New LEAP related coaching position mandates (unfunded mandates from DCPS)

[Anonymous]

Any other LSAT members struggling with how to meet the new LEAP professional development requirement to have a full-time highly qualified math coach AND a full-time reading coach in every building? But the budget only has money for one coach, so we are now having to figure out how to move staffing around to meet the unfunded mandate from DCPS.

In a Washington Post article about the new system DCPS claimed this change to coaches within each school is "budget neutral," basically getting rid of the master teachers and instead having these within-school coaches. BUT what they didn't say is that they are basically moving the costs to the schools themselves, without giving them any additional funding to cover those costs. So budget positive for central office and budget negative for the schools themselves.

[Anonymous]

So DCPS is a fustercluck? That's big news.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Just wow.

[Anonymous]

NP. It gets worse. Not only are these coaches replacing teachers who would otherwise be used in the classroom helping kids, the concept of the coaches is to put the teachers out of class during the school day for 90 minutes a week. This is a substantial drop in instructional time.

[Anonymous]

DCPS teacher here. I wouldn't worry about lost instructional time because it will probably come out of the planning periods that are already part of the schedule. These small blocks of time are supposed to be a time to plan, make copies, and grade papers, but a good amount of that time is already taken up by mandatory meetings anyway. Even though the new system has yet to be implemented so we don't know what it will look like, I will not miss the constant anxiety of looking over my shoulder for a Master Educator.

[Anonymous]

DCPS Teacher here, and LSAT member. This is a BIG funding problem for schools. DCPS has budgeted all schools for 1 LEAP coach and but if your school is required to have more than 1 coach- that comes from your own budget. Meaning, your school may have to cut a resource teacher to fulfill this new mandate. So while in house PD will provide a resource to teachers (while monopolizing their planning time), students needing Math or ELA remediation may be losing their resource.

[Anonymous]

Principals should refuse to do this. They should not cut resource teachers due to this unfunded mandate.

Is this affecting all schools?

[Anonymous]

Yes, all DCPS schools will have to implement this next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Principals should refuse to do this. They should not cut resource teachers due to this unfunded mandate.

Is this affecting all schools?

PP was just suggesting where it MIGHT have to come from. A particular school could cut a resource teacher - others will make other decisions.

Sounds like it is affecting all DCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Could someone point me to something from DCPS that explains this unfunded mandate in greater detail? I can't seem to find anything on the website.

[Anonymous]

Our school has a full time instructional coach allotted and she will focus on literacy. We will be hiring an Assistant Principal (which is allotted) and requiring he or she to have a math background.

[Anonymous]

Can someone point me to where in the Budget Development guidelines it says we need a literacy AND math coach? Where is this mandate written?

[Anonymous]

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

I've looked as well and don't think they HAVE written it anywhere. The DCPS Budget guide says: "Please refer to the LEAP Team Design Guide, distributed by the Office of Instructional Practice, for additional details about the Assistant Principal role." But that document is not on the internet. Classic.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this is information being provided to LSATs and is not being posted anywhere. DCPS wants to ram this through in its usual way before anyone has a chance to protest.