How do we get more teachers and teachers' aides in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach ESOL in a public school and with the exception of 7-8 of my students, the other 30 or so were born here in the U.S. Most of them are Hispanic but some are from India and Sri Lanka too. Everyone at our school gets a free breakfast and lunch too. My other ESOL teacher friends say appr. 75% of their students were born in the U.S. too. This country is a nation of immigrants. I believe my students will be something great one day. Nobody will care what country they were born in.

That says it all right there

[Anonymous]

Please enlighten us PP. What does it say? Unless you are a Native American, at some point, someone from your family came to this country as an immigrant too. What bothers you about Hispanics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please enlighten us PP. What does it say? Unless you are a Native American, at some point, someone from your family came to this country as an immigrant too. What bothers you about Hispanics?

The PP seems to equate Hispanic with undocumented immigrant. It seems the two are synonymous. Who knew?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please enlighten us PP. What does it say? Unless you are a Native American, at some point, someone from your family came to this country as an immigrant too. What bothers you about Hispanics?

The PP seems to equate Hispanic with undocumented immigrant. It seems the two are synonymous. Who knew?

The same goes for our poster who volunteers in a school.

Incidently, about 40-50% of illegal immigrants entered the US legally.

[Anonymous]

Haha. "Entered legally" on their 90 day tourist visa, never left and had a bunch of babies!

I remember the days when the Chicago public schools sent all the German kids home until they learned some English! None of this jack up taxes, hire bilingual aides, redo all the signs in Spanish and handout free breakfasts and lunches.
While my kids pays more for food and has less teacher attention, more distractions and a dumbed down curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haha. "Entered legally" on their 90 day tourist visa, never left and had a bunch of babies!

I remember the days when the Chicago public schools sent all the German kids home until they learned some English! None of this jack up taxes, hire bilingual aides, redo all the signs in Spanish and handout free breakfasts and lunches.
While my kids pays more for food and has less teacher attention, more distractions and a dumbed down curriculum.

Must be a slow night on Fox News. The regular viewers are here spouting their xenophobic trash.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it's time to move to Arizona? You seem very misinformed about how things "work" in your child's school, if you actually do have a child in MCPS. Bilingual aides--you've mentioned this before but apparently have no idea what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Raise taxes.

[Anonymous]

I think we should partner with colleges. Most teachers in training get very little clinical hours. Require more and everyone wins.

Kids get more attention, experienced teachers more help, and student teachers better training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we should partner with colleges. Most teachers in training get very little clinical hours. Require more and everyone wins.

Kids get more attention, experienced teachers more help, and student teachers better training.

MCPS has several partnerships with universities, and many student teachers already working in the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop funding the illegals

Sadly, that will never happen. Instead arts/music teachers are getting cut for ESOL teachers. Dems love the illegals sob storis. Paying no taxes, working under the table and send your kids for a free education with free breakfast and lunch isn't good enough. Somehow we pity those that broke the law instead of booting them back home. I will never understand it. MCPS is drowning in illegals and the legal kids are paying for it.

It is just a matter for asking for a birth certificate or a visa before being allowed into a school. Every other country, you have to show proof of ID to go to a public or private school there. I never understood why we don't. What is wrong for only want legal kids in school. But somehow someone will call me a bigot or racist or snob for even suggesting it.

All students in MCPS provide a birth certificate before being enrolled, or multiple forms of some other identification, if a birth certificate is not available. Parents must also prove residency through pay stub, bank account or bill with their name and address on it. You presumably want students to be forced to prove citizenship, which is something different.

Here's something that will likely surprise you--the vast, vast majority of MCPS ESOL students are natural born US citizens. Perhaps that information will help you understand.

Wow, not the PP but can you point me in the direction that shows this fact? A vast, vast majority isn't an actual fact, it is your opinion. I would like to see the info on this. I volunteer in my children's school all the time and I have seen the ESOL classes and they are all hispanic kids with maybe 1-2 asian or middle eastern children. I don't believe this vast statement. I can also tell that most of the ESOL kids are also on FARMS eating breakfast every morning. And if you say that natural US born citizens include anchor babies, well that isn't natural. It is an illegal immigrant coming here to pop a baby out to reap the benefits from your tax dollars.

Shut up and go away! Go and live in a red state/county. Also, do not come to volunteer in our children's classroom, EVER!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop funding the illegals

Sadly, that will never happen. Instead arts/music teachers are getting cut for ESOL teachers. Dems love the illegals sob storis. Paying no taxes, working under the table and send your kids for a free education with free breakfast and lunch isn't good enough. Somehow we pity those that broke the law instead of booting them back home. I will never understand it. MCPS is drowning in illegals and the legal kids are paying for it.

