FCPS Sub shortage

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my contract, I can't be asked to cover for another teacher so I think this puts the pressure on admin to get a real substitute. They often use aides to cover classes they can't find subs for.

Are you FCPS? I am asked at least 1-2x per month to cover classes.

I teach at a low income middle school so I think our jobs are the last ones to be picked up...

Not the PP, but I would guess not. While there are many regulations that protect certain aspects of our jobs, our contract doesn't get that specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my contract, I can't be asked to cover for another teacher so I think this puts the pressure on admin to get a real substitute. They often use aides to cover classes they can't find subs for.

Are you FCPS? I am asked at least 1-2x per month to cover classes.

I teach at a low income middle school so I think our jobs are the last ones to be picked up...

Not in FCPS. Finding subs is an admin's job, not mine. They get paid the big bucks so why should I be the one to cover other teachers' classes?

[Anonymous]

loudoun pays subs more than fcps

[Anonymous]

Due to the lowered pay, the quality of subs also appears to be decreasing. So now jobs are going unfilled and often the sub is not someone who is really able to handle the lessons and the students....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:loudoun pays subs more than fcps

I think in LCPS its about $16.75?

[Anonymous]

I used to sub now I drive for Uber

[Anonymous]

Here is the hourly substitute teacher pay rate for various local jurisdictions based on 7 hours of work:
FCPS- $14.23 (down from $14.96 last year). Retired FCPS teachers now get $15.33 an hour (down about $8 an hour from last year).
Loudon- $15.71
DCPS- $17.14
Arlington- $15.59

[Anonymous]

I used to teach, but I call this the canary in the coal mine. Schools around here struggle to hire enough teachers and there is definitely a shortage that is right on the line of a crisis. It has to get to the point where parents think it's problematic to have 32 kids in a class in the wealthier school zones. Right now, they are content because: test scores. But if they push, there is going to be a crisis of sorts because there just aren't enough teachers to cap class sizes to a reasonable number (25 kids)

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone chose teaching as a profession? Especially around here? Young teachers would have difficulty paying off debt, and buying a car- let alone a house . I've read some of the most condescending and disrespectful posts here about teachers. I started college as an ed major and transferred out. Kids can have many callings, why choose a difficult path?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone chose teaching as a profession? Especially around here? Young teachers would have difficulty paying off debt, and buying a car- let alone a house . I've read some of the most condescending and disrespectful posts here about teachers. I started college as an ed major and transferred out. Kids can have many callings, why choose a difficult path?

That's the rub. Parents want excellent schools, but it's impossible without actually having qualified, good teachers. You want to see what happens when you fill your classrooms with college grads with a summer's worth of training who inevitably will quit within two years -- look at DC. I was an administrator for two months at a well-regarded charter and it was awful compared to even the worst performing Title I school I worked in while teaching at FCPS. And that school was full of teachers who had only taught for a year or two (most of whom were planning on leaving and basically using the experience for their grad school admission essays).

[Anonymous]

Also trying to apply and get through the training is a giant PITA. My sister had been a sub in MonCo and found it impossible to even get her application looked at in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I've read with interest that FCPS is having difficulty getting substitute teachers. As a retired FCPS teacher I subbed for six years until it was decided to drop the pay by 35% in 2016. I often subbed in my science discipline and taught the class if plans were left. With 35 years teaching experience, a Masters in engineering plus 70 credits I thought it was insulting to accept pay that I could get working in Starbucks. I truly enjoyed teaching/subbing but FCPS didn't value what I,m as a retired teacher, brought to the classroom. You get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my contract, I can't be asked to cover for another teacher so I think this puts the pressure on admin to get a real substitute. They often use aides to cover classes they can't find subs for.

Are you FCPS? I am asked at least 1-2x per month to cover classes.

I teach at a low income middle school so I think our jobs are the last ones to be picked up...

It's a lot harder for an elementary teacher to cover another class than a middle school teacher. (Not that it's right for a MS teacher to be asked to cover.) But, if an elementary teacher has to cover--that means she has to cram two classes into a room--and both classes suffer.

As an elementary teacher, I had to do that a couple of times and it is just wrong. In one instance--this was a long time ago--the other teacher had what we called a "Child Study" meeting. She was gone for two hours. I was not pleased. This is what we called our IEP meetings. The LD teacher insisted that the meetings be during the day-not after school. It's not practical when you have few/no subs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read with interest that FCPS is having difficulty getting substitute teachers. As a retired FCPS teacher I subbed for six years until it was decided to drop the pay by 35% in 2016. I often subbed in my science discipline and taught the class if plans were left. With 35 years teaching experience, a Masters in engineering plus 70 credits I thought it was insulting to accept pay that I could get working in Starbucks. I truly enjoyed teaching/subbing but FCPS didn't value what I,m as a retired teacher, brought to the classroom. You get what you pay for.

I thought they brought back up the pay this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15 an hour?

People can make that and benefits at Starbucks

But they don't have the flexibility to work when they want to. Subs can choose what days they want to take a job.

But subs also aren't guaranteed a certain number of hours per week, so it's not a job for someone who needs a reliable income. Thus the jobs are filled by people who could take it or leave it, and if the pay is poor maybe it doesn't feel worth it to take a job on the other side of the county on a day they'd planned to get some errands done.