Teacher drama

She sounds like a class A beyotch. Everyone probably has her number already.

I'd say IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE.

I hate drama.

I think I worked with her before, or her twin... she threw everyone under the bus before she was moved from our school!  Everyone!  Good thing our P had her number and pretty much laughed in her face when she did that.  Be thankful she's moving, you won't have to deal with her next year but she's stuck with herself - It must be miserable to be in her skin.

I probably would have said something about her switching grade levels. Ten years deserves a comment regardless of how poorly you feel like you have been treated. I would also make time to help her move. It just seems like the right thing to do. THEN be thankful she is out of your grade level. I had to move classrooms the first three years of teaching and the kids could help. I also had to move twice 5 years ago and I had 95 boxes and pieces of furniture. I did most of it myself and had my sons come up on the weekend to help me. When I retired, I moved out for three months box by box by myself. Moving sucks. I should add that I could have had help. I just wanted it done carefully.

I was friends with the "odd teacher out" before she moved schools. Reread what you wrote here.   "we" always invite her when "we" have something fun planned,  "we" tell her about a fun project "we" are doing etc.  "we" get together and plan and she does nothing to help "us".  It may not have been this way from the beginning, and sometimes it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy for the person on the outside (for any life situation). They feel left out of the decision making process so they get upset and push themselves away but then by pushing away they feel more left out etc.  I know how my friend felt. This was also Kindergarten. She was a new hire, but not new to teaching, and the other 2 teachers had been there for a few years now.  Their classrooms were adjacent and they shared an office/storage space between the rooms with adjoining doors.  The kindergarten aide was based out of that office.  The new hire was in a classroom across the hall.  It was such little things that made her feel like the third wheel of the 3 teachers. Teachers A and B would be chatting between classes and decide "Let's take the kids outside for a break around 1:30".  They call teacher C.  "We are taking the kids outside during their bulldog time if you want to come out then too".  No seeing what she wanted to do first, no seeing if she had anything going on. So she looks included, but really  the plans were set by 2 teachers already and she was 'invited' into their plans.  If she says no the other 2 look at each other say "we tried".  This is a real petty example but a whole bunch of them added up over a year or 2. I am sure you will say this is not what happened but first instinct on reading that particular paragraph was "oh that reminds of _______". 

Sometimes it's hard at our school because of traditions already in place. A new to our school teacher comes in and they are informed "we always do a luau in first grade end of year party", "second grade always has a western theme party" etc. Right away any ideas they might of had are shot down before they open their mouths.

ETA:  our teachers moved in the summers. Sometimes they didn't find out till a week before classes start and then it's panic mode. Usually friends/family help them. Anything large to move they ear mark for the janitorial staff
.

Do your work. Go home. Enjoy the summer. And be glad she is switching grades next year and you're done with her.

I agree with this...

Ugh, I work with someone like that. I feel your pain.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. 

Im going to guess your administrator already has her number, so try not to take her words to heart or to worry they will be believed. 

If if you have a moment, offer to help. It's good karma for you. 

You know, it would be so easy to effectively say "screw you" and leave her on her own, but it's never wrong to act like a professional and take the high road, even when you don't want to. I'd vote for what I quoted above.

Also, this post - and what Country Ham had to say - brought up some things I've thought about a lot. In 38 years of teaching I've watched a LOT of different grade level team dynamics, and I think I've seen just about every variation possible.

We currently have three sections of each grade level, but have had four and sometimes even five in the earlier years of my career. It can be really difficult for a grade level team to be on the same page about everything, and so much depends on the personalities of the people. We currently have a grade level where we have one veteran teacher and two non-tenured teachers: the veteran is something of a dictator (definitely part of her personality) and has no problem simply saying how things will be done, no discussion needed or wanted. Her co-workers are more easy-going and adaptable so, while they are sometimes frustrated by this, they mostly don't get too worked up about it - but when she worked with other veteran teachers in the past, this didn't go over so well and caused friction. Consequently, this veteran has kind of a reputation of being difficult to work with.

We've had teams where a new person comes in and the two veterans do a lot of the "this is what we do/this is how we do it" talk, and it's expected that the newbie will just fall in with the plan. That can be really hard for the new team member, especially if s/he has different ideas to try out. New ideas aren't always wanted or are shot down quickly.

Country Ham pointed out that there was a lot of "we" in the original post, and I see that too. It may well be as stated, that she's a difficult personality and truly didn't make an effort to be part of the team. I also always wonder about teachers who won't work outside of contract time; that certainly isn't the norm!

However, I also know how hard a trio can be to manage, especially if two of the three are pretty much in sync and the third one isn't. It's very easy to fall into a pattern where two of the three make decisions and plans and the third one doesn't even get asked for input. It just gets even worse if one person doesn't contribute as much effort. But, there is a HUGE difference between "We are going to do this. Do you want to join us?" and "Do you have any thoughts/ideas about what we can do?" I hope the new person on your team is made to feel welcome and that his/her ideas are solicited instead of just assuming old patterns will be followed.