Admin needs to back down

[Anonymous]

*Subs not returning to 2nd-5th classes.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the classrooms are a disaster. The superintendent hasn't made things better. Every Board of Education member and even state delegates repeated what she has told them, "that they are 99% staffed" at the start of the school year. Except that that 99% number includes all the long term substitutes that are unqualified and unprepared for the disaster that awaits. Special Ed is in worse trouble than gen ed (and gen ed is bad).

How many one-on-one (which are TPT, jobs, temporary, part time, which means hourly with no benefits) positions remain empty? How many special ed students are not getting their IEP needs met? Are not receiving services?

How many open positions are at your school? How many teachers, special ed teachers, paras, have left mid-year because they can't take it any more?

And next year will be even worse

[Anonymous]

Principals need to back the teachers and punish the students. I say this as a parent.

I am so sick of the kids running the school with disrespect and parents crying about everything.

[Anonymous]

Can you name these schools where this is happening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it the post-pandemic push to increase test scores and academic achievement?

NO. Partly, but also the students are out of control and rather than crack down on bad choices by students and permissive parenting, admin would rather attack teachers. My principal ignored the numerous groups of seventh and eighth graders roaming the hallways to yell at the teacher of a group of sixth graders working on a group project in hallway because they were lying on the floor to make their poster. That teacher is considering a transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it the post-pandemic push to increase test scores and academic achievement?

NO. Partly, but also the students are out of control and rather than crack down on bad choices by students and permissive parenting, admin would rather attack teachers. My principal ignored the numerous groups of seventh and eighth graders roaming the hallways to yell at the teacher of a group of sixth graders working on a group project in hallway because they were lying on the floor to make their poster. That teacher is considering a transfer.

Exactly, it's like because they can't control the students, they feel they need to regain that sense of control SOMEHOW, so they are controlling and micromanaging the teachers instead. It's ridiculous, demeaning, demoralizing, and the numbers will prove it at the end of the school year.

[Anonymous]

Our principal is wonderful but he has a boss too and can't just cancel everything because we are stressed. The hardest part right now is the student behavior. My friends think I'm joking when I tell them what elementary kids are doing in classes with no repercussions. We have kids cussing out their teachers, running at full speed around the building, climbing on top of cabinets and just punching the crap out of each other for no reason. These aren't even students with services. These are kids who have experienced a tremendous amount of trauma during COVID and lack any self-regulation strategies. To my admin's credit, they do come when we call them but they can't really do anything. Nobody has been suspended this year because that's a big no-no in schools these days as we don't want to "perpetuate the school to prison pipeline". Parents are either unresponsive or at a loss too. Since I know DCUM is crawling with advocates, YES we are trying to collect data and do FBAs, etc. but this used to be one or two kids a year in the entire building. Not a few in each class across the building. We aren't even fully staffed anymore due to resignations. It would be great to wave a magic wand and have staff appear but no such luck. We've been approved for critical staffing to provide 1:1 support for one student but nobody is applying for the position. So right now, all non-classroom staff can't do their jobs because they are either covering lunch/recess, subbing for classes (there aren't subs), helping deal with behavior issues, or serving as the 1:1
I'm so sick of it. We can't get through lessons when a few kids in each class are just occupying 99% of our time and energy. I feel terrible for our kids who desperately want and need to learn. It doesn't help that we're trying to pretend that the pandemic didn't happen and we're still trying to teach grade-level content to students who lost so much time.
MCPS is losing a lot of staff. Higher ups in central are catching on that the grass IS greener in other districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our principal is wonderful but he has a boss too and can't just cancel everything because we are stressed. The hardest part right now is the student behavior. My friends think I'm joking when I tell them what elementary kids are doing in classes with no repercussions. We have kids cussing out their teachers, running at full speed around the building, climbing on top of cabinets and just punching the crap out of each other for no reason. These aren't even students with services. These are kids who have experienced a tremendous amount of trauma during COVID and lack any self-regulation strategies. To my admin's credit, they do come when we call them but they can't really do anything. Nobody has been suspended this year because that's a big no-no in schools these days as we don't want to "perpetuate the school to prison pipeline". Parents are either unresponsive or at a loss too. Since I know DCUM is crawling with advocates, YES we are trying to collect data and do FBAs, etc. but this used to be one or two kids a year in the entire building. Not a few in each class across the building. We aren't even fully staffed anymore due to resignations. It would be great to wave a magic wand and have staff appear but no such luck. We've been approved for critical staffing to provide 1:1 support for one student but nobody is applying for the position. So right now, all non-classroom staff can't do their jobs because they are either covering lunch/recess, subbing for classes (there aren't subs), helping deal with behavior issues, or serving as the 1:1
I'm so sick of it. We can't get through lessons when a few kids in each class are just occupying 99% of our time and energy. I feel terrible for our kids who desperately want and need to learn. It doesn't help that we're trying to pretend that the pandemic didn't happen and we're still trying to teach grade-level content to students who lost so much time.
MCPS is losing a lot of staff. Higher ups in central are catching on that the grass IS greener in other districts.

