New High School Teacher Contract Times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

They really make you sign in?

ES Teacher

Yep. Every day. We don't have to sign out though. Only hourly employees have to do both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

They really make you sign in?

ES Teacher

Yep. Every day. We don't have to sign out though. Only hourly employees have to do both.

That’s lousy. Thankfully I’ve never had to do that.

[Anonymous]

Teachers have been told by their admin that this new set contract time is because of the collective bargaining agreement worked out by the combined unions. (FEU)

Teachers are told “you can come in as early as you care to but you must stay until the contract end time” - at many HS 3:30.

Students are told they must not come in before 7:45. No exceptions. And then when the weapon detectors are in place, go through them.

Teachers are frustrated and very unhappy.

Unions keep saying that they got the teachers a 6% raise -so hooray! But many ask at what expense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its weird that there are "contract times". Its a professional job. Professionals should be trusted to show up on time to do their job and to leave at an appropriate time after work. They don't need to be micromanaged like this.

Most principals are fine with teachers who arrive super early leaving soon after school. For example, I used to work at a middle school that was under renovation. While school didn't begin until 7:30, and my contract didn't begin until 7:10, I was able to arrive as early as 5:30 because the construction workers were already there. I used to leave shortly after the students left, though, because that's what worked best for my family's needs. The principal didn't care because I got my job done.

I've always done this too. Some days I had to leave 5 minutes after the kids but i'd take stacks of papers home to grade at my dining room table or in the bleachers at my kids' practice or whatever. I'm a team lead so I'd make agendas and pace out calendars and send meeting invites from my laptop at home.

It won't work this year though. Now, if we leave before the official end of contract hours we have to use leave, no matter when we got to work or how much we put in outside of contract hours. That's what frustrates me. I work way more than 7.5 contract hours a day (it's impossible to do this job properly without doing so); so as long as I am at school when the kids are at school and I get my job done, let me do my extra hours at a time that works for me. I have never complained that some weeks are way way way more than 40 hours, that's just the job. But the micromanaging is insulting.

I now have CT 2x per week after school for 30 minutes because I teach multiple preps and they couldn't make us all have meetings during the same block because an administrator has to be present at every one of our meetings to write a summary of what we discussed. Before we could meet whenever worked for us as a team as long as we submitted meeting notes to admin after the fact.

I've lost half my planning this year to "bathroom duty", "cafeteria duty", and "hallway duty" on a rotating basis. I used to have an even and an odd period without kids that were to be used for meetings and planning and grading. This year, we all only have 1. The other is for "school duties". Admin used to do these tasks, but this year they have been told by the county that middle and high school teachers need to take them on instead. It really, really feels like what I thought I was hired to do and what I know how to do well (teach my subject and form relationships with kids) is no longer the priority.

Either I'm a professional, or I'm not. Right now I'm very much feeling treated as if I'm not.

And it sucks because if all the "work to contract" people actually do it, the kids are the ones who will suffer with no graded work, no lesson plans, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know why they changed the contract times for high school teachers? Depending on the school they were 7:30-3, 7:40-3:10, or 7:45-3:15. They are now 8-3:30. Teachers only have ten minutes to get ready for students in the morning. This is also going to put a lot of teachers coming into the school parking lot while students, busses, and parents are dropping their kids off.

It is the FCPS equivalent of when politicians vote in an unrealistic minimum wage increase, so the McDonald's cuts all hours by just enough so they are still paying everyone the exact same as they did before the raise.

This is the answer right here. Since administration has now been told they cannot have more than two after school meetings a month, they adjusted the hours so that staff has to stay 30 minutes after the kids leave and admin can sneak as many meetings as they want into that time without breaking the guidelines.

Teachers can still get there early like they always did in order to set up their room, beat traffic, and prepare for the day. HOWEVER, since the contract time now starts at 8 for schools where classes start at 810, what they need to do is leave their door closed and locked until that time. Admin is banking on teachers being nice and giving freely of their time like the always do. But now that they've been barred from doing that after school, they shifted that time suck to the front end of the day.

