MCPS teacher shortages continue..

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

MCPS is not a good company to work for. I'm not talking about principals or teachers -- I'm talking about the MCPS machine.

In addition, they haven't adjusted at all to the change in circumstances the entire country finds itself in regarding teachers. They continue acting like they can afford to be choosy when they should be giving anyone who wants to be a teacher and passes a background check a chance. Of course a qualified teacher and a seasoned teacher would be better, but we simply don't have enough of them. And yet MCPS refuses to budge while other systems all around us are hiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not a good company to work for. I'm not talking about principals or teachers -- I'm talking about the MCPS machine.

In addition, they haven't adjusted at all to the change in circumstances the entire country finds itself in regarding teachers. They continue acting like they can afford to be choosy when they should be giving anyone who wants to be a teacher and passes a background check a chance. Of course a qualified teacher and a seasoned teacher would be better, but we simply don't have enough of them. And yet MCPS refuses to budge while other systems all around us are hiring.

And DCUM would scream bloody murder for hiring unqualified teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not a good company to work for. I'm not talking about principals or teachers -- I'm talking about the MCPS machine.

In addition, they haven't adjusted at all to the change in circumstances the entire country finds itself in regarding teachers. They continue acting like they can afford to be choosy when they should be giving anyone who wants to be a teacher and passes a background check a chance. Of course a qualified teacher and a seasoned teacher would be better, but we simply don't have enough of them. And yet MCPS refuses to budge while other systems all around us are hiring.

MCPS only offered us $60 per hour for Special Education private support that cost $350 per hour. We cannot make up the difference between what services actually cost and what MCPS is willing to pay so we asked them to provide their own Special Education Teacher to provide the services my child needs. We are now on the second year waiting for services to be provided by MCPS.

The bureaucracy of special education is so confusing that I don’t know who is dropping the ball? Are school principals supposed to be hiring the Special Education Teachers or is Central Office supposed to fill the vacancies to fill the required staffing hours based on IEPs at a school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Although there is a national teacher shortage, you wouldn't know it at my school. Seems like any other year.

I don't know exactly how this comment is meant, but my child's ES seems to be on good shape too. Class sizes are lower than previous years. They seem well-staffed.

[Anonymous]

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

+1 the PTA President at Churchill has her personal one on one meetings with Principal Taylor so her child probably has whatever class they want and is not faced with a long term substitute like other children have had to deal with this year. She also knows nothing of what Special Needs students have faced at a school that is grossly non-compliant when it comes to Section 504 and the IDEA. 504 Plans and IEPs have not been fully implemented since 2020. Mr. Taylor has done very little to move the school into compliance. There’s a reason for the Special Education vacancies not being addressed at Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a lack of funding, it's a lack of qualified/interested applicants.

And the reason that there is a lack of qualified/interested applicants is that MCPS treats teachers poorly. Between unsupportive administration, central office padding and poor treatment from aggressive parents, teachers do not want to work in that system. I know several MCPS teachers and several who have left MCPS. Two moved to other school districts and two left teaching due to the poor working conditions for teachers. The ones who moved to other school districts are much happier outside of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not a good company to work for. I'm not talking about principals or teachers -- I'm talking about the MCPS machine.

In addition, they haven't adjusted at all to the change in circumstances the entire country finds itself in regarding teachers. They continue acting like they can afford to be choosy when they should be giving anyone who wants to be a teacher and passes a background check a chance. Of course a qualified teacher and a seasoned teacher would be better, but we simply don't have enough of them. And yet MCPS refuses to budge while other systems all around us are hiring.

The benefits are amazing though.

[Anonymous]

MCPS Central Office including Dr. McKnight do not have students as their priority. They increase their own salaries with raises and promotions but then do nothing to give raises to the staff that work with students. They do not care if positions are left unfilled. They use the unspent salaries for their own pet projects. Central Offices don’t have to cover the vacancies. They are not at all impacted. It’s not in their own self interest to fix the problem.

[Anonymous]

The working conditions are terrible. Nobody On this thread has mentioned the multiple exposures to COVID, fly and every other virus under the sun. And what about school shootings? No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you become a teacher? (or stop complaining)

[Anonymous]

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

Couple potential takeaways:

Working in W schools might be much less attractive than DCUM wants to believe. Possibly because teachers don’t want to deal with DCUM parents.

Working in non-W schools might be much more attractive than DCUM wants to believe. Possibly because there’s better work life balance there. Or because working with those students is more rewarding to teachers who see their career as a vocation.

[Anonymous]

Definitely good health benefits. The pension is good if you last that long. Unfortunately they have decreased the pension and the benefits for those hired after 2011. That will deter more people. And you still have to pay 7 percent of your paycheck for the pension. That's a big chunk of change when you are first starting out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not a good company to work for. I'm not talking about principals or teachers -- I'm talking about the MCPS machine.

In addition, they haven't adjusted at all to the change in circumstances the entire country finds itself in regarding teachers. They continue acting like they can afford to be choosy when they should be giving anyone who wants to be a teacher and passes a background check a chance. Of course a qualified teacher and a seasoned teacher would be better, but we simply don't have enough of them. And yet MCPS refuses to budge while other systems all around us are hiring.

The benefits are amazing though.

[Anonymous]

The principal is supposed to hire. But it takes HR a really really long time to hire and get them into the system. I have highly qualified friends who never got a call back from MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The bureaucracy of special education is so confusing that I don’t know who is dropping the ball? Are school principals supposed to be hiring the Special Education Teachers or is Central Office supposed to fill the vacancies to fill the required staffing hours based on IEPs at a school?

[Anonymous]

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

Couple potential takeaways:

Working in W schools might be much less attractive than DCUM wants to believe. Possibly because teachers don’t want to deal with DCUM parents.

Working in non-W schools might be much more attractive than DCUM wants to believe. Possibly because there’s better work life balance there. Or because working with those students is more rewarding to teachers who see their career as a vocation.

I think some of the up county schools are attractive because teachers can afford to live in decent neighborhoods within a reasonable commuting distance. Some are getting cheaper real estate outside MoCo but working in MoCo for the better benefits. A teacher can’t really live near Churchill unless they have a rich spouse or another source of money.