Trying to get a teaching job at an MCPS elementary school, want to know the truth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A school that makes parents happy might be terrible for teacher support. YOu need a different source.

+1
This is not the right place to be asking your question. Good Luck.
( another mcps teacher)

+2. Signed an ed policy researcher who spends her days observing classrooms and interviewing parents, teachers and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A school that makes parents happy might be terrible for teacher support. YOu need a different source.

This exactly. Unfortunately it is really one or the other (teacher support or parental support) in most schools.
-MCPS teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A school that makes parents happy might be terrible for teacher support. YOu need a different source.

This exactly. Unfortunately it is really one or the other (teacher support or parental support) in most schools.
-MCPS teacher

That's sad.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the previous posters about DCUM and greatschools.net. The posts here tend to be on the extreme side--you see a lot of complaining and criticizing--and less of the people praising schools. I also agree with the poster who says that the reviews here shouldn't be the basis for any job decision.

But to put this another way--you being a 1st year teacher---does it really matter where you end up? All MCPS schools have their positives and negatives. My friends who are teachers tell me that some of their most rewarding experiences have been in schools that don't fit the norm or are not ideal--in another words, given a choice they wouldn't have picked that school to teach there initially. But they don't regret the decision either. You may love the place everyone seems to hate, but then not like the place that gets glowing recommendations.

So I would say list out the criteria you are looking for in a position as must-haves, and be flexible about the nice-to-haves. Then if the interview process goes well and you like the principal and the school-go for it.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the PP. Many times, you might be stuck in the first school you work at due to difficulty transferring. My friend accepted a position at a really crappy school because school was just about to start and she needed a job. She has been stuck in that school for nearly 10 years. After her second year, she applied to transfer and has applied every year since then. She is still stuck there. Choose wisely.

[Anonymous]

Agree this forum probably won't tell you much. Our ES principal is kind of difficult for the parents to work with BUT she is fabulous with teachers -- picks the best, gives them the best support, is very deferential to them, etc. The parents put up with her general wackiness because she produces where it matters most -- in the teachers, and we all recognize that's the most important thing. It's precisely that she's so supportive of teachers that she's kind of difficult with parents -- she's not going to let the parents dictate what goes on in the school.
I do try to go directly to the teachers with issues, rather than raising them with her, as the teachers generally have better people skills.
Also, life lesson -- people that post on anonymous internet forums are disproportionately crazy/mean/irritable/unreasonable, so you have to discount whatever is said by them quite a bit. (Don't believe me? Look at the comments on ANY Washington Post article.).

[Anonymous]

And we have the opposite. The principal is known to be pretty good to teachers and to the district staff, but is despised by many parents as the principal's main concern is trying to manipulate test scores by any means instead of teaching. The test scores look great on paper and our school is known for being a good school but if you dig deeper in to why the test scores are the way they are it's disturbing.

[Anonymous]

Neighbor is a teacher and raves about her principal at a Wheaton school on Viers Mill. High FARMS rate but sounds like a very good spot to work for an enthusiastic young teacher?

Love our principal - different SS school - but no idea if our teachers do.

[Anonymous]

MCPS teacher here-- if you can get in the county you should do it. You don't have to stay in a school forever. Even if the principal is crummy you have a lot of colleagues to learn from.

[Anonymous]

^PP here. I would actually not entirely dismiss the great schools reviews especially if it is more than just 1 or 2 parents. My kid's school - low score but high stars rating -has almost all positive reviews for the current administration on that website.

[Anonymous]

I trust parents to be observant and honest about what they see in their children's schools.

Parents do not see the abuse that happens behind the scenes. There are principals who put on one face for the parents and then behind closed doors are hell on wheels to their teachers. Half of our teachers left and parents are simply saying things like "I am a little concerned that there is such high turnover." Open your eyes folks. It is not normal for 51% of the staff to leave, many of them of them had only been there for only one year and none longer than 3 years. Red flag!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the PP. Many times, you might be stuck in the first school you work at due to difficulty transferring. My friend accepted a position at a really crappy school because school was just about to start and she needed a job. She has been stuck in that school for nearly 10 years. After her second year, she applied to transfer and has applied every year since then. She is still stuck there. Choose wisely.

I don't see how that's possible if she's in MCPS. After two years, she can apply for open positions anywhere (not to be transferred, but to be hired by a new school). I have been involved in the hiring process at several levels, and we have hired teachers from "bad" schools that have worked out quite well. Does you friend teach a really specific or overpopulated subject area, like elementary art or secondary social studies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the PP. Many times, you might be stuck in the first school you work at due to difficulty transferring. My friend accepted a position at a really crappy school because school was just about to start and she needed a job. She has been stuck in that school for nearly 10 years. After her second year, she applied to transfer and has applied every year since then. She is still stuck there. Choose wisely.

I don't see how that's possible if she's in MCPS. After two years, she can apply for open positions anywhere (not to be transferred, but to be hired by a new school). I have been involved in the hiring process at several levels, and we have hired teachers from "bad" schools that have worked out quite well. Does you friend teach a really specific or overpopulated subject area, like elementary art or secondary social studies?

If your friend is still in the same school after 10 years and hasn't been able to get out, that's on her. Either she's not interviewing well or she's a sub-par teacher and her principal isn't "passing the trash" with a good reference because s/he has to look colleagues in the eye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the PP. Many times, you might be stuck in the first school you work at due to difficulty transferring. My friend accepted a position at a really crappy school because school was just about to start and she needed a job. She has been stuck in that school for nearly 10 years. After her second year, she applied to transfer and has applied every year since then. She is still stuck there. Choose wisely.

I don't see how that's possible if she's in MCPS. After two years, she can apply for open positions anywhere (not to be transferred, but to be hired by a new school). I have been involved in the hiring process at several levels, and we have hired teachers from "bad" schools that have worked out quite well. Does you friend teach a really specific or overpopulated subject area, like elementary art or secondary social studies?

If your friend is still in the same school after 10 years and hasn't been able to get out, that's on her. Either she's not interviewing well or she's a sub-par teacher and her principal isn't "passing the trash" with a good reference because s/he has to look colleagues in the eye.

I agree. For what it's worth OP I've learned more from the shitty schools I worked in than the good ones (though I wasn't as happy)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A school that makes parents happy might be terrible for teacher support. YOu need a different source.

This exactly. Unfortunately it is really one or the other (teacher support or parental support) in most schools.
-MCPS teacher

Argh. This explains why our last principal (before we gave up and moved to private) was so terrible. What about the kids? Shouldn't the principal consider parental and teacher feedback?