Ironically, FCPS is requiring the classroom doors to be closed and locked at 8:10 AM this year, with no students allowed in the classroom without an escort.

This means that the students have no more than a 10 minute window to enter their first class period once they make it through the metal detectors.

I think FCPS wants to get their staff to quit en masse this year.

Is this true?

Not at my FCPS high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its weird that there are "contract times". Its a professional job. Professionals should be trusted to show up on time to do their job and to leave at an appropriate time after work. They don't need to be micromanaged like this.

Most principals are fine with teachers who arrive super early leaving soon after school. For example, I used to work at a middle school that was under renovation. While school didn't begin until 7:30, and my contract didn't begin until 7:10, I was able to arrive as early as 5:30 because the construction workers were already there. I used to leave shortly after the students left, though, because that's what worked best for my family's needs. The principal didn't care because I got my job done.

I've always done this too. Some days I had to leave 5 minutes after the kids but i'd take stacks of papers home to grade at my dining room table or in the bleachers at my kids' practice or whatever. I'm a team lead so I'd make agendas and pace out calendars and send meeting invites from my laptop at home.

It won't work this year though. Now, if we leave before the official end of contract hours we have to use leave, no matter when we got to work or how much we put in outside of contract hours. That's what frustrates me. I work way more than 7.5 contract hours a day (it's impossible to do this job properly without doing so); so as long as I am at school when the kids are at school and I get my job done, let me do my extra hours at a time that works for me. I have never complained that some weeks are way way way more than 40 hours, that's just the job. But the micromanaging is insulting.

I now have CT 2x per week after school for 30 minutes because I teach multiple preps and they couldn't make us all have meetings during the same block because an administrator has to be present at every one of our meetings to write a summary of what we discussed. Before we could meet whenever worked for us as a team as long as we submitted meeting notes to admin after the fact.

I've lost half my planning this year to "bathroom duty", "cafeteria duty", and "hallway duty" on a rotating basis. I used to have an even and an odd period without kids that were to be used for meetings and planning and grading. This year, we all only have 1. The other is for "school duties". Admin used to do these tasks, but this year they have been told by the county that middle and high school teachers need to take them on instead. It really, really feels like what I thought I was hired to do and what I know how to do well (teach my subject and form relationships with kids) is no longer the priority.

Either I'm a professional, or I'm not. Right now I'm very much feeling treated as if I'm not.

And it sucks because if all the "work to contract" people actually do it, the kids are the ones who will suffer with no graded work, no lesson plans, etc.

Downside of the union. Want to be a professional? Don't join a union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its weird that there are "contract times". Its a professional job. Professionals should be trusted to show up on time to do their job and to leave at an appropriate time after work. They don't need to be micromanaged like this.

Most principals are fine with teachers who arrive super early leaving soon after school. For example, I used to work at a middle school that was under renovation. While school didn't begin until 7:30, and my contract didn't begin until 7:10, I was able to arrive as early as 5:30 because the construction workers were already there. I used to leave shortly after the students left, though, because that's what worked best for my family's needs. The principal didn't care because I got my job done.

I've always done this too. Some days I had to leave 5 minutes after the kids but i'd take stacks of papers home to grade at my dining room table or in the bleachers at my kids' practice or whatever. I'm a team lead so I'd make agendas and pace out calendars and send meeting invites from my laptop at home.

It won't work this year though. Now, if we leave before the official end of contract hours we have to use leave, no matter when we got to work or how much we put in outside of contract hours. That's what frustrates me. I work way more than 7.5 contract hours a day (it's impossible to do this job properly without doing so); so as long as I am at school when the kids are at school and I get my job done, let me do my extra hours at a time that works for me. I have never complained that some weeks are way way way more than 40 hours, that's just the job. But the micromanaging is insulting.

I now have CT 2x per week after school for 30 minutes because I teach multiple preps and they couldn't make us all have meetings during the same block because an administrator has to be present at every one of our meetings to write a summary of what we discussed. Before we could meet whenever worked for us as a team as long as we submitted meeting notes to admin after the fact.

