Chronic teacher (aide) absenteeism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure what to tell you. This aide is a person who may have health problems or is pregnant. I was paying for private and had my child’s teacher go out on maternity leave. It was less than ideal but these people aren’t robots! You have no idea what’s going on in their lives.

Exactly this. I guess the aide has a lot of nerve to maybe have a health or personal issue during the school year. Imagine!

OP, the most I can see doing is asking that they find a quality sub and use the same one as much as possible. They may already be trying to do that.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing you can do about this. The principal is probably aware as the head teacher is probably annoyed by it. But in a public school- this may be low on the priority list of things that need to be addressed.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, good long-term subs are hard to get. One-day subs are often aides from other schools that have a different calendar (like an extended year school), or people who work odd schedules so they have a weekday off. There are not a lot of great people availablr to long-term sub and they are snapped up early for planned absences like parental leave.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure the school isn't using the aide in another capacity? Because that happens a lot in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

OP - I am a sub, unless the administration of the school is working on identifying someone who can fill in, the system is about plugging holes. Jobs are posted online and subs accept them. Any current DCPS sub can accept a job.

Your best bet is to become a sub ( although you might be discouraged from subbing in you kids room) or finding a retired teacher or someone who wants flexibility and encourage them to become a sub and approach your school about filling the hole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure the school isn't using the aide in another capacity? Because that happens a lot in DCPS.

+1
I can't tell you how many times my aide was used as a sub, lunch monitor, chaperone, and to intervene with behavior problems. It was more like having a special guest star than a consistent presence.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about DC but in VA subs are not paid minimum wage. Subs for teachers typically make about $14 hr and subs for aides make about $12 hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about DC but in VA subs are not paid minimum wage. Subs for teachers typically make about $14 hr and subs for aides make about $12 hr.

DCPS subs are paid $120/day.

[Anonymous]

What if the person is on FMLA? What if they are sick?

The school should find a long term sub option. That’s what my sons school is doing for their aide and this type of issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure the school isn't using the aide in another capacity? Because that happens a lot in DCPS.

+1
I can't tell you how many times my aide was used as a sub, lunch monitor, chaperone, and to intervene with behavior problems. It was more like having a special guest star than a consistent presence.

I’m a teacher and this is my bet as well. Admin also won’t admit they are doing this so their vague response to you seems about right too. They’d prefer to throw the aide under the bus in a vague way rather than admit they’re pulling the aide for other needs.

[Anonymous]

If they are taking a prek 3 aid out of the room it’s against ratio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are taking a prek 3 aid out of the room it’s against ratio.

Add it to the long list of other DCPS violations!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doens't matter what kind of school, employees have rights.

OP here: Thanks for the feedback. I am very empathetic and understand that one never has full information about what is happening in someone's personal life. Certainly, accommodations should be made, and especially if the employee has a track-record of exceptional performance. However, to the above poster, if I were chronically absent and people who relied on me were affected by my chronic absence, then my employer would act accordingly, and I don't think this situation is any different. I know DCPS has a process, but I wonder if there's any way we can help speed up or support that process. Or, at a minimum help influence the quality (and perhaps stability in terms of having the same person) of the sub in the classroom.

HR issues can be just as thorny in a private educational environment, so I don't buy that panacea for this (or most) challenges that exist in the public education system.

the point is that public school is a public system - and no, you cannot “speed along” getting a teacher removed at a public school, nor should you expect to have that kind of power. By comparison in a daycare there would be a state-mandates ratio in the classroom and it would be much easier and much faster to fire a nonperformer and replace them, and the system is designed to be responsive to the paying customers (parents).

Head Start programs, which most of the EOTP schools are a part of, do have very strict teacher-student ratio rules. And, if schools break these rule then they risk losing funding not just for themselves, but for the entire system. That is a risk of utilizing federal funds for an entire (or nearly entire) school system's ECE program.

but typically daycares are much more practiced in smoothly mantaining the ratio (switching staff around, having floaters, etc) and more attuned to the needs of the kids. Public preschool is a system with many goals other than making sure 3 year olds have nice days.

Some daycares and charter schools have the aides as hourly workers. They are most flexible. For those paying aides as salary, there is less flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about DC but in VA subs are not paid minimum wage. Subs for teachers typically make about $14 hr and subs for aides make about $12 hr.

What? Those rates are well above minimum wage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about DC but in VA subs are not paid minimum wage. Subs for teachers typically make about $14 hr and subs for aides make about $12 hr.

DCPS subs are paid $120/day.

For teachers, or aides?