I am an elementary teacher and this is what I see, though without the admin support. When we call for help, even for extreme situations, we are reprimanded that we couldn’t handle things in the class. We can’t teach when kids are running around the class and pushing kids over. When there are kids fighting in the halls. We have already had to close bathrooms! And the curriculum is way too difficult for our students who are far below grade level.

This week I watched the Tuesday BOE work session. If you want your blood to boil, I suggest you watch it. Brenda Wolf wants all suspensions minimized and no disparity between races. She made clear that there may be no suspensions for disrespect. So the reason things are out of control is that principals have their hands tied. If there is an extreme behavior and the child is a minority (very likely in my school where we are 90% minority), they get in trouble. Interestingly, she mentioned that she was concerned with kids feeling safe after hate crimes, but dies not have any concerns with students feeling safe with extreme behaviors. And she definitely does not understand that teachers feeling safe is a key component to teacher retention.

All kids, regardless of race, deserve to have a safe learning environment. And all teachers, deserve to have a safe work environment. This seems like the topic the BOE should be discussing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our principal is wonderful but he has a boss too and can't just cancel everything because we are stressed. The hardest part right now is the student behavior. My friends think I'm joking when I tell them what elementary kids are doing in classes with no repercussions. We have kids cussing out their teachers, running at full speed around the building, climbing on top of cabinets and just punching the crap out of each other for no reason. These aren't even students with services. These are kids who have experienced a tremendous amount of trauma during COVID and lack any self-regulation strategies. To my admin's credit, they do come when we call them but they can't really do anything. Nobody has been suspended this year because that's a big no-no in schools these days as we don't want to "perpetuate the school to prison pipeline". Parents are either unresponsive or at a loss too. Since I know DCUM is crawling with advocates, YES we are trying to collect data and do FBAs, etc. but this used to be one or two kids a year in the entire building. Not a few in each class across the building. We aren't even fully staffed anymore due to resignations. It would be great to wave a magic wand and have staff appear but no such luck. We've been approved for critical staffing to provide 1:1 support for one student but nobody is applying for the position. So right now, all non-classroom staff can't do their jobs because they are either covering lunch/recess, subbing for classes (there aren't subs), helping deal with behavior issues, or serving as the 1:1
I'm so sick of it. We can't get through lessons when a few kids in each class are just occupying 99% of our time and energy. I feel terrible for our kids who desperately want and need to learn. It doesn't help that we're trying to pretend that the pandemic didn't happen and we're still trying to teach grade-level content to students who lost so much time.
MCPS is losing a lot of staff. Higher ups in central are catching on that the grass IS greener in other districts.

This! My sister is an elementary school administrator and is beyond frustrated to the point she might leave the profession. She is seeing similar behaviors in her school and her hands are tied. She's had parents ask at a PTA meeting about behavior and she knows she has to make things appear smoother than they are in the building. School admin are basically told to make the place look good and stay out of the news.