I've lost half my planning this year to "bathroom duty", "cafeteria duty", and "hallway duty" on a rotating basis. I used to have an even and an odd period without kids that were to be used for meetings and planning and grading. This year, we all only have 1. The other is for "school duties". Admin used to do these tasks, but this year they have been told by the county that middle and high school teachers need to take them on instead. It really, really feels like what I thought I was hired to do and what I know how to do well (teach my subject and form relationships with kids) is no longer the priority.

Either I'm a professional, or I'm not. Right now I'm very much feeling treated as if I'm not.

And it sucks because if all the "work to contract" people actually do it, the kids are the ones who will suffer with no graded work, no lesson plans, etc.

Downside of the union. Want to be a professional? Don't join a union.

I didn't.

[Anonymous]

Because FCPS wants teachers to stay until 330. Like most employers they don’t care what you other responsibilities are or if you have to pick up your kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its weird that there are "contract times". Its a professional job. Professionals should be trusted to show up on time to do their job and to leave at an appropriate time after work. They don't need to be micromanaged like this.

Lol. We have to sign in every morning by 7:30. Our admin stands there ready to switch the sign in book to the late book at 7:31. My former admin would stand there and we'd have to use the red pen of shame to sign in when we were late. And they wonder why nobody wants to teach.

I would not work for that administration and I was always a teacher who was at least an hour early.

[Anonymous]

What the person describes is totally accurate. At two high schools that I know of the extra duty is becoming totally unacceptable. Imagine having to count how many kids go into a bathroom so that there can be no more in the bathroom then there are stalls. Teachers are being treated so poorly it is a wonder why they will stay in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know why they changed the contract times for high school teachers? Depending on the school they were 7:30-3, 7:40-3:10, or 7:45-3:15. They are now 8-3:30. Teachers only have ten minutes to get ready for students in the morning. This is also going to put a lot of teachers coming into the school parking lot while students, busses, and parents are dropping their kids off.

It is the FCPS equivalent of when politicians vote in an unrealistic minimum wage increase, so the McDonald's cuts all hours by just enough so they are still paying everyone the exact same as they did before the raise.

This is the answer right here. Since administration has now been told they cannot have more than two after school meetings a month, they adjusted the hours so that staff has to stay 30 minutes after the kids leave and admin can sneak as many meetings as they want into that time without breaking the guidelines.

Teachers can still get there early like they always did in order to set up their room, beat traffic, and prepare for the day. HOWEVER, since the contract time now starts at 8 for schools where classes start at 810, what they need to do is leave their door closed and locked until that time. Admin is banking on teachers being nice and giving freely of their time like the always do. But now that they've been barred from doing that after school, they shifted that time suck to the front end of the day.

Ironically, FCPS is requiring the classroom doors to be closed and locked at 8:10 AM this year, with no students allowed in the classroom without an escort.

This means that the students have no more than a 10 minute window to enter their first class period once they make it through the metal detectors.

I think FCPS wants to get their staff to quit en masse this year.

Is this true?

Front doors are locked at 8:10 AM, The kid will need to be buzz in after the tardy bell rings. The escort part will most likely be a tardy pass, I don't believe they have enough staff to walk someone in.

What school? Our principal has not sent any information home about this. Also kids will not make it through metal detectors in time. We are a huge high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the person describes is totally accurate. At two high schools that I know of the extra duty is becoming totally unacceptable. Imagine having to count how many kids go into a bathroom so that there can be no more in the bathroom then there are stalls. Teachers are being treated so poorly it is a wonder why they will stay in the classroom.

I know three young high school teachers who are teaching this year but plan for it to be their last. The younger generation sees the writing on the wall. Teachers are treated poorly.

[Anonymous]

Schools need to hire employees to monitor lunches and bathrooms and I guess now metal detectors. That's not a teacher's job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools need to hire employees to monitor lunches and bathrooms and I guess now metal detectors. That's not a teacher's job.

+1. It's nuts they are having teachers do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools need to hire employees to monitor lunches and bathrooms and I guess now metal detectors. That's not a teacher's job.

+1