JaneSmith-
I don't think you're being unreasonable or that your expectations are too high. I'm a middle school administrator. My teachers all have 150 to 180 kids a day, teach at least two separate subjects and have 45 min of prep time in one day. In contrast, my son's elementary teacher has 20 kids in one class all day, teaches 4 subjects, has 2 45 min preps a day and 2 hours on Friday solid.
My teachers are required to post homework and tests online in advance, coordinate with other teachers so they do not have more than one test in a day, plan cross curricular projects at least once a quarter, grade their own papers without parents or a TA and enter them in an online gradebook no more than one week after the work was assigned. Parents have 100% access to the gradebook 24/7.
Most of my teachers have been at the school 5+ years. It is possible!
I share your frustration because I walked into my son's class last week to volunteer (set schedule) to hear "Oh I forgot you were coming. I don't have a plan for this morning so we'll wing it."
