Prince George’s School System To Make Improvements To Hiring, Retention

[Anonymous]

From the Gazette:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20131126/NEWS/131129315/1124/prince-george-x2019-s-school-system-to-make-improvements-to-hiring&template=gazette

Nearly 1,200 new teachers hired this year

After a large exodus of teachers last year, the Prince George’s school system is putting in place new measures to improve teacher and administrator recruitment and retention.

“We must focus on getting the right people in the right positions, measure their performance through fair and accurate evaluations, and support them so that they continuously grow and develop, and make data-driven performance decisions so that we have our staff positively impacting student achievement,” said Robert Gaskin, chief of human resources, during a Nov. 21 report to the school board.

The school system had 983 voluntary departures during the previous school year, said Debra Sullivan, recruitment and retention officer in the Office of Human Resources.

Sullivan said many of those departures were due to the issue of employee compensation, based on voluntary online exit interviews.

The school system hired 1,195 new teachers for the current school year, more than double the number of teachers hired two years ago, when the school system’s budget was tighter.

During the summer, the school system finalized a negotiated pay increase with the county teacher’s union, providing teachers their first pay increase in three years, and during the meeting, the board approved a 2 percent salary increase for employees represented by the county principals and administrators union.

The average Prince George’s teacher salary is $63,566, and the county ranks fifth highest in teacher pay out of 10 metropolitan area school systems, according to the Washington Area Boards of Education 2013 Guide.

“Increased salary and wages will help us better attract and retain highly effective employees, and highly effective employees are what move our school system forward,” said Allison Huey, acting director of employee relations.

Board Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Boston (Dist. 4) said she has heard from constituents who never hear anything back after they apply for teaching positions.

“They have to constantly call and email and so forth,” Boston said. “I think that by this time, we should have something in place.”

Gaskin said the department is working to improve the online application process to improve notifications.

“We know that we must continue to leverage cutting-edge technology to improve,” Gaskin said. “This is something we are researching and working to dramatically improve.”

Gaskin said the new online application system should be in place by the start of the recruitment season in March.

Board member Edward Burroughs (Dist. 8) said he has heard from teachers and assistant principals who have told him they can find better opportunities for promotion outside the school system.

Douglas Anthony, human resources officer, noted that the school system, with assistance from a grant from the New York-based Wallace Foundation, a philanthropic education nonprofit, is now in the second year of a program to prepare assistant principals for school leadership.

An assistant principal training program is expected to begin in January, Douglas said.3

[Anonymous]

This is great. I'm really excited about the new superintendent.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully, we an attract and retain great talent in Prince George's County. I did not know the average salary for a teacher in the county is around $63K a year. I was thinking a lot less.

[Anonymous]

I am really glad to be reading this. We've lost too many good teachers to other districts that pay better.

[Anonymous]

It is, I had a tenant who moved here to be an elementary teacher and she provided her offer letter. It was about $61k and that was about three years ago. Horrid tenant though that I had to evict.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully, we an attract and retain great talent in Prince George's County. I did not know the average salary for a teacher in the county is around $63K a year. I was thinking a lot less.

Pay isn't the problem in PG. The pay is competitive with other counties in the state.

The argument that schools fail because teachers don't get paid enough just falls flat in PG. I wonder if they do exit surveys when teachers leave. My guess is that pay isn't the issue. For one, it could be overcrowded classrooms, not enough support, or unruly children.

I think the money would be better spent hiring more teachers and giving all of them smaller classrooms.

But we'll keep on this path and nothing will improve.

You can pay the teachers a six-figure salary, but if they've got 35 out-of-control kids in a classroom, you're not going to see performance improve. Sure, you'll get the teachers to stick around, but teacher retention is pointless if the teachers you are retaining are not improving the performance of the kids in their classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really glad to be reading this. We've lost too many good teachers to other districts that pay better.

What districts pay a kindergarten or first grade teacher more than $61k in Maryland?

The problem in PG is not that the teachers aren't paid enough.

I'm disappointed. There was all kinds of hope that there would be big changes in PG schools. But I see the same approaches -- teacher pay, more art -- being proposed as the solution.

Not, that's not the problem in PG. If you read reviews of schools in PG, the single biggest complaint is behavior of the kids, that the classrooms are unruly. So much time is spent on some children, that there isn't enough time or effort to teach the others.

