Teachers in my district leaving mid year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious if school districts can have teachers sign a contract that requires them to stay the entire school year as a way to avoid mid-year exodus?
Otherwise, the teacher will have to pay back benefits, relinquish sign-on bonuses, and other perks previously granted upon hiring.

It tends to work in other professions (at least in mine). I imagine the teachers union would have a tantrum and it would be a deterrent in recruiting, but if this was a normal standard in academics as a whole then the (even bigger ) problem of teachers leaving mid-year would be minimal.

What profession is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if school districts can have teachers sign a contract that requires them to stay the entire school year as a way to avoid mid-year exodus?
Otherwise, the teacher will have to pay back benefits, relinquish sign-on bonuses, and other perks previously granted upon hiring.

It tends to work in other professions (at least in mine). I imagine the teachers union would have a tantrum and it would be a deterrent in recruiting, but if this was a normal standard in academics as a whole then the (even bigger ) problem of teachers leaving mid-year would be minimal.

Most districts already have this. It's considered bad form to leave mid-year and other districts will not hire teachers who do. That isn't making as much of an impact anymore, however, because teachers are leaving for other fields instead. We just lost a teacher last week to another career field and we're currently covering her classes since there is no replacement.

It's going to keep happening because teaching is TERRIBLE right now. As an example: I woke up at 6am on Saturday and worked for 10 hours. I only took breaks to drive my kid somewhere and to make dinner. I was up again at 6am today and I'll work through to the evening... probably another 8-10 hours. DCUM is my 5-minute break I give myself between stacks of papers. I can't keep this up. My last day off was September 10th (a Saturday). I've worked at least 7-8 hours every day since then and often much more.

I'm quitting at the end of the year. The only thing keeping me going is the fact I don't want to dump this work on my already too-busy coworkers.

what do you teach???

I teach AP and Honors English. It’s the grading. It’s always the grading. I have to teach writing, which means I have to leave feedback on essays. I get 46 minutes a day built into my schedule for grading and planning. One stack of essays is over 20 hours of grading alone.

I see the other comments about time management. I have to have access to time in order to manage it. There’s no way to make grading go faster without sacrificing feedback, which I can’t do. I know the solution (fewer classes and more work hours for grading), but I don’t have control over that.

Changing careers means reclaiming my weekends. That’s why one teacher quit last week. She didn’t want to do this anymore and so she found a job with more reasonable hours. I can’t fault her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if school districts can have teachers sign a contract that requires them to stay the entire school year as a way to avoid mid-year exodus?
Otherwise, the teacher will have to pay back benefits, relinquish sign-on bonuses, and other perks previously granted upon hiring.

It tends to work in other professions (at least in mine). I imagine the teachers union would have a tantrum and it would be a deterrent in recruiting, but if this was a normal standard in academics as a whole then the (even bigger ) problem of teachers leaving mid-year would be minimal.

Most districts already have this. It's considered bad form to leave mid-year and other districts will not hire teachers who do. That isn't making as much of an impact anymore, however, because teachers are leaving for other fields instead. We just lost a teacher last week to another career field and we're currently covering her classes since there is no replacement.

It's going to keep happening because teaching is TERRIBLE right now. As an example: I woke up at 6am on Saturday and worked for 10 hours. I only took breaks to drive my kid somewhere and to make dinner. I was up again at 6am today and I'll work through to the evening... probably another 8-10 hours. DCUM is my 5-minute break I give myself between stacks of papers. I can't keep this up. My last day off was September 10th (a Saturday). I've worked at least 7-8 hours every day since then and often much more.

I'm quitting at the end of the year. The only thing keeping me going is the fact I don't want to dump this work on my already too-busy coworkers.

what do you teach???

I teach AP and Honors English. It’s the grading. It’s always the grading. I have to teach writing, which means I have to leave feedback on essays. I get 46 minutes a day built into my schedule for grading and planning. One stack of essays is over 20 hours of grading alone.

I see the other comments about time management. I have to have access to time in order to manage it. There’s no way to make grading go faster without sacrificing feedback, which I can’t do. I know the solution (fewer classes and more work hours for grading), but I don’t have control over that.

Changing careers means reclaiming my weekends. That’s why one teacher quit last week. She didn’t want to do this anymore and so she found a job with more reasonable hours. I can’t fault her.

Was it always like this, or has something changed?

[Anonymous]

Pp:

But when the prior teacher stops working weekend, threads are made about her in the FCPS forum on how her grades aren’t done in a timely manner.

