20 percent of teachers not likely to return to classrooms if schools reopen in fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised it is that low

Twenty percent seems to correspond to the common estimate of the population that is at some sort of elevated risk from COVID. So it implies that essentially all of the teachers who can return will. Considering the turnover in DCPS in the best of times it does seem low.

Nope. Guess again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though teachers are saying they will quit, the reality is many will still need to find a job. Some will find great jobs and say adios, others are going to realize that they won't get their summers off, and long paid holiday periods (winter break, spring break, multiple days at thanksgiving, etc.). They'll be back.

Teacher here. This is true, I’m not putting too much stock in that 20% claim. A lot of people might say that now, but if push came to shove might not want to lose their income. Another thing to consider is that a lot of people will be more accustomed to going out and being around people at that point. Currently, we are just coming out of a strict shut down, a lot of people are still very fearful, after two months of being accustomed to being out and about, they will probably be more comfortable with the idea.

It's seriously refreshing to read your comments. I've been extremely cautious and am slowly getting comfortable with the idea of going back to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents, would you be okay returning to your offices as they once were? This means the large communal spaces, or times when you were crammed into a smaller room for meetings. Or maybe much of you day is spent at a desk next to or amongst numerous colleagues for hours on end. How about your commute on a packed metro train?

If returning to normal with no change isn’t okay with you, then why are you asking teachers and school staff to do the same? If you plan on continuing to work from home, then why not give that same courtesy to teachers? We are in close proximity to students all day. For high school teachers that means sometimes hundreds of people daily. Not many other jobs can say the same. Put yourself in our shoes.

Some jobs can be done from home (albeit not with young kids around on a "distance learning" regimen), and others can't. Teaching school falls in the latter category. If you have reason to believe, or believe anyway, that the risk is too high for you, find a new job.

And yes, I would be fine returning to my office, since I am not in a high-risk category. If I was and my job could not be done remotely, I would need to look for alternatives.

Give me an example of a job that has made absolutely no changes as a result of the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents, would you be okay returning to your offices as they once were? This means the large communal spaces, or times when you were crammed into a smaller room for meetings. Or maybe much of you day is spent at a desk next to or amongst numerous colleagues for hours on end. How about your commute on a packed metro train?

If returning to normal with no change isn’t okay with you, then why are you asking teachers and school staff to do the same? If you plan on continuing to work from home, then why not give that same courtesy to teachers? We are in close proximity to students all day. For high school teachers that means sometimes hundreds of people daily. Not many other jobs can say the same. Put yourself in our shoes.

Some jobs can be done from home (albeit not with young kids around on a "distance learning" regimen), and others can't. Teaching school falls in the latter category. If you have reason to believe, or believe anyway, that the risk is too high for you, find a new job.

And yes, I would be fine returning to my office, since I am not in a high-risk category. If I was and my job could not be done remotely, I would need to look for alternatives.

Give me an example of a job that has made absolutely no changes as a result of the pandemic.

Nobody is suggesting making absolutely no changes. Clearly, schools need to improve their sanitation and infection control protocols, and enforce sick policies strictly. They should have done this a long time ago and now they finally have incentive to do so. They can even require masks if they absolutely must.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents, would you be okay returning to your offices as they once were? This means the large communal spaces, or times when you were crammed into a smaller room for meetings. Or maybe much of you day is spent at a desk next to or amongst numerous colleagues for hours on end. How about your commute on a packed metro train?

If returning to normal with no change isn’t okay with you, then why are you asking teachers and school staff to do the same? If you plan on continuing to work from home, then why not give that same courtesy to teachers? We are in close proximity to students all day. For high school teachers that means sometimes hundreds of people daily. Not many other jobs can say the same. Put yourself in our shoes.

Some jobs can be done from home (albeit not with young kids around on a "distance learning" regimen), and others can't. Teaching school falls in the latter category. If you have reason to believe, or believe anyway, that the risk is too high for you, find a new job.

