Does Anyone Have Any Examples of How the MCPS Shortage is Impacting Things This Year?

[Anonymous]

No consistent teacher for a high school Computer Science class. It’s a series of short term subs who are babysitting the class. The curriculum is not being taught and this is a class my child needed as a technology credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:35 kids in my son's high school geometry class.

Basically the same as any other year...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:35 kids in my son's high school geometry class.

Basically the same as any other year...

[Anonymous]

Exactly. I remember when my DS' Spanish class had 38 students and the teacher told us on back to school night that she would have difficulty managing such a large class. No joke!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. I remember when my DS' Spanish class had 38 students and the teacher told us on back to school night that she would have difficulty managing such a large class. No joke!

If only! DC on 5th short term sub for Spanish. So far all non Spanish speakers!

[Anonymous]

There is definitely a sub shortage. MCPS told anyone who didn't work more then 10 days last year that they would have to reapply (finger printing, interview, etc) so many decided not to and the sub pool is very small. Teachers are now having to cover when other teachers are out and are losing their planning periods. The teachers are really stressed about this (as well as so much other stuff).

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine teaches K and said that their class sizes are bigger than ever, and it was a big deal to the teachers when they found out that instead of having 5 classes of 20 or whatever is their norm, they have 4 classes of 25.

[Anonymous]

My child's class got their 4th-grade teacher on Monday after a series of 1 day subs and coverage- not even a long-term sub. They tried for a long term sub, but there weren't any. They tried for weekly subs, but there weren't any. They tried for daily subs and occasionally got one.

And according to my dd, the new teacher has never been in a classroom and has no more control than the subs.

Very disappointing.

[Anonymous]

It’s a sub shortage. I don’t really think there’s a shortage of actual teachers? But the sub shortage is awful and it means your kid’s class may frequently be taught by a paraeducator, which means fewer paras working lunch and recess and helping individual students, which means more stress and less support for everyone. Plus, teachers are basically being told never to take leave. I don’t really blame the administration for this because they’re in an impossible spot, but it’s terrible for morale. Also terrible for Covid, because sick teachers will not stay home.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. We have several long-term subs and ended up hiring several teachers who we knew weren't any good because there were no options. I've been pulled from my planning period for coverage multiple times every week.

[Anonymous]

Our high school was missing computer science teachers at the beginning of the year. However, in past years, we've also had several long term subs starting the year in some depts, so I'm not sure it is any more pronounced this year. (Some depts are just really tough to hire into.)

Be careful when you compare your own school's class sizes from one year to another. There's a range of class sizes that MCPS deems acceptable (varies across the grade levels) and sometimes schools are toward the bottom of the range and sometimes they are toward the top. It's only if a given grade goes over the maximum that mcps would allocate another teacher (which would then push the whole grade down to the bottom of the range).

So you may personally experience a very small class followed by a very large class or vice versa, but this could simply be due to small changes in enrollment that put the school below the minimum (necessitating moving a teacher elsewhere) or above the maximum (necessitating hiring another one and spreading the students across more sections).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No consistent teacher for a high school Computer Science class. It’s a series of short term subs who are babysitting the class. The curriculum is not being taught and this is a class my child needed as a technology credit.

This was an issue in the summer, too. Ended up being a wasted class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No consistent teacher for a high school Computer Science class. It’s a series of short term subs who are babysitting the class. The curriculum is not being taught and this is a class my child needed as a technology credit.

This was an issue in the summer, too. Ended up being a wasted class.

I’m not sure if the technology credit teaches a skill that students need to know in real life. One of my kids knew more than what the class taught. It’s harder for the curriculum to stay current and useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No consistent teacher for a high school Computer Science class. It’s a series of short term subs who are babysitting the class. The curriculum is not being taught and this is a class my child needed as a technology credit.

This was an issue in the summer, too. Ended up being a wasted class.

I’m not sure if the technology credit teaches a skill that students need to know in real life. One of my kids knew more than what the class taught. It’s harder for the curriculum to stay current and useful.

Generally, people who know CS are not going to be teaching. They are in the industry making more money.

STEM teachers are harder to find as it is. Probably doubly hard for CS.

[Anonymous]

MCPS went through a wave of retirements and resignations. Many people moved on to better school districts. A lot of young teachers quit and those who would have become teachers, decided to go onto a graduate school program.
The small portion of students graduating from education programs also had better hiring options. For those with teaching experience, they have triple the options. I sat in hiring interviews and candidates wanted to know if MCPS could beat a different offer that they had in hand. Some school districts are offering hiring bonuses anywhere between $3,000-6,000, depending on educational experience and subject.