It is just a matter for asking for a birth certificate or a visa before being allowed into a school. Every other country, you have to show proof of ID to go to a public or private school there. I never understood why we don't. What is wrong for only want legal kids in school. But somehow someone will call me a bigot or racist or snob for even suggesting it.

All students in MCPS provide a birth certificate before being enrolled, or multiple forms of some other identification, if a birth certificate is not available. Parents must also prove residency through pay stub, bank account or bill with their name and address on it. You presumably want students to be forced to prove citizenship, which is something different.

Here's something that will likely surprise you--the vast, vast majority of MCPS ESOL students are natural born US citizens. Perhaps that information will help you understand.

Wow, not the PP but can you point me in the direction that shows this fact? A vast, vast majority isn't an actual fact, it is your opinion. I would like to see the info on this. I volunteer in my children's school all the time and I have seen the ESOL classes and they are all hispanic kids with maybe 1-2 asian or middle eastern children. I don't believe this vast statement. I can also tell that most of the ESOL kids are also on FARMS eating breakfast every morning. And if you say that natural US born citizens include anchor babies, well that isn't natural. It is an illegal immigrant coming here to pop a baby out to reap the benefits from your tax dollars.

Shut up and go away! Go and live in a red state/county. Also, do not come to volunteer in our children's classroom, EVER!!!

Ahhh. God forbid that someone tell the truth on here. They will be shouted down by some MSDS type.

[Anonymous]

Wow, did this post get off topic a tad (don't they all????)

This does make for interesting talk though. It seems there is either complete hate or complete compassion for illegal immigrants. But either way, you can not deny that your taxes are going towards assisting illegals or legal non-speaking English kids to get thru our public schools. And that many of them do NOT pay taxes. Illegals and diplomats do not and there are many within MCPS. That ESOL teachers 1.0 and 0.5 contracts have doubled or tripled in the last decade. That money used for them does take away from getting more classroom teachers and teacher's aides, does it not? My child used to be at MCPS and it was very clear at a PTA meeting that we were losing a 0.5 para (aide) and a 0.5 instrumental teacher to get a 1.0 ESOL the following year. People went ballistic but it didn't change the fact. Another year we spent $10,000+ of PTA money on headphones for those speaking other languages to understand meetings/conferences and guess what, we spent more money on translators for those headphones and no one that spoke another language came to the meetings/back to school night and conferences anyway. That is a TON of money completely wasted. We also spent 4x the amount copying papers in 3-4 other languages. I am sure that is different now with email/websites but it was really eye opening to see how much money goes to assist what was about 20% of my son's school 5-6 years ago.

So while people can fight for or against illegals, there is no denying that non-english speaking families do take away from teachers time(trying to understand the child), the amount of aides being uses, arts/music getting cut, and money in the PTA funds not going to the entire school, but to the specific groups.

Is it not wrong to expect these families to LEARN English on their time with their money and not our taxes? Our ancestors did. Like another poster said, Chicago schools MADE the Germans. Other countries do not bend over backwards for those that do not speak their language, let alone entered illegally. I am not sure if all of this coddling and political correctness will EVER help. There has to be a line to draw in the sand. I am not sure where I stand on amnesty because more will just follow and in 10 more years we will be doing it again. I don't know - SHRUGS. That is my 2 cents for the day.

[Anonymous]

OP its unfortunate that crazy posters took this topic off in taxes/immigration debate. Uggh.

I completely agree with about getting more teachers and aides into the classroom. While I generally support raises for teachers, Starr the superintendent made a decision to increase the salaries instead of freezing or improving class sizes The staff cuts in local schools create situations where fewer staff are available to participate in classrooms or may be used instead of substitutes.

You should contact the cluster representative and delegate of your PTA and tell them that you are interested in pursuing this issue. It doesn't always feel like you are making progress but you can attend open meetings with the cluster, board meetings, and council meetings and be ready to raise these issues. Speak with other parents and get them to speak up too.

MCPS strategy is designed to keep parents quiet, the more you speak out the more they can not ignore the issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haha. "Entered legally" on their 90 day tourist visa, never left and had a bunch of babies!

I remember the days when the Chicago public schools sent all the German kids home until they learned some English! None of this jack up taxes, hire bilingual aides, redo all the signs in Spanish and handout free breakfasts and lunches.
While my kids pays more for food and has less teacher attention, more distractions and a dumbed down curriculum.

You're gross, lady. But luckily, you're a relic. It's unlikely that at your ripe old age your nasty racist notions can be changed, but I'll try anyway:

http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/health/2011/11/the-curious-case-of-dr-q