I think the first step in solving this is smaller classrooms, which means more teachers. And teachers would not be quick to leave if they had more manageable class loads.

The other issue is administration. I think, frankly, some administrators need to be fired, not given raises.

Again, the reviews I've read of schools (including middle schools and high schools) seems to suggest the biggest problem is behavior and lack of control on the part of teachers and administrators. That is where the energy should be focused, because until you have a measure of control and discipline, it doesn't matter what you do with the curriculum or with subjects added, most time will be spent on behavior.

[Anonymous]

seem to suggest, not seems to suggest.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if they do exit surveys when teachers leave. My guess is that pay isn't the issue. For one, it could be overcrowded classrooms, not enough support, or unruly children.

Go back and read the article. It says that PG county is the 5th highest average salary in the Metropolitan area. So there are 4 other counties in the state that pay better (and likely the two neighboring counties of MoCo and HoCo are 2 of the 4), which are relatively easy commutes from PG county.

Also:

Gazette Article wrote: ...The school system had 983 voluntary departures during the previous school year, said Debra Sullivan, recruitment and retention officer in the Office of Human Resources.

Sullivan said many of those departures were due to the issue of employee compensation, based on voluntary online exit interviews...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I wonder if they do exit surveys when teachers leave. My guess is that pay isn't the issue. For one, it could be overcrowded classrooms, not enough support, or unruly children.

Go back and read the article. It says that PG county is the 5th highest average salary in the Metropolitan area. So there are 4 other counties in the state that pay better (and likely the two neighboring counties of MoCo and HoCo are 2 of the 4), which are relatively easy commutes from PG county.

Also:

Gazette Article wrote: ...The school system had 983 voluntary departures during the previous school year, said Debra Sullivan, recruitment and retention officer in the Office of Human Resources.

Sullivan said many of those departures were due to the issue of employee compensation, based on voluntary online exit interviews...

MOCO and Harford county both have a way higher cost of living. So it actually makes sense that they pay more, given that it costs more to live there.

PG comes in in the middle, which means the pay is about average.

[Anonymous]

should read MOCO and Howard county, not Harford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I wonder if they do exit surveys when teachers leave. My guess is that pay isn't the issue. For one, it could be overcrowded classrooms, not enough support, or unruly children.

Go back and read the article. It says that PG county is the 5th highest average salary in the Metropolitan area. So there are 4 other counties in the state that pay better (and likely the two neighboring counties of MoCo and HoCo are 2 of the 4), which are relatively easy commutes from PG county.

Also:

Gazette Article wrote: ...The school system had 983 voluntary departures during the previous school year, said Debra Sullivan, recruitment and retention officer in the Office of Human Resources.

Sullivan said many of those departures were due to the issue of employee compensation, based on voluntary online exit interviews...

From the article: "the county ranks fifth highest in teacher pay out of 10 metropolitan area school systems."

That's not bad. It's not like PG pays substantially less than other districts.

And the cost of rent or real estate in MOCO and Howard are astronomical compared to PG. That would justify higher pay.

I'm all for incorporating merit bonuses for teachers. If high-quality teachers want an option to make more in PG, then tie it to performance.

In MOCO, for example, teachers get higher pay for doing extra things -- running various after school programs, clubs, et cetera. I'm not sure exactly how that works in PG, but I'm for giving teachers an opportunity to make more if they add more value to the school.

I do think PG needs to make it easier for teachers and PTAs to add programs to the schools.

I'm also all for PG offering higher salaries to teachers they recruit who bring specific expertise to the job. But I'm cynical about just throwing money at the problem by doing across-the-board increases. I suppose it's only a small increase, though. But it's doubtful it will make a difference. Teachers who feel their professional career is blunted by lack of opportunity in PG will still leave after a year and go to MOCO, if for no other reason than the higher prestige and better opportunities you have when you teach in such a high-performing school district.

[Anonymous]

My friend in Silver Spring teaches elementary school and she told me she was earning $90K. She has a master's degree and 12 years' experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend in Silver Spring teaches elementary school and she told me she was earning $90K. She has a master's degree and 12 years' experience.

Sorry -- it must be more years than that. Maybe 14? Anyhow, she's in Montgomery County. I think she is earning far more than what a teacher would earn in PG County.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher in PGCPS, the number one reason that good teachers leave is due to money.