I won’t be retiring till I’m 67.
It’s very different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, I understand that. A teacher friend retired in NYS around age 67. Hopefully yours is a school district that will be enjoyable until you can retire.
My experience and sketchy memory relate to Fairfax County, VA. It’s not a bad life for teachers here, or it used to be not a bad life. Pay, benes and retirement were decent, parents and teachers got along well. Kids were generally well prepared for school and respectful to the teachers. That wasn’t too long ago.
Bearing in mind that this is one of the largest school districts in the country, I think it speaks volumes about that relationship that when 2 of my now adult children got married within the past 2+ years, their wedding guests included a few teachers and the elementary school nurse.
My kids went through when there wasn’t a cop at every high school as is the case now. And when, if one of my kids acted up or was struggling, *I* got a call. In fact, when my kids were going thru FCPS, half their friends’ moms taught at other nearby districts. Those moms may have chosen to work in even higher paying districts, but there was no way THEIR kids would go there.