leave of of absence

iluvmylab · January 2013

Have any of you ever taken a leave of absence from your job?

I have the opportunity to take a year off to care for my child (school year- I teach HS) and be guaranteed a job upon my return. These types of requests almost always get approved by our school board if you've been in the district for awhile, which I have. DH and I are weighing our options because he's been moved to a new department at his job recently and has been working A LOT lately. It's going to continue for the next year and it's already weighing on us.

On top of my normal teaching duties, I'm also a high school soccer coach, so I have early mornings, late nights, and weekends during the season from November-April.

If you've taken a leave, was it really hard to go back? Did you feel "behind" when you returned?

jf198400 · January 2013

If I had the option of taking an extended ML, I would totally do it! I wanted to take a longer leave with my 2nd baby, but my job was unstable and I wasn't guaranteed a position to come back to if I took longer than FMLA. Since you are a teacher, and would be out for a whole year, I think that would actually be easier to come back from, rather than trying to pick up from a sub who had only been there for 12 weeks.

iluvmylab · January 2013

jf198400:
If I had the option of taking an extended ML, I would totally do it! I wanted to take a longer leave with my 2nd baby, but my job was unstable and I wasn't guaranteed a position to come back to if I took longer than FMLA. Since you are a teacher, and would be out for a whole year, I think that would actually be easier to come back from, rather than trying to pick up from a sub who had only been there for 12 weeks.

Well it's not really extended ML, my son just turned one year old at the end of November, but my district would still allow me to take the leave.

2chatter · January 2013

I would be on the fence...going back might be even harder. But then again, I would not trade the time I was consulting and also ran an ECPTA and did tons of playgroups when DD was around 2 (for two years). Those were the best times, ever. I do get really sad that I cannot do that with my two younger children...but that is not a reason to skip doing it. I say...go for it!

IBackBevo · January 2013

I have not done this, but would absolutely JUMP at the chance to do it if I could.

XCrissCrossX · January 2013

Like PP said, since you'd miss the WHOLE school year, it's almost like you didn't miss anything. Maybe ask your principal to give you a heads up for trainings if there's any important changes so you don't have to catch up on all that when you return?

9fraulein · January 2013

If I were a teacher, I would probably do it, since your job is on a yearly schedule type of thing. In my field, we have competition for promotions and I'd feel too behind since the calendar stops for no one.

Yay for being a soccer coach! (I still play myself)

iluvmylab · January 2013

XcrisscrossX:
Like PP said, since you'd miss the WHOLE school year, it's almost like you didn't miss anything. Maybe ask your principal to give you a heads up for trainings if there's any important changes so you don't have to catch up on all that when you return?

Thanks, that would be a good idea.

DH and I will continue to discuss it. Another option is to look for another job without coaching duties and if I found the perfect one, just resign from my current district. My district is going to be unable to change my contract so I would have to coach next year and that's what's causing the most problems.

jinnymb · January 2013

I have a couple of teacher friends that have done this. It's very common in their school district. They hold their jobs for a year. So they actually plan their pregnancies to the best of their abilities to maximize the time with the baby and then return to work when they are a little over year.

It seems to work since they usually come into a new class or come in after winterbreak. They are not on track to be administrators though, I'm sure it could slow down your track if that were the case.

They saved up for it or tutored in the meantime, until they started work again.

IrishTraveler · January 2013

If your family can afford it, I say go for it. I know I would.

hansa11 · January 2013

If I were in your shoes, I would do it. It'll be so different from maternity leave since your son will be old enough to do activities and between ages one and two, his schedule won't change much. I think it's a great time to take leave. Besides, it sounds like you could use some time to recharge, so if it works for your family and you have the permission to do it, I wouldn't feel bad about taking the time off.

skibunny59 · February 2013

I would definitely do it if I could. I am also a teacher and could have taken a whole year unpaid for maternity leave. I can also take a year leave of absence. Unfortunately, DH and I just can't afford that right now.

iluvmylab · February 2013

Thanks ladies. I'm feeling more confident in my decision. We need to wait for DH's raise info to come through and discuss it some more. But I'm leaning towards yes, especially since DS is older now and we'd be able to do more things.

cltk12 · February 2013

Are you only allowed to do this once? If so and you're planning on having another child, I'd maybe do it after the 2nd child.

iluvmylab · February 2013

cltk12:
Are you only allowed to do this once? If so and you're planning on having another child, I'd maybe do it after the 2nd child.

No, as long as we have 5+ years with the district, we can do it as many times as the board would approve. We are not having our children very close in age (will try again when DS is about 3 years old), so his DC costs would be substantially cheaper at that time. There's a good possibility that I may not return after my leave, all based on DH's earnings at the time.

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