I'm sure that is unsettling, but next year's allocated positions are based on enrollment projections. If their school's enrollment is decreasing, and another school is is need of more teachers, I can see why there would need to be some shifting of people, as uncomfortable as that may be. |
No, I could not care less about that. I care about a wasteful trip while kids go without. Our mcps school has no activities, no sports, no social, and all we get are crappy worthless chrome books. You think that is ok? Our ES teachers have 60-80 students. Where is our equity? |
Perhaps MCPS should looking at the delivery. It’s unsettling to be given notice that your job is cut with no direct offer of a similar position. It’s distressing to have a commute double with today’s gas prices and the increase expense comes out of your teaching salary. |
It's a retention issue too. That happened to me once, and I didn't even know that I could transfer within the system until I went to HR with questions about my last official day. That's when they told me to go to the job fair. I quickly found another school, but it doubled my commute and I had to start over with regards to getting comfortable in a new school setting. In fact, I found it so unsettling that when I realized I would continue to be vulnerable because I was "last in" again, and that I might never have any recourse or ability to predict whether my job would be stable in a given year, I decided to leave for an independent school within the county. I knew I likely wouldn't lose my job due to performance issues as I am a hard worker and good at my job, and in any case, I decided I'd rather be fired for cause than do a great job only to get transferred because student numbers dropped 1.5% or whatever in my school's catchment area. It was MCPS's loss, not that they care. |
It's just as likely that your commute would be cut which is a savings with today's gas prices. Why do you want to always assume the worst? |
Seems like you have an issue with McKnight since your blaming her for all these problems many of which seems hard to believe. Even the worst ES students have less than 30 students. Ours typically has 20-25. When I was a kid in MCPS 30 years ago, 30-35 was common. |
So you would be enthusiastic if your employer gave you a pink slip then HR tells you to go to a job fair to apply for a new position? Basic HR principals still apply to public education. MCPS puts a lot of resources into training current teachers. All of that training and a teacher’s experience goes to another school system when teachers feel that there is no job security. Getting a pink slip drives home that you are a disposable pawn on a chessboard that is not a valued employee. If the reaction is to increase recruitment while MCPS drives away it’s experienced employees then there is a serious hole in the efforts to fill teacher shortages in MCPS. A solution would be for MCPS to revisit and streamline the transfer process. Incentivize moves with raises/bonuses and individually have meetings with teachers that give the message that we can transfer you to X school so you can continue in an equal position. It’s all how you treat an employee that feeds into retaining experienced employees. |
People start naming schools that you are pulling numbers from. I find it hard to believe that someone memorizes class sizes from their childhood 30 years ago. My children have had over 30 students per class in middle school and high school. |
You don’t seem to see a problem with this set up. Dr McKnight created this school. You clearly have no idea what goes on outside your school. Farms schools typically have lower class sizes. |
| Does anyone know how much MCPS spent for Dr. McKnight’s trip to South Carolina or if she took leave for the trip? |
Would any business travel get your approval? |
How was this necessary? |
Not that PP, but in my case I can tell you that my commute DID double. That happened once, and I was out after that year. I don't want to work somewhere where it doesn't pay to put down roots and build relationships with colleagues and families, let alone initiate programming outside your classroom that you won't be able to continue. It's not just the commute. It's feeling like a cog in a wheel. It's feeling dispensable, dismissed, even if your own school doesn't want to lose you. There has to be a better way. The delivery certainly is part of it. |
MCPS employees staff, not individual schools. MCPS can and does move staff around as needed. I'm an itinerant employee - I know! |
Dr. McKnight needs to update the culture of MCPS staffing practices. Treating teachers - the most valuable resource to the school system - as a disposable employee affects her recruitment efforts as well as her efforts to retain experienced teachers. It’s arrogant for Central Office to think well we are going to cut this staff member at this school without reaching out to that employee to work out a reasonable alternative position. Sure, MCPS can cut a position and place the burden on the teacher to look elsewhere for another job, but how well is that approach working for the school system’s reputation and staff retention? On boarding brand new employees with zero experience include signing bonuses. Experience teachers can be left feeling hurt and unappreciated when their jobs are cut while signing bonuses entice them to go elsewhere. Dr. McKnight needs to fix what is broken in house before wasting tax dollars traveling out of state under the guise of recruitment. |