If I want my job to be a 40 hour per week job, there would be zero grading done. My planning periods are enough time to plan, not grade. I can create and copy one lesson in an hour if I’m super fast. I have two preps on the block, so if I keep up with that I’m on track. The other 30 minutes is recording SPED data, IEPs/504s, contacting home, contacting absent kids, preparing work for kids who are going to be out, etc.

All grading is done outside of school hours. I am currently grading AP math tests. The average test takes 4-5 minutes to grade, and I have 92 students in that course this year. Best case scenario, that’s 6 hours of grading. Worst case, nearly 8. I also have algebra tests to grade. I try to stagger them so only one prep tests each week, but that’s 6-8 hours of work every weekend, and that’s if I never grade homework/class work/quizzes.

Tell me how to be more efficient. All multiple choice? Have kids grade each other’s work? Make assessments 5 questions instead of 20? I’m guessing you can see why that is all awful.

When I ask my department how to get better, they all admit to working weekends. I’m not unique.

How can it be better? Class sizes of 20 vs 32. Additional staff hired purely to tutor/catch up/assess absent kids so I don’t have to. 4 courses to teach instead of 5 so I have a period to grade. If I had 80 students and 2 hours a day to plan/grade, it would be amazing. Instead I have 150 and an hour. But the reality is that’s not going to happen, so more people are going to quit and 10 years from now math instruction will be on a computer and my only job will be to run around and answer questions, because that’s the only way I can support the 250 kids who will be on my roster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp:

Sorry, meant “np”. I hadn’t posted in this thread yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if school districts can have teachers sign a contract that requires them to stay the entire school year as a way to avoid mid-year exodus?
Otherwise, the teacher will have to pay back benefits, relinquish sign-on bonuses, and other perks previously granted upon hiring.

It tends to work in other professions (at least in mine). I imagine the teachers union would have a tantrum and it would be a deterrent in recruiting, but if this was a normal standard in academics as a whole then the (even bigger ) problem of teachers leaving mid-year would be minimal.

Most districts already have this. It's considered bad form to leave mid-year and other districts will not hire teachers who do. That isn't making as much of an impact anymore, however, because teachers are leaving for other fields instead. We just lost a teacher last week to another career field and we're currently covering her classes since there is no replacement.

It's going to keep happening because teaching is TERRIBLE right now. As an example: I woke up at 6am on Saturday and worked for 10 hours. I only took breaks to drive my kid somewhere and to make dinner. I was up again at 6am today and I'll work through to the evening... probably another 8-10 hours. DCUM is my 5-minute break I give myself between stacks of papers. I can't keep this up. My last day off was September 10th (a Saturday). I've worked at least 7-8 hours every day since then and often much more.

I'm quitting at the end of the year. The only thing keeping me going is the fact I don't want to dump this work on my already too-busy coworkers.

what do you teach???

I teach AP and Honors English. It’s the grading. It’s always the grading. I have to teach writing, which means I have to leave feedback on essays. I get 46 minutes a day built into my schedule for grading and planning. One stack of essays is over 20 hours of grading alone.

I see the other comments about time management. I have to have access to time in order to manage it. There’s no way to make grading go faster without sacrificing feedback, which I can’t do. I know the solution (fewer classes and more work hours for grading), but I don’t have control over that.

Changing careers means reclaiming my weekends. That’s why one teacher quit last week. She didn’t want to do this anymore and so she found a job with more reasonable hours. I can’t fault her.

Was it always like this, or has something changed?

It has always been 50-55 hours, but it crept higher in recent years. There has been a movement toward more meaningful assessment, which means grades can’t be multiple choice or something equally easy to grade. I actually support this change within English because it’s better for our students’ growth, but teacher schedules were not adjusted to accommodate this extra work. Then we started facing shortages, so one of my planning periods is now consistent sub duty.

I do love my job, but it has reached a point where I don’t really want to sacrifice more. As I watch coworkers leave for other fields, I’m realizing I can do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if school districts can have teachers sign a contract that requires them to stay the entire school year as a way to avoid mid-year exodus?
Otherwise, the teacher will have to pay back benefits, relinquish sign-on bonuses, and other perks previously granted upon hiring.

It tends to work in other professions (at least in mine). I imagine the teachers union would have a tantrum and it would be a deterrent in recruiting, but if this was a normal standard in academics as a whole then the (even bigger ) problem of teachers leaving mid-year would be minimal.

Most districts already have this. It's considered bad form to leave mid-year and other districts will not hire teachers who do. That isn't making as much of an impact anymore, however, because teachers are leaving for other fields instead. We just lost a teacher last week to another career field and we're currently covering her classes since there is no replacement.

