* School District: Some districts have longer school days or years.
* Grade Level: Teaching younger grades (like kindergarten) can be incredibly time-consuming due to the higher level of direct supervision and classroom management needs.
* Extracurricular Activities: Coaching sports, leading clubs, or participating in school events significantly increases hours.
* Individual Teacher's Work Habits: Some teachers are highly organized and efficient, while others require more time for planning and grading.
* School Policies: Some schools provide more planning time during the school day than others.
While the contracted hours might be around 7-8 hours a day, a realistic estimate of the total time spent on teaching-related work (including lesson planning, grading, parent communication, professional development, etc.) is often 40-60 hours per week, or even more during busy periods like the beginning and end of the school year. It's definitely not a 9-to-5 job.