demoralized in MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
These kids should be moved to a separate school that is far more controlled with more counselors and more security guards. Anti-gang task force experts should be part of the school. Their school day should be longer and they should be monitored to complete homework. Sports and any fun activities should be predicated on good behavior only. Everything gets moved to a "you earn it" not "you get it until you lose it" model. There should be a path back into the regular home school for extended and continuous good behavior.

We had a separate school for students like this, and MCPS closed it in 2009:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/030508/aspenew214333_32362.shtml

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

I work in a school. There’s no way for a teacher or para to find out if a family is on Section 8 except reading a completed federal housing impact forms kids turn in rather than the family mailing. Not every family would make that error and others won’t complete the form anyway so your snooping would miss most Section 8 users. And why would you as an educator read their form anyway? There’s no academic benefit to gleaning that info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

Both of you have said that it's easy to figure out, and neither of you has explained how.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

They learned this behavior from their parents.

Not really. They learn what is the norm to survive in an environment. The bench for what is tolerated has really changed and kids have met it, while continually testing it.

I didn’t realize that throwing furniture was the norm. I stand corrected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in MCPS and there has been a rapid increase of serious behavior problems in my school. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the code of conduct and my principal's boss also says their hands are tied. We have one counselor for over 600 students, and school resources are tied up in putting out fires all day every day, so the people in those positions are unable to do their actual jobs. Once students on the cusp see that the students with serious behavior problems don't face any consequences, then they emulate what they see. You can imagine this does not make for a safe and effective learning environment. The rights of these students take priority over the other students' rights to learn and also for the students and staff to feel safe in their school. Yes, many of these students have FBAs and BIPs, but these behaviors have not been solved by implementing these plans. Parents refuse to be involved in many cases.

A few days ago we got our MCEA rep to come in and listen to our concerns. The rep listened for a bit and told us that what's happening in our school is not unique and it's going on throughout the county. There's nothing in the contract that states anything regarding staff's right to a safe working environment. He also told us that there's nothing MCPS central office will do about it and we just have to handle it at the school level. When we asked why there is nothing central office will do we were told that positions in central office were cut and there's not enough money to fund extra personnel to help support at the school level. We just have to "think outside the box" to figure out how to handle these mental health issues with the resources we have. Somehow we need to suddenly become mental health professionals overnight.

MCPS doesn't care that our schools are imploding. They don't care that there are physical fights frequently in elementary schools or that classroom property is being destroyed by students in fits of anger on a daily basis. All they care about is what looks good on paper regarding closing the achievement gap. There's a reason why people fought viciously to keep their jobs in central office when cuts were being made--they knew what they would be in for if they had to go back to working in a school.

I guess I've always know that central office doesn't really care about what actually goes on in schools as long as we are all good little puppets and follow their initiatives that were developed by people who haven't actually been in classrooms in years, and collect the data for them to be able to judge us by, but to hear it in such blunt terms is really demoralizing. MCPS doesn't care about what is truly going on in our buildings. They don't care about what is happening to your children. The staff does care about what is happening to your children, but don't have the manpower or tools to be able to handle these severe cases.

If you're wondering why there's so much teacher turnover--this is a big reason why. Teachers are not supported and we are expected to diffuse students in crisis with 20 something other students in the room for whom we're also responsible at the exact same time the student is in crisis with no one available to come help support. And MCPS had the grand idea to cut paraeducator hours as well, so there will be even less support in classrooms next year.

We know that although it doesn't feel like it, central office really only listens to parents when they have complaints. They don't listen to teachers and school staff at all. If you have a child who is affected by a situation like this, please document your concern with the principal and go above the principal if it continues. Continue up the food chain if it continues after that. Request more support for your child's school. Lobby for a revamp of the code of conduct. Document incidents where your child has been harassed, threatened, cursed at or physically hurt. Fill out a bullying form if the incidents meet the definition of bullying. Keep copies for your records.

This is something I'd want to know as a parent who may not be familiar with how things really work in MCPS, which is why I'm sharing. Please also keep this in mind when it's time to vote for new leadership.