It's going to keep happening because teaching is TERRIBLE right now. As an example: I woke up at 6am on Saturday and worked for 10 hours. I only took breaks to drive my kid somewhere and to make dinner. I was up again at 6am today and I'll work through to the evening... probably another 8-10 hours. DCUM is my 5-minute break I give myself between stacks of papers. I can't keep this up. My last day off was September 10th (a Saturday). I've worked at least 7-8 hours every day since then and often much more.

I'm quitting at the end of the year. The only thing keeping me going is the fact I don't want to dump this work on my already too-busy coworkers.

what do you teach???

I teach AP and Honors English. It’s the grading. It’s always the grading. I have to teach writing, which means I have to leave feedback on essays. I get 46 minutes a day built into my schedule for grading and planning. One stack of essays is over 20 hours of grading alone.

I see the other comments about time management. I have to have access to time in order to manage it. There’s no way to make grading go faster without sacrificing feedback, which I can’t do. I know the solution (fewer classes and more work hours for grading), but I don’t have control over that.

Changing careers means reclaiming my weekends. That’s why one teacher quit last week. She didn’t want to do this anymore and so she found a job with more reasonable hours. I can’t fault her.

Was it always like this, or has something changed?

It has always been 50-55 hours, but it crept higher in recent years. There has been a movement toward more meaningful assessment, which means grades can’t be multiple choice or something equally easy to grade. I actually support this change within English because it’s better for our students’ growth, but teacher schedules were not adjusted to accommodate this extra work. Then we started facing shortages, so one of my planning periods is now consistent sub duty.

I do love my job, but it has reached a point where I don’t really want to sacrifice more. As I watch coworkers leave for other fields, I’m realizing I can do the same.

+50000

50 hours was doable. Come in an hour early, stay 2 hours late, 7-5 and basically keep your weekends. Or leave at 3 to meet my own kids’ bus and commit to doing work after they go to bed.

60+ is killing me.

[Anonymous]

They need to change the laws so that teachers no longer need to put up with disruptive students in the classrooms. Without that, more and more of them will leave.

Bring back special schools for behavioral issues, and also start tracking students. Then teachers can go back to teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp:

But when the prior teacher stops working weekend, threads are made about her in the FCPS forum on how her grades aren’t done in a timely manner.

If I want my job to be a 40 hour per week job, there would be zero grading done. My planning periods are enough time to plan, not grade. I can create and copy one lesson in an hour if I’m super fast. I have two preps on the block, so if I keep up with that I’m on track. The other 30 minutes is recording SPED data, IEPs/504s, contacting home, contacting absent kids, preparing work for kids who are going to be out, etc.

All grading is done outside of school hours. I am currently grading AP math tests. The average test takes 4-5 minutes to grade, and I have 92 students in that course this year. Best case scenario, that’s 6 hours of grading. Worst case, nearly 8. I also have algebra tests to grade. I try to stagger them so only one prep tests each week, but that’s 6-8 hours of work every weekend, and that’s if I never grade homework/class work/quizzes.

Tell me how to be more efficient. All multiple choice? Have kids grade each other’s work? Make assessments 5 questions instead of 20? I’m guessing you can see why that is all awful.

When I ask my department how to get better, they all admit to working weekends. I’m not unique.

How can it be better? Class sizes of 20 vs 32. Additional staff hired purely to tutor/catch up/assess absent kids so I don’t have to. 4 courses to teach instead of 5 so I have a period to grade. If I had 80 students and 2 hours a day to plan/grade, it would be amazing. Instead I have 150 and an hour. But the reality is that’s not going to happen, so more people are going to quit and 10 years from now math instruction will be on a computer and my only job will be to run around and answer questions, because that’s the only way I can support the 250 kids who will be on my roster.

Making sure that you don’t need to deal with disruptive students in your classes, and starting to track students so the kids are at the same level and you only need to teach one class at a time, would allow you to do some prep and some grading during class time while the kids are working, right?

[Anonymous]

Teaching and nursing have a lot in common. I left bedside nursing several years ago because it’s the same sh#!. Do more with less. The staffing is inadequate to meet the demands. Both professions rely on women to bend over and burn out to keep things afloat. No thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What are the other jobs they are taking, do you know? Just curious.

NP but so far I've seen teachers leave for HR, an education non-profit, sales, training, aerospace, writing, and starting a business.

"starting a business" = Airbonne, Pampered Chef, baby photographer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What are the other jobs they are taking, do you know? Just curious.

NP but so far I've seen teachers leave for HR, an education non-profit, sales, training, aerospace, writing, and starting a business.

"starting a business" = Airbonne, Pampered Chef, baby photographer

Actually, “starting a business” more often means tutoring. I know a former teacher who makes a comparable amount as her old salary. Instead of working 60 hour weeks, she tutors about 20 a week.