School staff have a front row seat to societal issues that are bubbling up and will soon be all of our problems. Our children need more social emotional supports and most importantly, accountability. They know that there are no consequences in school aside from a twenty minute visit to the office. My sister said so many kids will just tell you exactly what you want to hear but go right back to class and continue to disrupt the learning environment. I stopped teaching ten years ago but if kids pulled a fraction of the stuff they're pulling now they would have been suspended. There wasn't on-going disruption of classrooms because a few kids can't manage themselves. How long are we going to let learning be disrupted for the majority of students all because a few can't get it together.

[Anonymous]

I started having suicidal thoughts two weeks ago and I have 20 years experience. I am thinking to ask to be excluded from teaching any SEL since It triggers my own anxiety now when the kids are behaving so badly.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately it seems like admin only cars about data, not actual education any more. We had a C average for the whole high school last quarter. Kids often care and honestly often don’t have a reason to. There is no attendance policy now. If a kid passes one quarter they can basically fail the next one and still pass a class. There are no consequences natural or otherwise. It is disheartening seeing a kid put effort to get an A or B and then completely slack off the next quarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our principal is wonderful but he has a boss too and can't just cancel everything because we are stressed. The hardest part right now is the student behavior. My friends think I'm joking when I tell them what elementary kids are doing in classes with no repercussions. We have kids cussing out their teachers, running at full speed around the building, climbing on top of cabinets and just punching the crap out of each other for no reason. These aren't even students with services. These are kids who have experienced a tremendous amount of trauma during COVID and lack any self-regulation strategies. To my admin's credit, they do come when we call them but they can't really do anything. Nobody has been suspended this year because that's a big no-no in schools these days as we don't want to "perpetuate the school to prison pipeline". Parents are either unresponsive or at a loss too. Since I know DCUM is crawling with advocates, YES we are trying to collect data and do FBAs, etc. but this used to be one or two kids a year in the entire building. Not a few in each class across the building. We aren't even fully staffed anymore due to resignations. It would be great to wave a magic wand and have staff appear but no such luck. We've been approved for critical staffing to provide 1:1 support for one student but nobody is applying for the position. So right now, all non-classroom staff can't do their jobs because they are either covering lunch/recess, subbing for classes (there aren't subs), helping deal with behavior issues, or serving as the 1:1
I'm so sick of it. We can't get through lessons when a few kids in each class are just occupying 99% of our time and energy. I feel terrible for our kids who desperately want and need to learn. It doesn't help that we're trying to pretend that the pandemic didn't happen and we're still trying to teach grade-level content to students who lost so much time.
MCPS is losing a lot of staff. Higher ups in central are catching on that the grass IS greener in other districts.

I could have written this word for word. I have friends at three other elem schools and 2 have expressed similar feelings as well. Particularly spot on was the comment about the few kids in the class that drain 99% of our time and energy. I’m not sure exactly where the disconnect but I have friends that teach in Howard, AA, Balt City along with other states and they are shocked at what I describe to them. Anecdotal I know but eye opening about the differences nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately it seems like admin only cars about data, not actual education any more. We had a C average for the whole high school last quarter. Kids often care and honestly often don’t have a reason to. There is no attendance policy now. If a kid passes one quarter they can basically fail the next one and still pass a class. There are no consequences natural or otherwise. It is disheartening seeing a kid put effort to get an A or B and then completely slack off the next quarter.

In the BOE meeting they mentioned that there will be an accountability model next year so that if a kid does not pass the 2nd quarter, they will not earn the credit for the class. Time will tell if the plan actually happens, but something needs to change.

[Anonymous]

Can someone send this entire thread to the BOE? They need to understand what is going on. Everything that has been written resonates deeply with me. Admin needs things to look okay. Schools can’t suspend students. Teachers are exhausted and almost at their breaking point. MCPS is gaslighting us by being dishonest about the sub shortage and working conditions and clueless about the behavior issues. Oh, and Brenda Wolf has got to go. Come teach for a week and then report back honey. I can’t even watch the meetings anymore.

[Anonymous]

Admin's answer to every problem is: "Just hold a restorative circle in your class that is having issues." as if circles. do. anything. It's also comical when admin themselves cannot control the kids when they are under their control either, but it doesn't seem to shift their perspective. Answer is still inevitably "CIRCLES!"