Lowell School Delaying Employee Contracts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well there is the demographic cliff thing. I imagine they are not the only elementary school struggling.

The demographic cliff is about a drop in high school grads starting this year. The corresponding “cliff” (it’s really not THAT dramatic) would have hit elementary schools in 2010.

[Anonymous]

Uhhhhh birthrates have been down since 2016... so elementary schools are definitely in the thick of feeling it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you read between the lines it is obvious. Budget cuts meaning layoffs and/or reduction in compensation/benefits.

My best guess as well. Happened at Edmund Burke last year. Lower enrollment and rising costs = letting go of some teaching and admin staff.

I remember it differently. The COVID bubble
Class graduated so now the school is back to their usual size. This happened at a lot of schools at various points depending on the grade they over enrolled to meet pandemic needs.

[Anonymous]

Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

Teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. To repeat, teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. Rather, they receive offer letters that give all power to the school and virtually none to the employee except for the option to leave "at their will." Here is some key language:

While we anticipate that you will be employed for the entire School Year, we confirm
that your employment is at will, meaning that it can be terminated by you or the School at any time
for any reason (or no reason) with or without notice. Our comments or representations in any other
respects are not intended to express or imply that you will be working either for any particular
duration or under a contract of employment. In the event of a termination of employment prior to
the end of the school year, your salary will be paid on a pro-rated basis through the date you last
worked. Benefits will cease according to the terms of the benefit plan documents or the School’s
policies and practices. If you choose to leave, we hope that you will provide us with the courtesy of
at least two weeks’ notice.

Stop using the term "contract" when there never has been such a thing. And at some point surely someone will post that other schools are the same way. Many are. But they shouldn't be, so let's nip such whataboutism in the bud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

Teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. To repeat, teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. Rather, they receive offer letters that give all power to the school and virtually none to the employee except for the option to leave "at their will." Here is some key language:

While we anticipate that you will be employed for the entire School Year, we confirm
that your employment is at will, meaning that it can be terminated by you or the School at any time
for any reason (or no reason) with or without notice. Our comments or representations in any other
respects are not intended to express or imply that you will be working either for any particular
duration or under a contract of employment. In the event of a termination of employment prior to
the end of the school year, your salary will be paid on a pro-rated basis through the date you last
worked. Benefits will cease according to the terms of the benefit plan documents or the School’s
policies and practices. If you choose to leave, we hope that you will provide us with the courtesy of
at least two weeks’ notice.

Stop using the term "contract" when there never has been such a thing. And at some point surely someone will post that other schools are the same way. Many are. But they shouldn't be, so let's nip such whataboutism in the bud.

99.9% of employment in the US is at will. Not sure why this would be any different. I'm sure the school would try not to have mid year firings because it would be disruptive for everyone, but they always have that right, just as you have the right to leave too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

Teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. To repeat, teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. Rather, they receive offer letters that give all power to the school and virtually none to the employee except for the option to leave "at their will." Here is some key language:

While we anticipate that you will be employed for the entire School Year, we confirm
that your employment is at will, meaning that it can be terminated by you or the School at any time
for any reason (or no reason) with or without notice. Our comments or representations in any other
respects are not intended to express or imply that you will be working either for any particular
duration or under a contract of employment. In the event of a termination of employment prior to
the end of the school year, your salary will be paid on a pro-rated basis through the date you last
worked. Benefits will cease according to the terms of the benefit plan documents or the School’s
policies and practices. If you choose to leave, we hope that you will provide us with the courtesy of
at least two weeks’ notice.

Stop using the term "contract" when there never has been such a thing. And at some point surely someone will post that other schools are the same way. Many are. But they shouldn't be, so let's nip such whataboutism in the bud.

99.9% of employment in the US is at will. Not sure why this would be any different. I'm sure the school would try not to have mid year firings because it would be disruptive for everyone, but they always have that right, just as you have the right to leave too.

What is shocking to me (as not in the education system) is why they don't have ongoing agreements like everyone else and their lay-off season is like the week after school ends for the summer...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

Teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. To repeat, teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. Rather, they receive offer letters that give all power to the school and virtually none to the employee except for the option to leave "at their will." Here is some key language:

While we anticipate that you will be employed for the entire School Year, we confirm
that your employment is at will, meaning that it can be terminated by you or the School at any time
for any reason (or no reason) with or without notice. Our comments or representations in any other
respects are not intended to express or imply that you will be working either for any particular
duration or under a contract of employment. In the event of a termination of employment prior to
the end of the school year, your salary will be paid on a pro-rated basis through the date you last
worked. Benefits will cease according to the terms of the benefit plan documents or the School’s
policies and practices. If you choose to leave, we hope that you will provide us with the courtesy of
at least two weeks’ notice.

