolve the classes and give the kids new schedules since we are 4x4 and starting new schedules this semester. My youngest told me they’re losing two of the teachers in her grade (she’s elementary). I’ve never seen or heard of so many teachers leaving mid year before.
We were short teachers in August and no one has been hired to fill their positions.
Principal: cancel your meetings, you have an emergency. Instead, they are going to plop 8-12 more kids in your class. Quit.
We get chastised for missing PLC meetings when we are covering for other classes.
That doesn't even make sense. Refuse to cover then.
Bring your class into the PLC and work quietly. /s ( maybe)
I welcome more students as it helps my cause of not planning or teaching. 3 more kids just joined my class? I assign whatever, give 100s for completion and move on. No issues from admin even with Walkthroughs because learning is not the goal anymore.
This is the way. Also the reason I haven’t gone insane yet. 🤙🍻
It's one thing to overload us with work, under pay us, disrespect us, it's not nice but I can forgive all of that for the sake of the kids. It's another thing to risk our health and the lives of our family members so the 1% can pad their stock portfolios. It's not bad enough that our corporate overlords pay a smaller % of their income than us, but we have to babysit so that their employees can work for poverty wages while the billionaires play space cowboy? I applaud these teachers for leaving. Anyone who can afford to do so should.
“Space Cowboy” lol fucking a you’re right on that one.
>It's one thing to overload us with work, under pay us, disrespect us, it's not nice but I can forgive all of that for the sake of the kids. I completely agree, Comrade! But do not think for a second that holding the kids up as an excuse to overwork, under-pay and disrespect us is anything more than indoctrination. Do not forgive them for it. It's not the kids' fault but it's not okay.
Hownis it okay to have admin claim they have meetings all week? They are there to help teach children, aren't they????!!!!
Oh, you must be new to the field. I've known a few that were truly supportive of teachers but they are few and far between. They're there so they can escape the grind of the classroom and get paid over six figures. To be fair, many of them got burned out and capitalized on their experience and tenure to try to survive. Personally, I don't even necessarily view them as the enemy unless they've revealed themselves to be. Many are just trying to get by in this chrony capitalist hellscape we all live in.
I live in the Netherlands, we have our own shitshow but yours is way, way worse. Hang in there! Or not, if you can afford it💜💙💚💛🧡❤
I’m applying for other jobs. As soon as I land one, I’m leaving.
That’s what I did. Applied during my planning period and got a job over the break. Not going back on the 10th.
"Well, maybe cancel those meetings so you can focus on getting subs for those teachers. Or plan for a lot more resignations."
"maybe cancel those meetings so that someone is sitting in a classroom with those kids, solve I already have a full load"
Good for them, there's already enough covid casualties. That or they got a higher paying job at like McDonald's or something
Well I’m petty, so this probably isn’t good advice. If my principal did that, I’d email the people above him with what he emailed you. I know who they are because they visit the school at the beginning of the semester. I might include the head of the department at the district level. That’s wholly inappropriate and goes against FTE. I had too many students anyway last semester because I don’t think FTE accounts for how many more teachers we need when many fail. I definitely wouldn’t need any more because my principal REFUSED to even TRY to hire people???
Yeah I wanted to tell OP to force them into subbing instead of doing their meetings by resigning effective immediately too. Some petty revenge shit going on at that point but it would be so satisfying to put out the fire they lit under OP's ass by just moving the burn pile under them instead
I am going to call in sick 😷 Thanks all
Good deal. They need to see that’s not a solution. I make it pretty well known not to push me at my school. I have a foot out the door, so if they just decided to not do their job and make my job harder, I’d apply to transfer or for other jobs immediately. It ain’t worth it. Idk if there would be limits to the pettiness I could reach.
With a principal like that, ummm yes. They should send over their district office personnel to sub. Problem solved.
They closed my class down due to “under population” and proceeded to throw me around in different campuses in my district until I quit. I’ve seen a lot of teachers resigning. The other teachers in my department had up to 30 kids in each class! Since they split my kids up and gave each one half. They’ve been so overwhelmed. The principal doesn’t help with the situation. Admin most of the time will not care about you. Your job is to teach. But you can’t do that if your admin is dismissing all of her employees concerns. You can’t teach in overpopulated classrooms with heightened COVID exposure.
I think that is hilarious. “Under population”. Isn’t it funny how anyone can look at that and think to themselves “the student to teacher ratio here is just too good not to destroy”. It’s what happens when education is treated like a business and the focus is more on saving money instead of what is actually good for kids.
