DCPS Central Office Cuts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.




You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

NP who has taught in other schools/districts far from the DMV that most of you would never step foot in. The evaluation system in DC is way more punitive than any other I’ve experienced. The ability to find issues in minutiae within this system is one that was totally foreign to me. So while I agree pay is a plus, it is not necessarily so much better here. Also I was in a union in two of the other districts I taught in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

First of all learn how to reply, second again do not respond if you have no clue what you’re saying.

DC pays well after 20 years of service and even then if you live in DC it’s not enough to buy a house. The average DCPS teacher makes 84k.

Also I am not from DC, so again I have taught in other states. My sister in law teaches Florida. She’s not clamoring to push to move to DC.

Union protections? You mean the one DCPS bulldozes over and teachers have to wait 5-10 years for a hearing result- thus end up somewhere else.

It’s interesting when parents complain about wanting better for their children from the school system it’s applauded, in fact ‘other districts’ are worse is not acceptable.
But when teachers tell you at title 1 schools we are not doing well it’s: ‘oh but you’re paid well or other districts have it worse.’ It’s incredibly sad that you think this has no impact on how your child is taught.

It’s NOT about the money! I just want to be treated decently, I don’t need the bonus. I want to be evaluated on real metrics- how much growth are my students making, what were their general scores like, etc. If a student misses 50+ days they shouldn’t be counted but they are. I also don’t want to be forced to promote students when they never come to school.
My ‘commitment to the school’ is not a real metric! It’s subjective. The rubric for my observation is subjective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

First of all learn how to reply, second again do not respond if you have no clue what you’re saying.

DC pays well after 20 years of service and even then if you live in DC it’s not enough to buy a house. The average DCPS teacher makes 84k.

Also I am not from DC, so again I have taught in other states. My sister in law teaches Florida. She’s not clamoring to push to move to DC.

Union protections? You mean the one DCPS bulldozes over and teachers have to wait 5-10 years for a hearing result- thus end up somewhere else.

It’s interesting when parents complain about wanting better for their children from the school system it’s applauded, in fact ‘other districts’ are worse is not acceptable.
But when teachers tell you at title 1 schools we are not doing well it’s: ‘oh but you’re paid well or other districts have it worse.’ It’s incredibly sad that you think this has no impact on how your child is taught.

It’s NOT about the money! I just want to be treated decently, I don’t need the bonus. I want to be evaluated on real metrics- how much growth are my students making, what were their general scores like, etc. If a student misses 50+ days they shouldn’t be counted but they are. I also don’t want to be forced to promote students when they never come to school.
My ‘commitment to the school’ is not a real metric! It’s subjective. The rubric for my observation is subjective.

NP and I have seen commitment to the school scoring used to get rid of teachers they don’t like. And it was clearly manipulated because some of those teachers volunteered to do every extra activity, plan events, sponsor clubs, chaperone after school activities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

The things they complain about are also things that teachers should be doing and that are expectations everywhere! I started teaching in a different state and our union didn’t have a contract the way DC does, so there were no limits on meetings, duties, we didn’t get admin premium, etc. Having an objective posted and following a pacing guide is standard. Complaining about central office for student test scores when they aren’t the ones directly instructing is…interesting. And like you mentioned, DCPS is actually improving and doing better than other similar districts.

Exactly. I have worked in a district where professional development was non-existent and it took forever and a day to get anything from the central office because they were severely understaffed. The schools all did their own thing resulting in major inequities ( especially schools that had strong PTA's versus schools that didn't). We won't begin to speak on the range of instruction in the district. The schools that were hard to staff were also the underperforming schools because there were no incentives for teachers to chance possible dangerous working conditions while risking minimal student achievement growth. Also keep in mind that this district is CONTROLLED BY THE MAYOR which makes all the difference. Most school districts are controlled by their school board which has more say on who is hired to do what, timelines, and outcomes. The DCPS machine takes some getting used to, but when compared to some other large urban districts, I will say that it is much better than most. Try working for Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago school districts. DCPS is a day at the beach.

Why are you lying, I have worked in 2 of the other districts, they were easier to work in.
And by ‘incentives’ you must mean the bonus that 30% of teachers get including non-title 1 teachers and Rsp’s -making it much less.

The schools that are underperforming in DCPS are also hard to staff, don’t fool yourself. Many of these schools are a revolving door. I see many new teacher get allured by the bonus and salary, only to be disappointed and upset by the treatment. They leave the teaching profession or teach in VA or MD.

The things ‘they’ complain about? List them. List our real complaints that are such pinnacles of standards in all other districts.