This is outrageous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

Both of you have said that it's easy to figure out, and neither of you has explained how.

Kids talk about where they live. They talk about their parents. They talk about what their parents do. They understand what’s going on in the home and it’s easy to get a sense of the issues (financial and otherwise) that the kid is facing. Especially in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in MCPS and there has been a rapid increase of serious behavior problems in my school. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the code of conduct and my principal's boss also says their hands are tied. We have one counselor for over 600 students, and school resources are tied up in putting out fires all day every day, so the people in those positions are unable to do their actual jobs. Once students on the cusp see that the students with serious behavior problems don't face any consequences, then they emulate what they see. You can imagine this does not make for a safe and effective learning environment. The rights of these students take priority over the other students' rights to learn and also for the students and staff to feel safe in their school. Yes, many of these students have FBAs and BIPs, but these behaviors have not been solved by implementing these plans. Parents refuse to be involved in many cases.

A few days ago we got our MCEA rep to come in and listen to our concerns. The rep listened for a bit and told us that what's happening in our school is not unique and it's going on throughout the county. There's nothing in the contract that states anything regarding staff's right to a safe working environment. He also told us that there's nothing MCPS central office will do about it and we just have to handle it at the school level. When we asked why there is nothing central office will do we were told that positions in central office were cut and there's not enough money to fund extra personnel to help support at the school level. We just have to "think outside the box" to figure out how to handle these mental health issues with the resources we have. Somehow we need to suddenly become mental health professionals overnight.

MCPS doesn't care that our schools are imploding. They don't care that there are physical fights frequently in elementary schools or that classroom property is being destroyed by students in fits of anger on a daily basis. All they care about is what looks good on paper regarding closing the achievement gap. There's a reason why people fought viciously to keep their jobs in central office when cuts were being made--they knew what they would be in for if they had to go back to working in a school.

I guess I've always know that central office doesn't really care about what actually goes on in schools as long as we are all good little puppets and follow their initiatives that were developed by people who haven't actually been in classrooms in years, and collect the data for them to be able to judge us by, but to hear it in such blunt terms is really demoralizing. MCPS doesn't care about what is truly going on in our buildings. They don't care about what is happening to your children. The staff does care about what is happening to your children, but don't have the manpower or tools to be able to handle these severe cases.

If you're wondering why there's so much teacher turnover--this is a big reason why. Teachers are not supported and we are expected to diffuse students in crisis with 20 something other students in the room for whom we're also responsible at the exact same time the student is in crisis with no one available to come help support. And MCPS had the grand idea to cut paraeducator hours as well, so there will be even less support in classrooms next year.

We know that although it doesn't feel like it, central office really only listens to parents when they have complaints. They don't listen to teachers and school staff at all. If you have a child who is affected by a situation like this, please document your concern with the principal and go above the principal if it continues. Continue up the food chain if it continues after that. Request more support for your child's school. Lobby for a revamp of the code of conduct. Document incidents where your child has been harassed, threatened, cursed at or physically hurt. Fill out a bullying form if the incidents meet the definition of bullying. Keep copies for your records.

This is something I'd want to know as a parent who may not be familiar with how things really work in MCPS, which is why I'm sharing. Please also keep this in mind when it's time to vote for new leadership.

This is outrageous.

Outrageous, but it’s a story that could be repeated by many MCPS teachers. The PP is relating exactly how many feel about MCPS. It’s truly an unmitigated disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

Both of you have said that it's easy to figure out, and neither of you has explained how.

Kids talk about where they live. They talk about their parents. They talk about what their parents do. They understand what’s going on in the home and it’s easy to get a sense of the issues (financial and otherwise) that the kid is facing. Especially in elementary school.

Kids talk about their parents having a housing voucher? I'm surprised.

There are about 7,000 housing vouchers in Montgomery County. There are about 57,000 poor kids in MCPS. Do the math before you conclude that a poor family with kids in MCPS has a housing voucher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

Both of you have said that it's easy to figure out, and neither of you has explained how.

