A quarter of the teachers at Lakewood Elementary are leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to this neighborhood because of the school district. I've really liked the teachers my son has had; they have all been helpful, caring and communicative with me. But I know at least two of them are leaving! When I heard that, I told my husband that we should just sell our house, move to a condo and send the kinds to private school.

I'm told the new principal is making it a toxic workplace. Does anyone know what the f*** is going on?

Different school but ES had turnover in the 30% range. Covid and school closures destroyed education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to this neighborhood because of the school district. I've really liked the teachers my son has had; they have all been helpful, caring and communicative with me. But I know at least two of them are leaving! When I heard that, I told my husband that we should just sell our house, move to a condo and send the kinds to private school.

I'm told the new principal is making it a toxic workplace. Does anyone know what the f*** is going on?

Different school but ES had turnover in the 30% range. Covid and school closures destroyed education.

Not many teachers left during covid for Lakewood. A quarter left after one year of new principle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, when teachers leave one district, do they also forfeit those years toward their retirement?

It depends. If the teacher leaves Montgomery and moves to Howard county to teach, they will keep their years in the Maryland system. But if they move to Fairfax County in Virginia, they cannot carry the retirement years with them unless they pay for them to be credited toward the Virginia retirement system.

If MoCo has a separate retirement plan in addition to the state one, the staff member would forfeit them and not be able to add them to another Maryland county unless there was a way to purchase and "carry" them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to this neighborhood because of the school district. I've really liked the teachers my son has had; they have all been helpful, caring and communicative with me. But I know at least two of them are leaving! When I heard that, I told my husband that we should just sell our house, move to a condo and send the kinds to private school.

I'm told the new principal is making it a toxic workplace. Does anyone know what the f*** is going on?

Different school but ES had turnover in the 30% range. Covid and school closures destroyed education.

Not many teachers left during covid for Lakewood. A quarter left after one year of new principle.

There have been several posts with this, and I have to say something: It's PRINCIPAL., not principle.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

The curriculum changes at MCPS? It’s just getting more and more watered down.
I think it’s crazy that you don’t know much but call concerned parents crazy. There are many examples being shared within the community but many parents and teachers fear about retaliation and would not want to share publicly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

OP here.

At first I was inclined to dismiss the information as some sort of hysterics about the new principal's anti-racism/equity/inclusion initiatives, as I've gotten some weird emails in the past freaking out about the children being exposed to LGBTQ+ content as part of the MCPS curriculum, so I reached out to a teacher friend at the school to ask about what was going on. I'm not going to go into more detail in order to maintain their privacy, but they basically said the environment at the school had become quite toxic.

I am concerned about what changed to make the teachers so disgruntled. From what I understand, the teachers were reassigned to new grades without their input, and the new principal was not receptive to feedback at all. Is it the norm for principals to assign new grades like that? And is it the norm for principals to assign so many teachers (8 out of 18, nearly half) to new grades? I feel like changes like this tend to be more gradual, as new teams form and the newer teammates learn to work together.

I'm truly coming from a place of wanting to know and understand more about the dynamics of school staffing. I love the teachers at my child's school, and I want to support them the best I can.

[Anonymous]

About 1/3 are leaving my MS. It was a brutal year. Our entire counseling department left last year.

[Anonymous]

At an elementary school where the counselor quit mid year, so did a few other teachers...ending the year with about other 10 people quitting (not the profession mind you..just the school)...all due to admin. It's really school dependent.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of schools that are losing that many or more. It is likely more than just people being unhappy with the principal. My old school lost 2 teachers mid year and 4 more at the end plus the principal left. That's about 20% for us. It's pretty typical for a school to lose 5-7%, maybe 10% if there's a lot of young pregnant teachers, but 20%+? That's high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

ACTUAL MCPS teacher here. Stop gaslighting. This is a HUGE concern. We have been screaming from the rooftops about ineffective administration - so here is a glaring example of it. It.is.Concerning. No one wants to work for a toxic, abusive boss. No parent wants someone ineffective in charge of their children. I believe the teachers that are leaving. And you should too. It has nothing to do with shaking things up for the curriculum. Get real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

I heard the principal is interviewing and already gave offers to three new hires who have no experience. She would have to fill at least 10 positions in a short period of time. It takes a long time for new hires to gain teaching skills and experience. With so many teachers leaving, it’s a huge loss for the community.

There is also lack of communication and transparency from the school administration. We got to know these changes through private chats with other parents and teachers. Students also got to hear which teachers are leaving in their classrooms.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that this principal plays tricks and treats parents as if they're idiots. The principles should be investigated regarding her accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to this neighborhood because of the school district. I've really liked the teachers my son has had; they have all been helpful, caring and communicative with me. But I know at least two of them are leaving! When I heard that, I told my husband that we should just sell our house, move to a condo and send the kinds to private school.

I'm told the new principal is making it a toxic workplace. Does anyone know what the f*** is going on?

Different school but ES had turnover in the 30% range. Covid and school closures destroyed education.

I would put the blame more on overly demanding parents who expect teachers to raise their kids for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. This happens and is truly no big deal. It’s not always the best thing to have the same teacher teaching the same subject and the same grade for years among years. That is when teacher burn out happens. Teachers can also become very stuck in their ways and less likely to become adaptable when curriculum changes. The principal may see a certain skill set that the teacher possesses that would benefit the students if they taught a different grade or subject. I think it’s crazy that you are putting blame on the principal saying he is toxic without any examples of what he has done.

ACTUAL MCPS teacher here. Stop gaslighting. This is a HUGE concern. We have been screaming from the rooftops about ineffective administration - so here is a glaring example of it. It.is.Concerning. No one wants to work for a toxic, abusive boss. No parent wants someone ineffective in charge of their children. I believe the teachers that are leaving. And you should too. It has nothing to do with shaking things up for the curriculum. Get real.

Sure, but it isn't necessarily the principal's fault. There could also be a lot of rot in that school that needs to be replaced.