[Anonymous]

"starting a business" = Airbonne, Pampered Chef, baby photographer

In this case, it was a teacher with a communications degree and experience who started a freelance PR business.

The teachers most at risk for leaving are new teachers, who are young enough to start over in a new profession without financial penalty, and teachers with experience in other fields. However, I see more and more teachers taking on part-time work in other fields to build that experience so they can make the jump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp:

But when the prior teacher stops working weekend, threads are made about her in the FCPS forum on how her grades aren’t done in a timely manner.

If I want my job to be a 40 hour per week job, there would be zero grading done. My planning periods are enough time to plan, not grade. I can create and copy one lesson in an hour if I’m super fast. I have two preps on the block, so if I keep up with that I’m on track. The other 30 minutes is recording SPED data, IEPs/504s, contacting home, contacting absent kids, preparing work for kids who are going to be out, etc.

All grading is done outside of school hours. I am currently grading AP math tests. The average test takes 4-5 minutes to grade, and I have 92 students in that course this year. Best case scenario, that’s 6 hours of grading. Worst case, nearly 8. I also have algebra tests to grade. I try to stagger them so only one prep tests each week, but that’s 6-8 hours of work every weekend, and that’s if I never grade homework/class work/quizzes.

Tell me how to be more efficient. All multiple choice? Have kids grade each other’s work? Make assessments 5 questions instead of 20? I’m guessing you can see why that is all awful.

When I ask my department how to get better, they all admit to working weekends. I’m not unique.

How can it be better? Class sizes of 20 vs 32. Additional staff hired purely to tutor/catch up/assess absent kids so I don’t have to. 4 courses to teach instead of 5 so I have a period to grade. If I had 80 students and 2 hours a day to plan/grade, it would be amazing. Instead I have 150 and an hour. But the reality is that’s not going to happen, so more people are going to quit and 10 years from now math instruction will be on a computer and my only job will be to run around and answer questions, because that’s the only way I can support the 250 kids who will be on my roster.

Making sure that you don’t need to deal with disruptive students in your classes, and starting to track students so the kids are at the same level and you only need to teach one class at a time, would allow you to do some prep and some grading during class time while the kids are working, right?

No, that wouldn’t change anything at the high school level. Disruptive kids tend not to come to class, and they are already tracked (AP/honors/gen Ed/double block). I have absolutely no behavior issues on my roster this year. I just have 150 good kids that I cannot adequately support because it is impossible to give meaningful instruction and feedback to that many kids in 40 hours a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp:

But when the prior teacher stops working weekend, threads are made about her in the FCPS forum on how her grades aren’t done in a timely manner.

If I want my job to be a 40 hour per week job, there would be zero grading done. My planning periods are enough time to plan, not grade. I can create and copy one lesson in an hour if I’m super fast. I have two preps on the block, so if I keep up with that I’m on track. The other 30 minutes is recording SPED data, IEPs/504s, contacting home, contacting absent kids, preparing work for kids who are going to be out, etc.

All grading is done outside of school hours. I am currently grading AP math tests. The average test takes 4-5 minutes to grade, and I have 92 students in that course this year. Best case scenario, that’s 6 hours of grading. Worst case, nearly 8. I also have algebra tests to grade. I try to stagger them so only one prep tests each week, but that’s 6-8 hours of work every weekend, and that’s if I never grade homework/class work/quizzes.

Tell me how to be more efficient. All multiple choice? Have kids grade each other’s work? Make assessments 5 questions instead of 20? I’m guessing you can see why that is all awful.

When I ask my department how to get better, they all admit to working weekends. I’m not unique.

How can it be better? Class sizes of 20 vs 32. Additional staff hired purely to tutor/catch up/assess absent kids so I don’t have to. 4 courses to teach instead of 5 so I have a period to grade. If I had 80 students and 2 hours a day to plan/grade, it would be amazing. Instead I have 150 and an hour. But the reality is that’s not going to happen, so more people are going to quit and 10 years from now math instruction will be on a computer and my only job will be to run around and answer questions, because that’s the only way I can support the 250 kids who will be on my roster.

Making sure that you don’t need to deal with disruptive students in your classes, and starting to track students so the kids are at the same level and you only need to teach one class at a time, would allow you to do some prep and some grading during class time while the kids are working, right?

No, that wouldn’t change anything at the high school level. Disruptive kids tend not to come to class, and they are already tracked (AP/honors/gen Ed/double block). I have absolutely no behavior issues on my roster this year. I just have 150 good kids that I cannot adequately support because it is impossible to give meaningful instruction and feedback to that many kids in 40 hours a week.

How were teachers doing it in the past? I know they graded written work with good feedback. Were class sizes really that much smaller?