Stop using the term "contract" when there never has been such a thing. And at some point surely someone will post that other schools are the same way. Many are. But they shouldn't be, so let's nip such whataboutism in the bud.

99.9% of employment in the US is at will. Not sure why this would be any different. I'm sure the school would try not to have mid year firings because it would be disruptive for everyone, but they always have that right, just as you have the right to leave too.

Because schools sell themselves to parents who pay 50+k/year on the concept of "community" and Lowell specifically touts such community as a place where "individuals are trusted, valued, and respected." Such educational communities should be predicated upon relationships between teachers and students, and the preservation and nourishment of such relationships as the years-long educational program unfolds. Additionally, many of these schools, Lowell included, are non-profit educational organizations, not for-profit corporations, which implies a commitment to priorities other than financial gain/preservation. Such an employment arrangement, where teachers, parents, and students are forced into uncertainty, sometimes caused by mismanagement, bloat, or other factors, runs counter to what the schools sell in their promotional brochures, and what parents expect when they sign on the dotted line.

[Anonymous]

Not only that, but a school that prides itself on social justice also asks teachers to waive the right to trial by jury when they sign their at will offer letter. That’s assuming the letter arrives. You’re paying for great educators, and those people are living their lives on edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lowell is not the only school seating teacher contracts. At least their HOS delayed all contracts and communicated clearly versus a vague email and creating divisions within the faculty based on who did or did not get a contract yet.

Teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. To repeat, teachers at Lowell do not have contracts. Rather, they receive offer letters that give all power to the school and virtually none to the employee except for the option to leave "at their will." Here is some key language:

While we anticipate that you will be employed for the entire School Year, we confirm
that your employment is at will, meaning that it can be terminated by you or the School at any time
for any reason (or no reason) with or without notice. Our comments or representations in any other
respects are not intended to express or imply that you will be working either for any particular
duration or under a contract of employment. In the event of a termination of employment prior to
the end of the school year, your salary will be paid on a pro-rated basis through the date you last
worked. Benefits will cease according to the terms of the benefit plan documents or the School’s
policies and practices. If you choose to leave, we hope that you will provide us with the courtesy of
at least two weeks’ notice.

Stop using the term "contract" when there never has been such a thing. And at some point surely someone will post that other schools are the same way. Many are. But they shouldn't be, so let's nip such whataboutism in the bud.

I’m the PP that wrote about other schools delaying contracts. Speaking as a teacher STILL WAITING on my contract. Difference is my school decided gave some departments contracts on March 1 and then delayed other departments. We are still waiting. I hope tuition paying parents are informed by school admin before May 1 about which classes will or won’t run so they can make informed decisions. Also, I’m not naive. I’ve put it applications at other local private and public schools. This is a win for me as the best jobs open late!!!

[Anonymous]

I didn't realize that private school teachers had a new employment contract each years, seems stressful. I knew they were at-will, I just figured they were let go if there were problems or a school shut down. I never thought about the idea of laying off some teachers. Though I could see schools laying off admin staff if needed sometimes.

Lowell seems like a school that would draw people in the fed sphere, and not the type that work in the defense part. That plus the declining birth rate does not sound promising. If I was a teacher there, I'd be looking for a new job since it seems like their notice will be late. Maybe they don't want to tell teachers they aren't renewing yet because then teachers will be completely disengaged for the rest of the year.

[Anonymous]

Lowell has open jobs posted. Will new hires get contracts before current teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lowell has open jobs posted. Will new hires get contracts before current teachers?

Many companies list jobs that never get filled because the company changes their mind, has a budget shortfall, etc.

Recruiters call them "zombie" jobs. Unless a school is hiring for a specialty (foreign languages, etc.) it's likely none of those listings will lead to a hire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well there is the demographic cliff thing. I imagine they are not the only elementary school struggling.

The demographic cliff is about a drop in high school grads starting this year. The corresponding “cliff” (it’s really not THAT dramatic) would have hit elementary schools in 2010.

Huh? The cliff is dramatic, and the drop in high school grads is just the beginning of the decline.

https://www.populationpyramids.org/united-states

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any information as to Lowell’s delay? If it’s a budget issue, it should have been communicated to parents before they re-enrolled.