MCPS teacher shortages continue..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its a sad messy situation for everyone..

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/11/02/parents-say-mcps-teacher-shortages-are-hurting-students-academic-progress/

We are in a neighborhood zoned for Einstein and know a family with a student in the references algebra class. These are well-educated parents so I think they were first like, ok we will try to help at home. But they soon hired a tutor, which not everyone can afford to do. It's different to try to supplement at home in ES vs. HS. MCPS doesn't even have books anymore. I remember my dad helping me with math in high school but he would literally sit down with the book to teach himself.

MCPS is offering FREE tutoring so stop commenting about those who cannot afford it.

Isn't the free tutoring virtual? Isn't that what got us in this mess to begin with.

Stop complaining already. Your kid can do virtual for everything else and virtual is fine for 1-1 tutoring. Maybe your kid or you are the problem.

Nope. I pulled my kid out of MCPS long ago. Thank God.

OK. Then your input is not needed. Bye!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

It’s not a priority at Churchill to teach Special Education students. The school is a prime example of discrimination against students with disabilities given that students have not received their required services.

It's not that special ed students aren't a priority at Churchill, it's that special ed teachers are burnt out all over the county, and have quit. Its a nation-wode problem as well. Between covid, not to mention all the extra paperwork required, no planning time and parents who regularly attend meetings with lawyers ready to pounce and prove their worth, there are not lines of people waiting to fill those jobs. I am at a school that has had a special ed opening posted since before school started and no one has applied.

I’m a parent who has not brought in an attorney to my child’s IEP meetings but MCPS feels compelled to bring in their attorney as well as the Director of RACU (also an attorney) to IEP meetings. Meanwhile, MCPS is continuing not to provide the services as outlined in my child’s IEP.

As a teacher, you may be burnt out. But you should be advocating for more services and help so student needs can be met. Explain at the IEP meeting what the lack of a para educator means for the rest of the staff that needs to do what the para educator would do. Advocate for filling the long term special education vacancies. Tell RACU that without proper staffing that meets the IEP, the school is non-compliant.

Teachers are burnt out because of the lack of resources but MCPS is pocketing millions from not filling the vacancies. You are working overtime for free because there is no incentive for MCPS administrators to fill vacancies for special education positions.

When you say special ed teachers (who as you acknowledge "may be burnt out") should "advocate" for these things, what is it you are suggesting they should do exactly?

And if by "advocate" you mean speaking at IEP meetings as suggested and putting oneself in a bad position with admin or going on about staff shortages that existing teachers have zero control over, you truly think that is what will fix this?

There are a number of ways teachers can and should advocate for students.

All teachers fill out teacher reports as a mechanism for gathering their input for the IEP / 504 team’s consideration. Be honest in these reports. List what they view are their concerns and things they think would help. Teachers spend every teaching day with the student so they know the child and if more support is needed. One teacher is selected to personally attend the IEP / 504 meeting. Just speak up, provide classroom data, and give your professional opinion.

School staff also routinely have pre-meetings before parents are invited into the IEP meeting. There’s an opportunity to explain at this stage or in private meetings with administrators as to what problems they face implementing IEPs / 504 plans.

Finally, if teachers are intimidated by MCPS administrators and lawyers to not provide honest input for a student’s IEP / 504 plan, then that demonstrates a toxic workplace culture. Why would anyone want to continue working for MCPS if they are threatened when advocating for students?

None.
Of.
This.
Matters.

You are either willfully ignorant or just hilariously naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

Lack of special ed staffingis a HUGE issue that isn't going away.

Right- and given that it’s a nationwide issue, MCPS needs to be increasing SPED teacher/para pay stat in order to compete.

They can’t afford to raise the pay relative to the high case load. They need to raise pay AND improve working conditions.

Well part of improving working conditions means lower case load per staff member. They need to hire more staff. They need to find the money before it gets worse, because that will only make more staff leave.

MCPS has millions of dollars in unspent ESSR funds and millions from funded positions they never hired. Money is not the problem.

You can’t hire people who don’t want to work for you.

So how can MCPS fix that problem? Or are you of the belief that higher pay, full time benefits, and smaller class sizes will not attract people to work for MCPS? Or what about offering other benefits such as subsidized housing or paying off college loans to attract employees?

Nobody on this thread has said MCPS is a glorious place to work. Several posters have offered up ideas for things MCPS and the Board of Education could do to fix the downward spiral.

Force the complaining parents to work one day a week for their free child care.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

Lack of special ed staffingis a HUGE issue that isn't going away.

Right- and given that it’s a nationwide issue, MCPS needs to be increasing SPED teacher/para pay stat in order to compete.

They can’t afford to raise the pay relative to the high case load. They need to raise pay AND improve working conditions.

Well part of improving working conditions means lower case load per staff member. They need to hire more staff. They need to find the money before it gets worse, because that will only make more staff leave.