And yes, I would be fine returning to my office, since I am not in a high-risk category. If I was and my job could not be done remotely, I would need to look for alternatives.

Give me an example of a job that has made absolutely no changes as a result of the pandemic.

Nobody is suggesting making absolutely no changes. Clearly, schools need to improve their sanitation and infection control protocols, and enforce sick policies strictly. They should have done this a long time ago and now they finally have incentive to do so. They can even require masks if they absolutely must.

Schools have long had an incentive to do it since teachers on short term paid sick leave cost the system. Schools just haven’t had the power to do so. I still think they don’t. When Larlo arrives with a 100.6 F temp and slight cough, is the principal going to drive him to mom and dad’s place of work and dump him there? If not, parents know they can “Tylenol and ignore that call.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

Technically she really doesn’t. Unlike most jobs that say this is your pay, DCPS includes what the district pays for healthcare into the salary. So the salary is actually salary plus benefits. She isn’t actually getting a paycheck that adds up to that amount. That is what it costs the government to pay both her salary and her health benefits, retirement, etc. it’s sneaky and I wish they spiked the do it. I wish they would report the actual salary and leave the “benefits” out of the calculation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

$110,000 including benefits in DC is not a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parents, would you be okay returning to your offices as they once were? This means the large communal spaces, or times when you were crammed into a smaller room for meetings. Or maybe much of you day is spent at a desk next to or amongst numerous colleagues for hours on end. How about your commute on a packed metro train?

If returning to normal with no change isn’t okay with you, then why are you asking teachers and school staff to do the same? If you plan on continuing to work from home, then why not give that same courtesy to teachers? We are in close proximity to students all day. For high school teachers that means sometimes hundreds of people daily. Not many other jobs can say the same. Put yourself in our shoes.

Some jobs can be done from home (albeit not with young kids around on a "distance learning" regimen), and others can't. Teaching school falls in the latter category. If you have reason to believe, or believe anyway, that the risk is too high for you, find a new job.

And yes, I would be fine returning to my office, since I am not in a high-risk category. If I was and my job could not be done remotely, I would need to look for alternatives.

Give me an example of a job that has made absolutely no changes as a result of the pandemic.

Nobody is suggesting making absolutely no changes. Clearly, schools need to improve their sanitation and infection control protocols, and enforce sick policies strictly. They should have done this a long time ago and now they finally have incentive to do so. They can even require masks if they absolutely must.

Schools have long had an incentive to do it since teachers on short term paid sick leave cost the system. Schools just haven’t had the power to do so. I still think they don’t. When Larlo arrives with a 100.6 F temp and slight cough, is the principal going to drive him to mom and dad’s place of work and dump him there? If not, parents know they can “Tylenol and ignore that call.”

If they have an incentive to control infections, then why do they not provide the facilities that would make it possible for an entire class to wash their hands before lunch? There are lots of viruses that are not killed by the hand-sanitizer that is provided as a substitute for proper hygiene.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

DCPS teachers do not have tenure protection. That’s part of the reason they are paid more than other teachers in our nation. Not to mention, DC is an extremely expensive city to live in. DC salaries are similar to the salaries of teachers in other areas with high costs of living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

Oh shut up. DC has a high cost of living and most teachers don’t make $110k lol that is close to the last step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

$110,000 including benefits in DC is not a lot.

I know a ton of lawyers working 80+ hours a week who don’t make that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, just so you know. DCPS elementary school teachers get paid more than college professors in other parts of the country.

+1

I Googled our child's DCPS pre-k teacher for something unrelated and one of the links about her contained her DC government reported salary. She makes over $110K, more than I do!

$110,000 including benefits in DC is not a lot.

I know a ton of lawyers working 80+ hours a week who don’t make that.

Totally apples and oranges. Young lawyers at big-city law firms are putting in the hours for the chance to become highly overpaid partners some years down the road. Teachers making $110,000 are already at the top of their earnings range.

[Anonymous]

^^ And, besides, why should teachers not make more than lawyers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ And, besides, why should teachers not make more than lawyers?

Exactly.