You my friend have never been outside of the DMV. It is a reason that teachers from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Alabama come to DC. It is so much worse elsewhere. There are no unions in others states like it is in DC, teachers in DC are some of the highest paid in the country and yet they don't know that some of these same problems exist all over the nation but there are no union protections and you are working for peanuts.

First of all learn how to reply, second again do not respond if you have no clue what you’re saying.

DC pays well after 20 years of service and even then if you live in DC it’s not enough to buy a house. The average DCPS teacher makes 84k.

Also I am not from DC, so again I have taught in other states. My sister in law teaches Florida. She’s not clamoring to push to move to DC.

Union protections? You mean the one DCPS bulldozes over and teachers have to wait 5-10 years for a hearing result- thus end up somewhere else.

It’s interesting when parents complain about wanting better for their children from the school system it’s applauded, in fact ‘other districts’ are worse is not acceptable.
But when teachers tell you at title 1 schools we are not doing well it’s: ‘oh but you’re paid well or other districts have it worse.’ It’s incredibly sad that you think this has no impact on how your child is taught.

It’s NOT about the money! I just want to be treated decently, I don’t need the bonus. I want to be evaluated on real metrics- how much growth are my students making, what were their general scores like, etc. If a student misses 50+ days they shouldn’t be counted but they are. I also don’t want to be forced to promote students when they never come to school.
My ‘commitment to the school’ is not a real metric! It’s subjective. The rubric for my observation is subjective.

I don't think those are the same people. I think most parents want the schools to be good for all kids. We appreciate that kids failing to progress is a drag on the system -- and, more importantly, on the kids themselves and on the community.

We'd rather have more staff at schools and fewer at CO! For example, having people 5 layers removed the kids create convoluted assignments has zero positive value -- possibly even negative. Having someone sit down and read with a kid for 10 min/day? Much more impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

Re racism, certainly no one should ever criticize CO or its employees because if they have any complaints, they are, by definition, racist. Keep telling yourself that.

Public school is NOT a choice; it's an entitlement to which ALL children from all families are entitled. The public school system is a public service, paid for by taxpayers and run by an elected official. As citizens, we *should* assess whether it is working well or not, and we *should* speak up when our tax dollars are not being used well.

Please share the data about how much DCPS is improving.

Also, "some other city is worse" is not exactly a persuasive argument of quality.

Education is an entitlement, public school IS a choice, especially when there are charters and private schools. More than that, keep in mind that public schools must meet the needs of ALL children, which means that there is no one-size-fits-all all. If you don't like the way things are going in public school, then go to a charter school or, better yet, homeschool. If you educate your child yourself, then you are in complete control of the way they are taught, how they learn, and the conditions that they are taught in. We saw how well that worked out during the pandemic, didn't we? Those children fell behind although they were home with parents who " knew what was best".

Are comments like these made to drum up support for the public school central office?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

Re racism, certainly no one should ever criticize CO or its employees because if they have any complaints, they are, by definition, racist. Keep telling yourself that.

Public school is NOT a choice; it's an entitlement to which ALL children from all families are entitled. The public school system is a public service, paid for by taxpayers and run by an elected official. As citizens, we *should* assess whether it is working well or not, and we *should* speak up when our tax dollars are not being used well.

Please share the data about how much DCPS is improving.

Also, "some other city is worse" is not exactly a persuasive argument of quality.

Education is an entitlement, public school IS a choice, especially when there are charters and private schools. More than that, keep in mind that public schools must meet the needs of ALL children, which means that there is no one-size-fits-all all. If you don't like the way things are going in public school, then go to a charter school or, better yet, homeschool. If you educate your child yourself, then you are in complete control of the way they are taught, how they learn, and the conditions that they are taught in. We saw how well that worked out during the pandemic, didn't we? Those children fell behind although they were home with parents who " knew what was best".

Are comments like these made to drum up support for the public school central office?

I think the poster just believes she is entitled to her CO job, no matter her performance. She wants to kid herself that she is not actually employed by the citizens of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's more than a hint of racism in many of these comments. I have no doubt that those calling for mass firings at DCPS are white.

Yup, I definitely see that and it is obvious. I would say that at least 65% of Central Office is black employees. The people complaining about Central Office cannot fathom the fact that black people are in charge. We all know that certain people believe that just because someone is black, they are lazy and unqualified for their position. Case closed. Prove me wrong that this isn’t the reason for the disdain for Central Office. I’ll wait….

Bingo. This right here. There are people who loathe at the fact that this district has mostly Black people making decisions and they can't stand it. There is nothing said about how fast the district is improving (faster than most urban districts in the nation), but chose to focus on negative opinions. Remember, public school is a choice. If you hate it so much, pay the private school big bucks. You can't have it both ways. Same for DCPS staff who are complaining. If you dislike it so much, resign. It's really that simple.