MCPS has millions of dollars in unspent ESSR funds and millions from funded positions they never hired. Money is not the problem.

You can’t hire people who don’t want to work for you.

So how can MCPS fix that problem? Or are you of the belief that higher pay, full time benefits, and smaller class sizes will not attract people to work for MCPS? Or what about offering other benefits such as subsidized housing or paying off college loans to attract employees?

Nobody on this thread has said MCPS is a glorious place to work. Several posters have offered up ideas for things MCPS and the Board of Education could do to fix the downward spiral.

You are either woefully underinformed or willfully obtuse. Special ed staffing shortage is not a unique MCPS problem. It's a nationwide problem.

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/special-education-teacher-shortage/

Every single state in the country is reporting shortages. It is a systemic problem with IDEA creating ridiculous levels of unlimited and unfunded entitlements that school systems cannot hope to meet and that are burning out staff, making them miserable, and dissuading people from going into special ed.

[Anonymous]

What's that famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members?" Your true colors are showing - its the GOP at work trying to dismantle education throughout the country, because education truly is (was?) the great equalizer.

For now anyway, all children are entitled to a free and public education. This includes special needs children, who can reach their best potential with early intervention.

The problem is not with IDEA, the problem is with how our country treats teaching as a profession: with little respect, little autonomy, and little pay. Fix those things, and there won't be a teacher shortage, or a special education teacher shortage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's that famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members?" Your true colors are showing - its the GOP at work trying to dismantle education throughout the country, because education truly is (was?) the great equalizer.

For now anyway, all children are entitled to a free and public education. This includes special needs children, who can reach their best potential with early intervention.

The problem is not with IDEA, the problem is with how our country treats teaching as a profession: with little respect, little autonomy, and little pay. Fix those things, and there won't be a teacher shortage, or a special education teacher shortage.

+10000 Well said.

The IDEA, ADA, and Section 504 laws were written to protect the basic civil rights of students with disabilities. The problem is not with the laws. The problem is how school systems treat students with disabilities.

Staffing is a vital part of Special Education programs. Beyond the teachers and para educators, MCPS has vacancies in positions for school psychologists, counselors, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, etc. Pay, benefits, and workloads are the common reason why. This has been a systemic problem in MCPS for years. Leadership in the Office of Special Education has had a revolving door of interim personnel so there has been no consistent plan to improve conditions to attract staff to these vital positions.

To quote again Mahatma Gandhi, "the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members." How does MCPS treat students with disabilities?

[Anonymous]

Hiring an attorney to be the Acting Associate Superintendent of Special Education with a lengthy litigious history speaks volumes as to how MCPS plans on treating students with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

Lack of special ed staffingis a HUGE issue that isn't going away.

Right- and given that it’s a nationwide issue, MCPS needs to be increasing SPED teacher/para pay stat in order to compete.

They can’t afford to raise the pay relative to the high case load. They need to raise pay AND improve working conditions.

Well part of improving working conditions means lower case load per staff member. They need to hire more staff. They need to find the money before it gets worse, because that will only make more staff leave.

MCPS has millions of dollars in unspent ESSR funds and millions from funded positions they never hired. Money is not the problem.

You can’t hire people who don’t want to work for you.

So how can MCPS fix that problem? Or are you of the belief that higher pay, full time benefits, and smaller class sizes will not attract people to work for MCPS? Or what about offering other benefits such as subsidized housing or paying off college loans to attract employees?

Nobody on this thread has said MCPS is a glorious place to work. Several posters have offered up ideas for things MCPS and the Board of Education could do to fix the downward spiral.

You are either woefully underinformed or willfully obtuse. Special ed staffing shortage is not a unique MCPS problem. It's a nationwide problem.

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/special-education-teacher-shortage/

Every single state in the country is reporting shortages. It is a systemic problem with IDEA creating ridiculous levels of unlimited and unfunded entitlements that school systems cannot hope to meet and that are burning out staff, making them miserable, and dissuading people from going into special ed.

Thanks for sharing that link. I found the interview really informative.

[Anonymous]

For anyone who thinks funding is the problem, watch WJLA7 Crisis in the Classroom report tomorrow regarding how little of the ESSR grant funds local school systems have spent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

Lack of special ed staffingis a HUGE issue that isn't going away.

Right- and given that it’s a nationwide issue, MCPS needs to be increasing SPED teacher/para pay stat in order to compete.

They can’t afford to raise the pay relative to the high case load. They need to raise pay AND improve working conditions.

Well part of improving working conditions means lower case load per staff member. They need to hire more staff. They need to find the money before it gets worse, because that will only make more staff leave.

MCPS has millions of dollars in unspent ESSR funds and millions from funded positions they never hired. Money is not the problem.

You can’t hire people who don’t want to work for you.