Kids talk about where they live. They talk about their parents. They talk about what their parents do. They understand what’s going on in the home and it’s easy to get a sense of the issues (financial and otherwise) that the kid is facing. Especially in elementary school.

Kids talk about their parents having a housing voucher? I'm surprised.

There are about 7,000 housing vouchers in Montgomery County. There are about 57,000 poor kids in MCPS. Do the math before you conclude that a poor family with kids in MCPS has a housing voucher.

Where did you get the number on housing vouchers? HOC doesnt disclose it. Personally I believe there are more .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband has cancer (incurable). The counselor at my childrens' Catholic school alone is worth the tuition. She is awesome.

Sorry about your husband, happy for your children and their "Catholic" school, but why are you saying that? What does it have to do with MCPS and its poor morale?

I thought the same. How is this PP forwarding the conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Where did you get the number on housing vouchers? HOC doesnt disclose it. Personally I believe there are more .

HOC currently administers 7,144 vouchers which provide a rent subsidy to clients so they can afford safe and quality affordable housing in Montgomery County. The subsidy amount is based on a payment standard set by HOC and the client’s household information so that the client pays no more than 40% of their income on housing.

http://www.hocmc.org/rental-programs/rental-programs.html

(Personally I believe that the moon is made of Swiss cheese.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.

Both of you have said that it's easy to figure out, and neither of you has explained how.

Kids talk about where they live. They talk about their parents. They talk about what their parents do. They understand what’s going on in the home and it’s easy to get a sense of the issues (financial and otherwise) that the kid is facing. Especially in elementary school.

Kids talk about their parents having a housing voucher? I'm surprised.

There are about 7,000 housing vouchers in Montgomery County. There are about 57,000 poor kids in MCPS. Do the math before you conclude that a poor family with kids in MCPS has a housing voucher.

Where did you get the number on housing vouchers? HOC doesnt disclose it. Personally I believe there are more .

There are not a lot of housing vouchers. That's why a lot of people live a whole family in one room and 2-3 families per apartment - because that is how they afford the rent, not because they are paying with a voucher. That said, being in a hotel and then moving into an apartment is a common feature for people receiving assistance, but it is often NOT Section 8 and can be 2-4 months of temporary housing assistance that then the family has to take over. This could also explain more people moving in - live there alone while receiving assistance, when the assistance ends in a couple months, need more occupants to make rent...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband has cancer (incurable). The counselor at my childrens' Catholic school alone is worth the tuition. She is awesome.

Sorry about your husband, happy for your children and their "Catholic" school, but why are you saying that? What does it have to do with MCPS and its poor morale?

I thought the same. How is this PP forwarding the conversation?

DP..first PP is saying basically that MCPS sucks so much that even though her DH has cancer, and presumably expensive medical treatments, they still shell out the money for private school.

[Anonymous]

I work in a school. There’s no way for a teacher or para to find out if a family is on Section 8 except reading a completed federal housing impact forms kids turn in rather than the family mailing. Not every family would make that error and others won’t complete the form anyway so your snooping would miss most Section 8 users. And why would you as an educator read their form anyway? There’s no academic benefit to gleaning that info.

Check out the cafeteria in the morning and during lunch. If it's filled, it's a good indication as to how many kids are FARMs and thus, living in subsidized housing. The two go hand-in-hand.

even so . . .

Most educators don't care to know this. Plus, they don't have time to go snooping around. What good does this knowledge do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I work in a school. There’s no way for a teacher or para to find out if a family is on Section 8 except reading a completed federal housing impact forms kids turn in rather than the family mailing. Not every family would make that error and others won’t complete the form anyway so your snooping would miss most Section 8 users. And why would you as an educator read their form anyway? There’s no academic benefit to gleaning that info.

Check out the cafeteria in the morning and during lunch. If it's filled, it's a good indication as to how many kids are FARMs and thus, living in subsidized housing. The two go hand-in-hand.

even so . . .

Most educators don't care to know this. Plus, they don't have time to go snooping around. What good does this knowledge do?

No, they don't. Please educate yourself. There is no "and thus" about it.

Also, OP works at an elementary school. Where else would the students be during lunch?