Re racism, certainly no one should ever criticize CO or its employees because if they have any complaints, they are, by definition, racist. Keep telling yourself that.

Public school is NOT a choice; it's an entitlement to which ALL children from all families are entitled. The public school system is a public service, paid for by taxpayers and run by an elected official. As citizens, we *should* assess whether it is working well or not, and we *should* speak up when our tax dollars are not being used well.

Please share the data about how much DCPS is improving.

Also, "some other city is worse" is not exactly a persuasive argument of quality.

Education is an entitlement, public school IS a choice, especially when there are charters and private schools. More than that, keep in mind that public schools must meet the needs of ALL children, which means that there is no one-size-fits-all all. If you don't like the way things are going in public school, then go to a charter school or, better yet, homeschool. If you educate your child yourself, then you are in complete control of the way they are taught, how they learn, and the conditions that they are taught in. We saw how well that worked out during the pandemic, didn't we? Those children fell behind although they were home with parents who " knew what was best".

Are comments like these made to drum up support for the public school central office?

Right? Like maybe they need to revisit how to write a persuasive essay.

[Anonymous]

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the thing. If the people at central office got “promoted” and are so awesome at their jobs there are plenty of teaching jobs to move back into to refine their craft to better support teachers when the economy gets better. But I have a feeling they don’t want to do that

You do realize that there are different kinds of careers in education that don’t involve teaching, right?

Yes. But most of what central office does is tell me how to teach and what to teach. Maybe getting into a classroom would better inform their decision making in the future

+1

People are paid over a hundred thousand dollars to show up at schools once a quarter and check that objectives are on the board. And that all teachers are on the same prescribed lesson. It in no way improves teaching and learning.

I agree with both of you. And the pd’s are ridiculous. The only people who they might benefit are first year teachers, if that.

But every year, 10, 20 and 30 year veterans are forced to waste precious time with ice breakers and anchor charts, Post-it’s and turn-and-talks. It’s childish and insulting.

If that’s not insufferable enough we are then led to talk about what we’ve “learned” ( ie: what we’ve had to sit through) as a means of validating the lead. People participate only because we are locked in a building together and we have to! It’s awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the thing. If the people at central office got “promoted” and are so awesome at their jobs there are plenty of teaching jobs to move back into to refine their craft to better support teachers when the economy gets better. But I have a feeling they don’t want to do that

You do realize that there are different kinds of careers in education that don’t involve teaching, right?

Yes. But most of what central office does is tell me how to teach and what to teach. Maybe getting into a classroom would better inform their decision making in the future

+1

People are paid over a hundred thousand dollars to show up at schools once a quarter and check that objectives are on the board. And that all teachers are on the same prescribed lesson. It in no way improves teaching and learning.

I agree with both of you. And the pd’s are ridiculous. The only people who they might benefit are first year teachers, if that.

But every year, 10, 20 and 30 year veterans are forced to waste precious time with ice breakers and anchor charts, Post-it’s and turn-and-talks. It’s childish and insulting.

If that’s not insufferable enough we are then led to talk about what we’ve “learned” ( ie: what we’ve had to sit through) as a means of validating the lead. People participate only because we are locked in a building together and we have to! It’s awful.

What PDs are those? The PD led by central is usually done virtually these days. And honestly, I’d rather have turn and talks than have to listen to somebody speak at me for an hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the thing. If the people at central office got “promoted” and are so awesome at their jobs there are plenty of teaching jobs to move back into to refine their craft to better support teachers when the economy gets better. But I have a feeling they don’t want to do that

You do realize that there are different kinds of careers in education that don’t involve teaching, right?

Yes. But most of what central office does is tell me how to teach and what to teach. Maybe getting into a classroom would better inform their decision making in the future

+1

People are paid over a hundred thousand dollars to show up at schools once a quarter and check that objectives are on the board. And that all teachers are on the same prescribed lesson. It in no way improves teaching and learning.

I agree with both of you. And the pd’s are ridiculous. The only people who they might benefit are first year teachers, if that.

But every year, 10, 20 and 30 year veterans are forced to waste precious time with ice breakers and anchor charts, Post-it’s and turn-and-talks. It’s childish and insulting.

If that’s not insufferable enough we are then led to talk about what we’ve “learned” ( ie: what we’ve had to sit through) as a means of validating the lead. People participate only because we are locked in a building together and we have to! It’s awful.

What PDs are those? The PD led by central is usually done virtually these days. And honestly, I’d rather have turn and talks than have to listen to somebody speak at me for an hour.

This argument isn’t drumming up support for the central office either.