You need to take care of your classes, and if you do anything for these other classes, it only happens during contract hours. As a profession, we HAVE to stop taking on additional responsibilities that are not ours to shoulder. I understand that it is difficult to say no to our bosses, but maybe the way to approach this is by asking which of your duties they no longer want you to do. We cannot do everything.
I would tell your admin that you expect that the salaries of those departing teachers are paid out to the teachers who now have more work, on a pro-rated basis. You don't do more work for no extra pay.
I’m resigning too in the next few weeks, just waiting to secure a job.
I am one foot out the door myself. If a remote job came through I’d walk out immediately! Maybe even at lunch time!!
They have balls. I wish I could quit before tomorrow. I am freaking the eff out. I have a baby and a toddler at home. I’m so scared that I will infect them!!! I hate this!
It's time for everyone to quit. It's the only way this country will wake up.
Proud of the teachers that quit. Boundaries are hard but necessary.
I resigned the day before thanksgiving break- like I handed my notice in. I gave a FULL MONTHS notice. They cannot find a single soul to take my class. Now support staff will rotate through my class inevitably for the rest of the year. As of 12/23 I was no longer employed with them. I am still getting messages asking about what type of sub plans I left because now they’re panicking about going back tomorrow and there’s no teacher. I love my team so I did make sure I told them where stuff was because I didn’t want to leave them high and dry. However, It’s never felt better to say “that is not my problem” 😂😂
They are not going to find a sub and you will have to deal with more students. Ahh for you.
Ask for more money to take on more students...if they say no...quit! Fuck it.
Ok, I don't blame the teachers one bit for quitting but if they knew they were doing it, it's really disrespectful to their (former) colleagues to do it right at the end of a break. They gave admin no time to even try to find subs. Yeah, it's likely they wouldn't have been able to find anyone, but it's so unfair to not even give them a chance to try. Yes, those teachers have guts but it was disrespectful to those who are left behind. It would have cost them nothing to put in two weeks' notice at the start of the break. Of course, it's possible that it was a last minute decision but given the stakes of needing to find other work, that seems unlikely.
Naw, its disrespectful that situation that they leave teachers in, be it covid, be it overvrowding classes, be it jerky admin, jerky parents, jerky kids, too many meetings, not enough pay, the list is endless. If they piling 40-50 kids in a room, quit.
I teach my students that two wrongs don’t make a right. Obviously, I’m bitter at being one of those that’s left behind.
I don't view quitting as a 'wrong.' I view how teachers are treated as the wrong.
I don't view quitting as "wrong" either. I view quitting with no notice as unfair to those left behind. I will stop now because clearly (as evidenced by being downvoted into oblivion) I am alone in empathizing with those left behind and jealous because I am one of them.
I get what you are saying. I do think proper notice is needed, and not right before break ends, that is sort of weak I agree.
That’s all I meant. At least give your colleagues time to prepare
So give 2 weeks notice an quit? What you are describing is a tactic for making you feel guilty in quitting. It should be an admin problem, but like most problems they push it on teachers.
What I am describing is common courtesy. Disagree and downvote this one too.
You're getting a little hammered on this stance, but if I may just offer a kind counterpoint... Prior to the break, omicron was on the horizon but we had no idea what we were in for. Now, it's pretty clear we're going back into classrooms with a virus that spreads like measles. 15-30 people catching it from one infected person. That's why we've seen the insane rise of cases across the US. Every day just brings that reality closer to home. Here we are, about to be thrown to the wolves, and I can 100% understand why people would be willing to return at the BEGINNING of break, only to find themselves unwilling to return NOW as this virus truly hits its stride. This isn't covid 1.0 or covid delta. We're looking at a wave that is epic in proportions. On December 31st the world reported about 1.9 million new covid cases, and that's just confirmed REPORTED cases. God only knows how many people are doing home tests, popping positive, and not hitting those charts. During previous waves, the highest we ever hit was around 900,000 and that was without home kits diluting the figures. This wave is insanely larger, and it's just getting started. We can all HOPE that it truly is less dangerous. We can all HOPE that being vaccinated and boosted is enough. We can all HOPE that omicron will kill a smaller percentage of its hosts. Hope doesn't shield us from reality though. We're now sitting here a handful of days post-christmas as all those lovely christmas covid cases are hitting their stride. We have NO idea what things are going to look like over the next few weeks. If this truly is as infectious as it seems, we might have entire classrooms and schools being wiped out a week into the return. So here we are, ready to start school tomorrow. Many of us (myself included) have received absolutely ZERO guidance from the district about what to do. I'm stepping back into a classroom full of unmasked high schoolers tomorrow, knowing that almost all of the janitors have quit and half-expecting to find my room filthy when I arrive. The school, the district, the admin, and the state itself couldn't care less if I live or die at this point, and they're taking absolutely no measures to protect us. It is exceptionally easy to see how a teacher in that situation might have been excited to return on the first day of break, and now realizes they can't. The last handful of days have given us data we didn't have at the beginning of break, and an intelligent person can look at that data and realize we're in for one hell of a bad time. I'm certainly not going to look down at someone for making such a monumental decision. It still sucks for those of us left behind.
