Social studies teacher Brian Miguel is planning to go on paternity leave later in the semester once his wife delivers their first child.

Since teachers in the district are granted 12 weeks of paid leave per newborn child, Miguel hopes to go on leave in early March—12 weeks before the start of summer break—thus combining his leave with summer vacation. “It seems to be planned out perfectly, at least that’s the hope,” he said. “The goal is to

get as much time off that is allowed and that I can afford.”
By going on leave, Miguel is looking forward to being a full-time father and husband.

“Going on paternity leave will let me just be there for my family,” Miguel said. “I will get to experience all those special moments and not go insane, not have to come to work on two hours of sleep. I want to take advantage of the time and travel, hike and just get used to the new family dynamic.”

Miguel does not think that he will be blindsided by the responsibility of raising a baby. “I actually have been fortunate to [have been] living with my sister when she had her baby, and more recently, living with my sister-in-law when she had a baby,” Miguel said. “I have kind of had that close family dynamic and some of that experi- ence, so I feel like in a sense, I’m not too worried, [and] I feel like I’ve been involved with babies before.”

Miguel and his wife have already learned the baby’s gender. “I kind of wanted to wait and be surprised, but my wife wanted to know, so as these things go, the wife kind of runs things, so we found out pretty early,” Miguel said.

The future parents are planning to name their child with the same first initial asthe baby’s grandmother in order to honor Miguel’s wife’s mother, who passed away two years ago.