Teacher attendance at DCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too much. Plus they also get vacation days which seems insane for a teacher on a school schedule.

Stop pulling “facts” out your arse. Teachers are given 12 days, or 96 hours, of leave. We have the option to use some of those hours for personal leave. We do not get sick leave AND vacation days. It all comes from the same bank of days/hours. If a teacher has missed more than the yearly allotted hours, he/she is likely using hours carried over from previous years, FMLA, of leave without pay.

12 - more than 2 weeks worth- is a lot for a job that already has many built in weeks of vacation.

NYC: 10 days
MoCo: 10 days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many sick days does a DCPS teacher get? Is there a union contract standard? DC's teacher at Deal has missed about 12-15 days of school so far (I didn't realize it was a problem at the beginning so I wasn't counting) and it's only December. I'm sorry that she is unwell but this is really starting to have a detrimental affect on the classroom. I have raised this with the administration but I'm also curious what the actual rules are here.

Maybe you should focus on asking the administration to identify quality regular substitutes, or hire more full time subs (who report to work every day and are then assigned to cover for whoever is sick, or is pulled out of class for meetings, etc.)

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm shocked at how many people think chronic teacher absenteeism is none of my business. I agree the reason for her absences is personal and not my business, but it seems clear that this teacher is determined to do the bare minimum so I want to know what the bare minimum is so I can hold the administration accountable.

Not only is she chronically absent, she told the students that she will not respond to any email nor grade any papers outside of mandatory school hours - and she is sticking to it. When I asked her about the curriculum for the year (she is new to the grade) she acknowledged that she did not know what it is but will be learning as she goes, so clearly she did no prep over the summer. She regularly does not make lesson plans for the substitutes because her absences are unplanned and she does not do any work out of school hours. This week all of her classes started the week-long in-class test a day late because she was absent on Monday and had made no arrangements for the sub to start the test. She is way behind on entering her grades into Aspen. She is the only teacher on the team who regularly has a blank on the team weekly newsletter. She has already been absent more than 12 days of the year. Seems to me like she is dipping below the minimum but I wasn't sure.

I'm probably spoiled by so many amazing Deal teachers who clearly love teaching, are dedicated to their students and go above and beyond. Because when you have a teacher who is not interested or able to put in the necessary time and effort, it really has a detrimental effect on the student experience.

[Anonymous]

So- if this is truly the case- the admin needs to support that teacher to help the class. They can reassign a para, have a teacher who is teaching similar content share lesson plans ect.
Tallying up ways in which the teacher sucks is not going to get you what you need. The short game is meaningful instruction for your DS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that it's none of our business but some of our DCPS teachers have been ridiculously absent. If you're gone too much you simply cannot do your job. In addition, it isn't good for the kids, especially elementary school kids who need more routine.

So I imagine you take no leave or if you do only a day at a time? You've never taken a week vacation because you couldn't do your job if you're gone too much.

[Anonymous]

It really depends why the teacher is out. If they are sick, fine. If they are sitting around watching TV or beefing with their neighbor, that's unacceptable. We should have DCPS do a spot check to see if they are really sick!

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and there are colleagues who are absent all the time year after year. This is not due to chronic illness, ill family members, etc. they just take days off. Ask your student how many of their teachers were out today- my school felt empty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends why the teacher is out. If they are sick, fine. If they are sitting around watching TV or beefing with their neighbor, that's unacceptable. We should have DCPS do a spot check to see if they are really sick!

Beefing with a neighbor? What on earth are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too much. Plus they also get vacation days which seems insane for a teacher on a school schedule.

Stop pulling “facts” out your arse. Teachers are given 12 days, or 96 hours, of leave. We have the option to use some of those hours for personal leave. We do not get sick leave AND vacation days. It all comes from the same bank of days/hours. If a teacher has missed more than the yearly allotted hours, he/she is likely using hours carried over from previous years, FMLA, of leave without pay.

12 - more than 2 weeks worth- is a lot for a job that already has many built in weeks of vacation.

NYC: 10 days
MoCo: 10 days

Actually MCPS is 2 personal days and 8 sick. Hey to pay if you use sick as personal. And your personal days become sick if you don’t use them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm shocked at how many people think chronic teacher absenteeism is none of my business. I agree the reason for her absences is personal and not my business, but it seems clear that this teacher is determined to do the bare minimum so I want to know what the bare minimum is so I can hold the administration accountable.

Not only is she chronically absent, she told the students that she will not respond to any email nor grade any papers outside of mandatory school hours - and she is sticking to it. When I asked her about the curriculum for the year (she is new to the grade) she acknowledged that she did not know what it is but will be learning as she goes, so clearly she did no prep over the summer. She regularly does not make lesson plans for the substitutes because her absences are unplanned and she does not do any work out of school hours. This week all of her classes started the week-long in-class test a day late because she was absent on Monday and had made no arrangements for the sub to start the test. She is way behind on entering her grades into Aspen. She is the only teacher on the team who regularly has a blank on the team weekly newsletter. She has already been absent more than 12 days of the year. Seems to me like she is dipping below the minimum but I wasn't sure.

I'm probably spoiled by so many amazing Deal teachers who clearly love teaching, are dedicated to their students and go above and beyond. Because when you have a teacher who is not interested or able to put in the necessary time and effort, it really has a detrimental effect on the student experience.

