Last year, admin sent me to a special convention, which I enjoyed.

This year (unlike last year), one of my students was selected to attend. So I assumed that I would be able to go there to support her.

But admin told me no, and they conveniently kept changing the reason why.

First they said they don’t have the budget to send another teacher. When I offered to pay for myself (I just wanted to be there for my student!), they said they didn’t have enough coverage for my classes. (Without going into too much detail, it’s now WAY easier to get coverage than it was last year.) When I offered to use my personal days for the convention, they said no because “that’s not what personal days are for”…

Bottom line: they kept moving the goalposts as to why I couldn’t go. So now my student will get her moment in the spotlight, and I will miss it because admin–for whatever reason–doesn’t want me there.