WTU rallies for new contract

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So this does seem like a great way for the union to have common ground with parents, particularly the parents of kids with IEPs. (And to my knowledge some of these parents are very very willing to push and push for what their kids need; so, an asset.)

DCPS sounds like it sucks wrt following the legal requirements of IEPs, with teachers and kids shafted in the process.

None of that is to say that teachers shouldn't push for higher pay. Just that if a goal is to get more parents on board with WTU and to make DCPS your common enemy, this sounds like a beneficial area.

I am a teacher and I completely agree. DCPS is out of compliance with IDEA constantly and does not seem to care at all. They choose to bloat central office instead of provide legally mandated resources to schools.

WTU could advocate for each school to have an IEP Teacher (who has coverage responsibilities), a FT SN coordinator at each school with NO teaching responsibilities, or additional parent-school communication planning time (which can include implementing IEPs), or … additional pay for attending IEP meetings before or after school. Or a teacher training day could be changed into an IEP day.

PP and the WTU could absolutely try to advocate or negotiate for this. But getting extra personnel never seems to go well- I’m sure any day now the Covid coordinator will show up to my school or the central office staff will come sub at my school. You know the personnel promised in January I think.

[Anonymous]

Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So this does seem like a great way for the union to have common ground with parents, particularly the parents of kids with IEPs. (And to my knowledge some of these parents are very very willing to push and push for what their kids need; so, an asset.)

DCPS sounds like it sucks wrt following the legal requirements of IEPs, with teachers and kids shafted in the process.

None of that is to say that teachers shouldn't push for higher pay. Just that if a goal is to get more parents on board with WTU and to make DCPS your common enemy, this sounds like a beneficial area.

I am a teacher and I completely agree. DCPS is out of compliance with IDEA constantly and does not seem to care at all. They choose to bloat central office instead of provide legally mandated resources to schools.

WTU could advocate for each school to have an IEP Teacher (who has coverage responsibilities), a FT SN coordinator at each school with NO teaching responsibilities, or additional parent-school communication planning time (which can include implementing IEPs), or … additional pay for attending IEP meetings before or after school. Or a teacher training day could be changed into an IEP day.

We have sped coordinators or full time LEA reps, the issue is not all schools get them. You have to have a ‘significant’ amount of sped students. My 13% isn’t enough, which is ridiculous. We have been fighting for something like this.

The rest wouldn’t be fair to sped teachers and you’d have to pay RSP’s too. I also want to be able to go to PDs (well if they are good). Definitely agree on a coordinator or just a dedicated sub. I don’t need anyone to manage my schedule and act like another supervisor, that’s kind of what the MCPS one sounds like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

Yea- just move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

Yea- just move.

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

I mean, as teachers we’ve been telling you this on this site since at least the start of the pandemic and all we get is school closures lazy selfish teachers blah blah blah. You all just voted to keep the system intact despite what we’ve been saying, so you can understand why we’re not necessarily sympathetic to your plights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

I mean, as teachers we’ve been telling you this on this site since at least the start of the pandemic and all we get is school closures lazy selfish teachers blah blah blah. You all just voted to keep the system intact despite what we’ve been saying, so you can understand why we’re not necessarily sympathetic to your plights

Not ‘we’ you. As a sped teacher most of the parent’s plights are also my own. I agree most of these people likely voted for Bowser, therefore are choosing to keep the same system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

I mean, as teachers we’ve been telling you this on this site since at least the start of the pandemic and all we get is school closures lazy selfish teachers blah blah blah. You all just voted to keep the system intact despite what we’ve been saying, so you can understand why we’re not necessarily sympathetic to your plights

Not ‘we’ you. As a sped teacher most of the parent’s plights are also my own. I agree most of these people likely voted for Bowser, therefore are choosing to keep the same system.

Also, frankly, R White made no proposal for a new “system”. He had some statements about more oversight and more boarding schools. That’s not a new system. There was no alternative “system” to vote for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

I mean, as teachers we’ve been telling you this on this site since at least the start of the pandemic and all we get is school closures lazy selfish teachers blah blah blah. You all just voted to keep the system intact despite what we’ve been saying, so you can understand why we’re not necessarily sympathetic to your plights

Not ‘we’ you. As a sped teacher most of the parent’s plights are also my own. I agree most of these people likely voted for Bowser, therefore are choosing to keep the same system.