So how can MCPS fix that problem? Or are you of the belief that higher pay, full time benefits, and smaller class sizes will not attract people to work for MCPS? Or what about offering other benefits such as subsidized housing or paying off college loans to attract employees?

Nobody on this thread has said MCPS is a glorious place to work. Several posters have offered up ideas for things MCPS and the Board of Education could do to fix the downward spiral.

You are either woefully underinformed or willfully obtuse. Special ed staffing shortage is not a unique MCPS problem. It's a nationwide problem.

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/special-education-teacher-shortage/

Every single state in the country is reporting shortages. It is a systemic problem with IDEA creating ridiculous levels of unlimited and unfunded entitlements that school systems cannot hope to meet and that are burning out staff, making them miserable, and dissuading people from going into special ed.

Thank you for posting but read the article you quoted. It actually proves PP’s point. School systems need to improve pay, benefits, and work conditions to attract staff to special education jobs. Hawaii was used as a success example of filling jobs when pay and work conditions were improved.

One interesting perspective in the article is the problem of school administrators and superintendents who don’t value the skills that a successful special education teacher must possess.

School systems can sit back and let education go into the toilet by saying teachers are leaving the profession all across the country or they can be leaders and do things to make their system a more attractive place to work than other school systems. It takes leadership and a desire to fix problems. What is the plan in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Would you want to work for an employer who is doing this? No thank you.

https://www.mymcmedia.org/mcps-educators-rally-for-transparent-contract-negotiations/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For anyone who thinks funding is the problem, watch WJLA7 Crisis in the Classroom report tomorrow regarding how little of the ESSR grant funds local school systems have spent.

ESSER funds expire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For anyone who thinks funding is the problem, watch WJLA7 Crisis in the Classroom report tomorrow regarding how little of the ESSR grant funds local school systems have spent.

You mean this article?

https://wjla.com/news/crisis-in-the-classroom/covid-relief-spending-learning-loss-new-reaction-glenn-youngkin-says-fairfax-county-public-schools-james-fedderman-virginia-education-association-schools-must-get-moving-on-covid-relief-spending-nations-report-card

What does this have to do with MCPS? They only talk about Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For anyone who thinks funding is the problem, watch WJLA7 Crisis in the Classroom report tomorrow regarding how little of the ESSR grant funds local school systems have spent.

ESSER funds expire.

Other school districts have successfully hired contract workers to supplement staff. Contracts are tied to the ending of the ESSR funds. The services are aimed at decreasing class sizes and compensatory special education services to close the learning gaps during online learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then you have the issue of widening gaps between "good schools" and "mediocre/bad schools."

From the article:

Stacy Ganz Kahn, president of the Winston Churchill High School PTSA, says special education programs are dealing with the brunt of the teacher shortage in MCPS. Offering bonuses in high-need areas and pathways to teacher certification for paraprofessionals could help remedy the situation, she said.

Still, Ganz Kahn says the Potomac school is pretty well-staffed, unlike other schools in the county, because people want to teach there.

I read that quote in the article and thought it was in poor taste. And then just now I looked at the available jobs on the MCPS Careers site, and it turns out it's not true at all. Churchill actually has 6 open teacher positions posted, more than any other HS!

6: Churchill
5: Whitman
4: Blair, Blake, Einstein, Springbrook
3: Gaithersburg, Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood
2: BCC, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Watkins Mill
1: Damascus, Northwest, Walter Johnson
0: Clarksburg, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Wheaton, Wootton

The openings at Churchill include mainly special ed positions and long term substitutes. There is only one full time teaching position open. Special ed staffing is an issue country wide.

Lack of special ed staffingis a HUGE issue that isn't going away.

Right- and given that it’s a nationwide issue, MCPS needs to be increasing SPED teacher/para pay stat in order to compete.

They can’t afford to raise the pay relative to the high case load. They need to raise pay AND improve working conditions.

Well part of improving working conditions means lower case load per staff member. They need to hire more staff. They need to find the money before it gets worse, because that will only make more staff leave.

MCPS has millions of dollars in unspent ESSR funds and millions from funded positions they never hired. Money is not the problem.

You can’t hire people who don’t want to work for you.

So how can MCPS fix that problem? Or are you of the belief that higher pay, full time benefits, and smaller class sizes will not attract people to work for MCPS? Or what about offering other benefits such as subsidized housing or paying off college loans to attract employees?

Nobody on this thread has said MCPS is a glorious place to work. Several posters have offered up ideas for things MCPS and the Board of Education could do to fix the downward spiral.

You are either woefully underinformed or willfully obtuse. Special ed staffing shortage is not a unique MCPS problem. It's a nationwide problem.

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/special-education-teacher-shortage/

Every single state in the country is reporting shortages. It is a systemic problem with IDEA creating ridiculous levels of unlimited and unfunded entitlements that school systems cannot hope to meet and that are burning out staff, making them miserable, and dissuading people from going into special ed.

Willfully obtuse for $100 please!