Pros
Great supportive colleagues throughout the district. I am still friends with a number of friendly faces both on and off school campuses. Nice professional development opportunities. Lots of snow days. Felt a good deal of administrative support. Gaston County is EXCELLENT in giving lateral entry educators a chance to enter the classroom and start their professional journey while working on obtaining their teaching credentials. If you want to become a classroom teacher, then Gaston County is probably the best place to get your foot in the door!
Cons
Spotty administrative support--it was hit and miss, both on school grounds and in higher-up admin. I definitely noticed some favoritism. For part of my time in GCS, I was employed as a "teacher" but was paid as a teacher assistant. I taught the same number of classes a day as all teachers in my building, coached, was a club advisor, and was required to do before/after school duties. I did all this (more than quite a few others) and I made a fraction of what everyone else made. I guess sometimes you have to be creative with your given funding in order to make that sure that machine is well-oiled, but in hindsight, I think about how financially screwed over I was in that equation. Low pay. I know of a number of people who left Gaston County Schools to work in Charlotte, South Carolina, or outside of education altogether. Being a spread-out county, snow days were always weird. I understand the logic and the safety concerns...it's just weird for school to be out for days at a time when it's clear in Belmont and icy in Cherryville. I did sense a good-ole boy mentality during my time in GCS. It seemed that it was more about who you know than what you know when it came to some hiring or other privileged opportunities. Such is business, I suppose.