[hikinghiker]

Last year I agreed to do after school tutoring. It started in October I thought I could stick it out though because it's an extra 400ish a month which is super nice. It's not difficult, at all, it's just not something I'm really interested in.

But...I don't have enough students. Kindergarten has a super low enrollment this year and there's another kinder teacher doing the tutoring. She got to the other K teachers before I could so I only have 2 students...1 who I just removed because she is one of my most advanced and clearly didn't need the extra tutoring. So I'm only working 30 minutes instead of an hour, but getting paid for the whole hour, which is making my super anxious.

So I brought it up a few weeks ago its admin and they shrugged it off and said they'd see if any first grade teachers had any students. So far I haven't heard anything, so I sent another email to admin repeating my concerns and stating that the other teacher is looking for more students, so I could transfer mine to her group so I wasn't wasting school funding.

The only response I got was that they contacted the first grade teachers to check again if they had more students.

AHH, truthfully I don't mind the work and I really enjoy the extra pay, but the only working for 30 minutes instead of the hour but getting paid for it all makes me feel like I'm stealing and is making me unbearably guilty.

[arsabl]

You’ve stated your case honestly. Take the money. You earned it. Maybe someone in the district office will wise up, but you should not carry any guilt. You are available for the job you were hired to do. It’s not your fault it’s not working out as perceived.

[Song of Joy]

Perhaps use the extra time to create materials for tutoring or researching resources that could help. For example, there are center activities on the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) that take time to create but could be filed according to skill and used by both you and other teachers in your building.

[knit1purl2]

Sometimes school funding has be used for certain purposes. If it is not used for that purpose, then that money is no longer available in future years. It is important to keep your position for an hour. I agree that you could work on materials to use for future tutoring.

[Gromit]

I'd be sure I had documentation that I was honest about how many students I had and that I offered to resign to save the school money and then take the "free" money. You could definitely do your prep for the next tutoring session during the unused half hour and then you're not doing nothing.

But I don't think you have to feel guilty. They aren't paying you for your work, apparently; they're paying you for your availability, and you are available.

[Haley23]

As long as you keep documenting your attempts you have nothing to worry about. Are you filling out a time card? If so, I'd make sure to only put down the 30 minutes I was working. If the school/district decides to do something else with it, that's on them.

I used to tutor through a grant program we had after school. I was required to see a small group. The first year the kids were an easy/enjoyable group and I actually enjoyed it, and made similar money to what you're getting. Last year, not so much. While I appreciated the money it was very stressful.

This year, I decided I just can't do it with all of the covid stress on top of everything else. The precautions during the school day are exhausting, and I've had to do extra work at night due to students being in/out of quarantine. It worked out anyway, because by the time they finally got it set up this year, we went remote again . I think I would have maybe gotten 3 days in. If things level out in the spring I may reconsider.

[mom23kids]

Perhaps use the extra time to create materials for tutoring or researching resources that could help

That's a great idea Son of Joy! I'm sure you plan, well you should get paid for that too...no reason to feel guilty, they are aware of your situation. Document your planning.
One other thing, maybe you can keep the kids an extra 15 min? (easier to do if remote)

[nyteacher29]

Could it be that the school already has the funding for the program and they have to spend it? That happens a lot at my school. I like the idea of using it to find extra resources. Also, why not invite the advanced student back and help her in other ways? Students, regardless of level, can always use extra support.