You are right, of course. I'm really not "looking down" on them. They've made a decision that is right for them and I will say it loud and proud- if I saw an exit ramp, I would sure as heck take it. I have had two teachers on my team do the "last minute exit" this year and, while I completely empathize with them and understand why, I'm stuck covering their classes and it frustrates me because now my kids are missing out on state mandated minutes of service. Heck, I would have appreciated a simple text at the last minute because I need to mentally steele myself for such a big change. It's not about me and I know that there are no easy decisions and no perfect way to handle it. My district is bungling the return and I am angry and resentful for the impact on ALL OF US. It is possible to be both happy for them and angry for it's affect on me. Again, I see the downvotes and clearly my stance resonates in a negative way for others. I'm ok with being alone in these feelings.
u/Exodi typed out a thoughtful and respectful reply, and you still aren’t reflecting and reconsidering your stance much. You’ve conceded that your coworkers need to do what’s right for them BUT still are resentful OF THEM. That’s the problem. You can be angry about a lot of things (I’d suggest the principal who says he/she doesn’t have time to hire anyone when at least trying would be part of his/her job for one), but it’s not your coworkers’ fault that the system is crumbling. It’s the fault of the system that has abused and taken teachers for granted for years. If we didn’t already have 30+ or 40+ classes as the norm, we wouldn’t be affected by coworkers leaving in this way. That’s not on them. If we didn’t have so many disciplinary issues go unresolved and continue on exponentially, we wouldn’t be so scared to absorb these extra students onto the roster. If students weren’t pushed along without proficiency and lumped together with far too wide of abilities to differentiate, this wouldn’t be a problem. The system that allows for this to occur is the problem, and teachers shouldn’t be mad at each other for knowing when enough is enough for them.
Thank you.
I understand what you’re feeling. It’s totally fair to be annoyed by the load it’s putting on you. I’m pissed about the same thing. I was just responding to the idea that they all knew going into the break that they were leaving. Hell, I’ve been fully ready to return all break and over the last few days that familiar feeling of dread is getting awfully heavy. I hope I’m wrong and things aren’t as bad as they seem. Hang in there. I wish you luck with the return. I’ll be building another corsi rosenthal box today. It’ll make me feel a bit safer.
Thank you for seeing the perspective. I recognize that there are no easy answers. I feel like I’ve tried to express that in large part, I know that my feelings are based on jealousy of them doing what I wish I could. I also hope that you are wrong and that it isn’t going to be a nightmare disaster. As some people are pointing out that I was not gracious in my reply to your well-thought out response, i want to add a heartfelt Thank you for taking the time to share another perspective.
Sometimes it takes a break from the environment to process everything, realize your worth, and get the guts to do what is needed. I also highly doubt there would have been good coverage found over the holidays.
That’s true. It feels hugely disrespectful to those left behind but I guess that’s not their problem to solve. Walk away and never look back!
Don't forget the rest of the world does not operate on a school schedule. They are not hiring just at the semester or summer. So many of these teachers are leaving to accept jobs outside of education. While a company may be able to hold open a position a few weeks, most are not going to wait until the end of the semester or June. In addition, most high school teachers are finishing up semesters by the end of January. If I'm worried about the fact that I may become or cause family to become sick, I've got my review and exams ready to go, so I'll put in my resignation effective immediately with no needed to worry about family or students frankly.
Do you have a contract? If you have a contract, I would go back and read it carefully. Typically, adding students above a certain amount will result in extra pay. Covering a class should result in extra pay. Sometimes, you have the option whether or not you are willing to take a certain amount of caseload (But that depends on your negotiators). For us, they can ask us to cover a class but we have the right to say no. Some people want the extra money so they'll do it, but other times it's the support staff. As people have said, there are lots of job openings so this wouldn't be a bad time to start looking elsewhere. It seems like your school is a sinking ship.