How is FCPS teacher/staff shortage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sped needs to be paid more to attract qualified applicants. It’s not nearly as hard to fill gen ed jobs. But when all the inclusive kids are in one gen ed class, the gen ed teacher should be compensated, as well.

In a county the size of FCPS-this is not going to happen. FCPS is messy and it's riding on it's long ago reputation as world premiere....it's not we and all know that.

Uh, maybe you know that...

I think most realistic people know FCPS is not what it was...it's top heavy in gatehouse and meanwhile teachers and students are struggling because they lack what they need to be successful at the school level.

Posters keep saying that but the numbers show otherwise - and teachers don't particularly want textbooks, which is what I assume you mean by "lack what they need".

Did teachers say they didn’t want textbooks?

Yes. Do you listen?

Please provide the citation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

Don’t they have additional training like ABA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

The laws of economics say otherwise. Raise the pay until you get qualified applicants. If we are paying entry level teachers 100k to work in those classes, so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

Agree 100000%.

No way they can make this happen.

Why not? We’re seeing it happen in other parts of the country like California and Hawaii.

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/21/1092343446/special-education-teachers-hawaii

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

Don’t they have additional training like ABA?

I went through all of that training and more many years ago, in grad school. After a few years I went back to school and became certified for for general ed in a content area and never looked back. Most special ed teachers I worked with did the same or left teaching by now. A bump in pay would not have kept us. It’s a significant amount of work. The people I know willing to work those jobs now do it for reasons other than money. They are hard to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

The laws of economics say otherwise. Raise the pay until you get qualified applicants. If we are paying entry level teachers 100k to work in those classes, so be it.

That assumes there is much more wiggle room in the budget than there actually is. Unless you want to jam even more kids into gen ed class rooms, where do you propose getting the funding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

Don’t they have additional training like ABA?

I went through all of that training and more many years ago, in grad school. After a few years I went back to school and became certified for for general ed in a content area and never looked back. Most special ed teachers I worked with did the same or left teaching by now. A bump in pay would not have kept us. It’s a significant amount of work. The people I know willing to work those jobs now do it for reasons other than money. They are hard to find.

Money is a short-term motivator. It’s not worth it when you get hit, kicked, etc and for some multiple daily toileting assistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sped needs to be paid more to attract qualified applicants. It’s not nearly as hard to fill gen ed jobs. But when all the inclusive kids are in one gen ed class, the gen ed teacher should be compensated, as well.

In a county the size of FCPS-this is not going to happen. FCPS is messy and it's riding on it's long ago reputation as world premiere....it's not we and all know that.

Uh, maybe you know that...

I think most realistic people know FCPS is not what it was...it's top heavy in gatehouse and meanwhile teachers and students are struggling because they lack what they need to be successful at the school level.

Posters keep saying that but the numbers show otherwise - and teachers don't particularly want textbooks, which is what I assume you mean by "lack what they need".

Did teachers say they didn’t want textbooks?

I would like paperback workbooks to give the students - ones they can write in. They are usually unwilling to tote the hard bound ones around, and they can’t write in them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sped needs to be paid more to attract qualified applicants. It’s not nearly as hard to fill gen ed jobs. But when all the inclusive kids are in one gen ed class, the gen ed teacher should be compensated, as well.

In a county the size of FCPS-this is not going to happen. FCPS is messy and it's riding on it's long ago reputation as world premiere....it's not we and all know that.

Uh, maybe you know that...

I think most realistic people know FCPS is not what it was...it's top heavy in gatehouse and meanwhile teachers and students are struggling because they lack what they need to be successful at the school level.

Posters keep saying that but the numbers show otherwise - and teachers don't particularly want textbooks, which is what I assume you mean by "lack what they need".

The issue with FCPS isn't with the number of administrators in Gatehouse. Relative to other school jurisdictions, the percentage of central administrative staff members in FCPS is comparatively low.

The issue, rather, is with the quality of Gatehouse employees. The past several years have exposed the weaknesses in multiple Gatehouse departments, including IT, Academics, HR, and Facilities) and the current School Board's fixation on fringe issues rather than core operations.