She might already plan to leave at the end of the year.

That said, this is a perfect example of DCUM’s inability to agree with itself: on one hand DCUM says teachers don’t NEED to take wok home. It can all be done during work hours and anything else is the teacher’s choice. On the other hand, here is a parent complaining that the teacher dares to not grade or email outside of work hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too much. Plus they also get vacation days which seems insane for a teacher on a school schedule.

Stop pulling “facts” out your arse. Teachers are given 12 days, or 96 hours, of leave. We have the option to use some of those hours for personal leave. We do not get sick leave AND vacation days. It all comes from the same bank of days/hours. If a teacher has missed more than the yearly allotted hours, he/she is likely using hours carried over from previous years, FMLA, of leave without pay.

12 - more than 2 weeks worth- is a lot for a job that already has many built in weeks of vacation.

NYC: 10 days
MoCo: 10 days

Thanks for your opinion. I'll make sure teachers save their cancer treatments, respiratory infections, heart attacks, surgeries and other medical issues until a more convenient "vacation" time. I will also make sure none of their family members die, their children graduate, or friends/family marry until it is convenient for you.

Teachers are humans and life does not stop just because school is in session. This is true for people in all career fields, whether they have less or more leave than teachers.

[Anonymous]

Teaching is one of those professions that doesn't lend itself to an easy career change if one realizes it isn't for them. It doesn't help that school districts are essentially one gigantic company, so if you quit mid-year because the school or grade you're teaching isn't a good fit, then your chances of finding another job in the same area is slim to none. Also, very few "good" schools hire throughout the year, so the only alternative to a bad fit is another bad fit.

A lot of teachers end up using their leave as mental health days in hopes of making it through to the end of the year. The kids suffer as a result. Even though it's the right thing to do, it's unrealistic that a person with kids or financial obligations will just quit without something else lined up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm shocked at how many people think chronic teacher absenteeism is none of my business. I agree the reason for her absences is personal and not my business, but it seems clear that this teacher is determined to do the bare minimum so I want to know what the bare minimum is so I can hold the administration accountable.

Not only is she chronically absent, she told the students that she will not respond to any email nor grade any papers outside of mandatory school hours - and she is sticking to it. When I asked her about the curriculum for the year (she is new to the grade) she acknowledged that she did not know what it is but will be learning as she goes, so clearly she did no prep over the summer. She regularly does not make lesson plans for the substitutes because her absences are unplanned and she does not do any work out of school hours. This week all of her classes started the week-long in-class test a day late because she was absent on Monday and had made no arrangements for the sub to start the test. She is way behind on entering her grades into Aspen. She is the only teacher on the team who regularly has a blank on the team weekly newsletter. She has already been absent more than 12 days of the year. Seems to me like she is dipping below the minimum but I wasn't sure.

I'm probably spoiled by so many amazing Deal teachers who clearly love teaching, are dedicated to their students and go above and beyond. Because when you have a teacher who is not interested or able to put in the necessary time and effort, it really has a detrimental effect on the student experience.

1. It is not your business. That is why so many people are saying, "It is not your business."
2. It is not your job to hold administration accountable. Your job is to support your child and express your concerns as they relate to your child. Use facts, not rumors or opinions. Put your concerns in writing so there is a record.
3. If what you are saying about this teacher is true, administrators are already aware. It is a personnel issue that will be handled in-house. Administrators are likely documenting all the concerns in an effort to gather enough information to remove the teacher from her position (if what you have reported is true).
4. If she has indeed missed more than 12 days it is because she has the leave accrued, has taken medical leave or is taking leave without pay. None of us know her situation or what is causing her chronic absences. It is not our business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm shocked at how many people think chronic teacher absenteeism is none of my business. I agree the reason for her absences is personal and not my business, but it seems clear that this teacher is determined to do the bare minimum so I want to know what the bare minimum is so I can hold the administration accountable.

Not only is she chronically absent, she told the students that she will not respond to any email nor grade any papers outside of mandatory school hours - and she is sticking to it. When I asked her about the curriculum for the year (she is new to the grade) she acknowledged that she did not know what it is but will be learning as she goes, so clearly she did no prep over the summer. She regularly does not make lesson plans for the substitutes because her absences are unplanned and she does not do any work out of school hours. This week all of her classes started the week-long in-class test a day late because she was absent on Monday and had made no arrangements for the sub to start the test. She is way behind on entering her grades into Aspen. She is the only teacher on the team who regularly has a blank on the team weekly newsletter. She has already been absent more than 12 days of the year. Seems to me like she is dipping below the minimum but I wasn't sure.

I'm probably spoiled by so many amazing Deal teachers who clearly love teaching, are dedicated to their students and go above and beyond. Because when you have a teacher who is not interested or able to put in the necessary time and effort, it really has a detrimental effect on the student experience.

She might already plan to leave at the end of the year.

That said, this is a perfect example of DCUM’s inability to agree with itself: on one hand DCUM says teachers don’t NEED to take wok home. It can all be done during work hours and anything else is the teacher’s choice. On the other hand, here is a parent complaining that the teacher dares to not grade or email outside of work hours.

+1000 Great point, PP.

[Anonymous]

Why would she answer emails on her own personal time? People put these high expectations on teachers because they work with kids. Teachers have their own lives, their own hobbies, their own families. They shouldn’t be expected to answer emails on their time out of school.