Oh, did Robert White have a proposal for improving SN services? What I recall is Mayor Bowser trying to get my kid back to school in Nov 2021 and WTU going on strike to block that.

Anyway, it’s a complete deflection to talk about the mayoral candidates. What we are talking about in this thread is WTU’s role and choices about how it will exert its power during contract negotiations. WTU could push for better SN system in a variety of ways … but will it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you can just move to MCPS if they do a better job with special needs.
Why are you making your kid suffer in DCPS?

Because no one should have to move for DCPS to do the right thing. They should be held accountable.

There have been several lawsuits against DCPS for not providing adequate special Ed. Services.
All it resulted in was DCPS hiring more lawyers. Don’t hold your breath.
And some of what you are asking for is unrealistic

I mean, what the people involved in the system are telling us is: “this is a failed system. Do not support it if you want the services that are guaranteed by federal law.”

I mean, as teachers we’ve been telling you this on this site since at least the start of the pandemic and all we get is school closures lazy selfish teachers blah blah blah. You all just voted to keep the system intact despite what we’ve been saying, so you can understand why we’re not necessarily sympathetic to your plights

Not ‘we’ you. As a sped teacher most of the parent’s plights are also my own. I agree most of these people likely voted for Bowser, therefore are choosing to keep the same system.

Oh, did Robert White have a proposal for improving SN services? What I recall is Mayor Bowser trying to get my kid back to school in Nov 2021 and WTU going on strike to block that.

Anyway, it’s a complete deflection to talk about the mayoral candidates. What we are talking about in this thread is WTU’s role and choices about how it will exert its power during contract negotiations. WTU could push for better SN system in a variety of ways … but will it?

Umm to the sped teacher, you realize we also teach the students with IEPs, and that we also want them to have the services they need. I’ve had to advise many parents to go after DCPS bc our sped teachers are constantly pulled for coverage and kids miss their ours. Students with IEPs are “our” students.

To the most recent PP: we have no idea what WTU and DCPS are negotiating re: SPED services but if you want the WTU to advocate for your causes, you should have been more vocal and engaged prior to this point in negotiations. I don’t think the WTU leadership has any clue what parents want them to do other than ceasing to exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And to comment on IMPACT please note that Jason Kamras, one of the people in central office who helped create and defend impact, has not used the system in his current role as superintendent in Richmond and no longer endorses the method of evaluation as being effective. I think that says something about how useful IMPACT is.

It's because he is in a political role now

When impact was instituted, there was a lot of dead weight in the teacher ranks. Think the marion barry jobs program

Most private sectors employers have some kind of evaluation process

It's interesting reading these comments, unions are designed to protect the rank and file average folks where pay is based on seniority instead of talent. If you are a top performer there is 0 reason to support the union.

PP and I should clarify I’m not against evaluating teachers. I actually think the master educator program was a good idea because it helps with bias by administration. I just think evaluating all teachers across the district by the same rubric is unfair- and I say this as someone from a well resourced, ‘highly regarded’ school. It’s easier to get effective or highly effective at my school than many others just by virtue of the student population we teach.

I think once you’re past year 2-3 as a teacher, it’s easy as hell to get HE on your evaluations and CSC. There’s enough components of the rubric that you can set up ahead of time that have nothing to do with classroom behavior. I now coach teachers and one of my focuses on teaching them how to “gamify” evaluations. Tas is a joke bc you have so many variations of how it’s administered. SSP and IVA are inexcusably bad.

Hi! Please share where you teach because I would love to work there. Posts like this show just how inequitable the system is. My principal does not give HE. This is a known fact at my school and people leave because of it. My colleague was barely effective at my school, moved to a neighboring school (same population and content area) and got HE with ease.

What school are you at? Seems like there’s no risk to share since you already can’t get HE

NP but I know something similar to this happens at Banneker- impact scores are manipulated to ensure very very few people get HE.

Everyone knows this is true. If you’re not in the inner circle it’s impossible to get HE. Nothing is done because the HE people won’t stand up and say anything and risk losing their status.

[Anonymous]

Teachers-Why aren't you working with your leadership to get your grievances addressed? Complaining here will get nothing accomplished for you.