Unfortunately, because the tone at the top has been so poor in recent years, public support for additional taxes to increase funding to FCPS - which might allow for the smaller class sizes and better facilities that would help teachers and students - isn't there. So they tread water instead.

Replacing the current School Board next year is critical to get FCPS back on track.

This is my problem with the School Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't special ed and other specialized teachers get paid more?

Good question. I always wondered why they’re on the same payscale as general ed.

I think it's because SPED and Gen Ed inclusion teachers work together and deal with the same students. How can you compensate one of them and not the other. You could do it if teachers went back to self contained classrooms but that goes against LRE(Least restrictive environment )

There are many self contained classrooms throughout FCPS schools. Regarding inclusion, the special education teacher is the one handling the goals for kids in inclusive settings. They are also handling reading, writing and/or math in a pull-out setting. They’re doing the IEP paperwork and data collection in addition to lesson planning and grading for students they serve. There’s a reason they leave in droves and a reason they should be compensated at a different rate.

Yes. In a self contained classroom, each student needs their own adapted lesson plans, the teacher is solely responsible for their IEP and any coordination from specials to lunch to even coordinating their bus transportation. In addition, they provide an additional months worth of curriculum and materials for each student to cover their time in the ESY program over the summer. They are often the only one in the building, with no one to collaborate with. It is a completely different job than any other teacher is doing and should be compensated as such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sped needs to be paid more to attract qualified applicants. It’s not nearly as hard to fill gen ed jobs. But when all the inclusive kids are in one gen ed class, the gen ed teacher should be compensated, as well.

In a county the size of FCPS-this is not going to happen. FCPS is messy and it's riding on it's long ago reputation as world premiere....it's not we and all know that.

Uh, maybe you know that...

I think most realistic people know FCPS is not what it was...it's top heavy in gatehouse and meanwhile teachers and students are struggling because they lack what they need to be successful at the school level.

Posters keep saying that but the numbers show otherwise - and teachers don't particularly want textbooks, which is what I assume you mean by "lack what they need".

You assumed wrong. I'm talking about smaller class sizes and more support for students who learn at different paces and in different ways. Learning differently is not always SPED...FCPS does not have much support for students who just need a small group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

The laws of economics say otherwise. Raise the pay until you get qualified applicants. If we are paying entry level teachers 100k to work in those classes, so be it.

That assumes there is much more wiggle room in the budget than there actually is. Unless you want to jam even more kids into gen ed class rooms, where do you propose getting the funding?

Honestly, I don't really care where the money comes from. Gatehouse is a good place to start. Lots of waste to be cut. The fact is, they are legally obligated to have teachers in those classes. They can't find teachers. They need to pay more. If you pay enough, you will get teachers. (Even if pp isn't motivated by money, if you pay enough--there will be other qualified people willing to do the job).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

The reality is that no one wants to work in a self contained class. If you raise the requirements, you won’t be able to fill positions.

The laws of economics say otherwise. Raise the pay until you get qualified applicants. If we are paying entry level teachers 100k to work in those classes, so be it.

That assumes there is much more wiggle room in the budget than there actually is. Unless you want to jam even more kids into gen ed class rooms, where do you propose getting the funding?

Honestly, I don't really care where the money comes from. Gatehouse is a good place to start. Lots of waste to be cut. The fact is, they are legally obligated to have teachers in those classes. They can't find teachers. They need to pay more. If you pay enough, you will get teachers. (Even if pp isn't motivated by money, if you pay enough--there will be other qualified people willing to do the job).

Gatehouse has fat, but not that much fat. The largest line items on the budget are facilities and gen ed students. I think FCPS has decided to let parents who think their rights are being violated sue rather than cut from those areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Self-contained should be on a separate pay scale, full stop. There's no reason a PE teacher should be on the same pay scale as a teacher who works in an EAC classroom. The requirements to work in self contained should be a lot higher though, too.

Agree 100000%.

No way they can make this happen.

Why not? We’re seeing it happen in other parts of the country like California and Hawaii.

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/21/1092343446/special-education-teachers-hawaii

Raising pay maybe, but raising requirements isn't going to happen.