Large Kindergarten Class

[Anonymous]

I don't know if fundraising for staff (or other resources) is against the law or just an MCPS policy. Technically, the PTAs are only supposed to fund programming. Although it is clear that a lot of PTAs in MCPS are going above and beyond (buying technology and other equipment the schools need). Like a pp said, funding staff is a whole other issue. I do know that parents associations in D.C. do raise money for staff (they may not technically be PTAs and this prohibition against this type of fundraising may be a PTA policy too -- PTA being an association who is a member of the national PTA, not a generic parents association). In any event, I would love to know how the D.C. schools get around the benefits issue and if they raise the money and then give it to DCPS to pay for the staff -- no idea. I do know that MCCPTA has no interest in trying to change the policy/law so that schools can raise funds for aides and/or other additional staff. When I asked an MCCPTA rep about it, she said that the county should be providing the staff, not the parents. Totally agree, but in this time of budget cuts and increased enrollment, why can't the parents get more involved if they want to? This would be an interesting question to bring to the new supt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if fundraising for staff (or other resources) is against the law or just an MCPS policy. Technically, the PTAs are only supposed to fund programming. Although it is clear that a lot of PTAs in MCPS are going above and beyond (buying technology and other equipment the schools need). Like a pp said, funding staff is a whole other issue. I do know that parents associations in D.C. do raise money for staff (they may not technically be PTAs and this prohibition against this type of fundraising may be a PTA policy too -- PTA being an association who is a member of the national PTA, not a generic parents association). In any event, I would love to know how the D.C. schools get around the benefits issue and if they raise the money and then give it to DCPS to pay for the staff -- no idea. I do know that MCCPTA has no interest in trying to change the policy/law so that schools can raise funds for aides and/or other additional staff. When I asked an MCCPTA rep about it, she said that the county should be providing the staff, not the parents. Totally agree, but in this time of budget cuts and increased enrollment, why can't the parents get more involved if they want to? This would be an interesting question to bring to the new supt.

How would any PTA maintain momentum enough to continue to raise money to pay for an assistant (or assistants) year after year? Or is that person hired on contract with the chance of not returning?

If there's no security, who would apply?

That's why it's not a sure bet. Hiring must be done through HR based on allocation, as there's a better chance of keeping positions . . . if not at the current school, then at another.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of assistants at my school who are trained teachers who haven't been able to find teaching jobs. They are paid by the hour, no benefits. There are also assistants who have children in the school and the schedule works well for them. None of them have contracts.

[Anonymous]

To 09:50, is taking a kid out of the public school and putting her in a private school a better solution then? How does a local public school benefit from that?? It only loses funding...

Also, some teachers already try to get jobs in the middle-income districts, because they know their lives will be easier. They know that in low-income districts they will have to be compensating for parents that are not focusing on their kids at home, so naturally, it will be more work in the classroom. Some teachers are passionate about low-income neighborhoods and feel like they are called to work there. Others, try to get a job in the middle-income school districts. It all depends on the teacher and their career goals. So to say that adding an aid will change the equation dramatically for the teachers is a misnomer. They can go teach in Mclean and many other public schools in the area and have 22 kids in the class and an aid...

However, having an aid changes the equation dramatically for the kids. Their quality of life and the quality of their learning experiences increase. They learn better, they do better at school, they enjoy going to school. They are not disciplined into submission in a Soviet-style classroom. Why can't we focus on what's better for each individual kid and each individual school? Why are we making it a class warfare issue? How does having 28 5-year old in a classroom with one teacher in a middle-income neighborhood help low-income kids??