Teacher workdays/school planning are ridiculous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like the fact that FCPS isn’t even accepting applications for new subs because it’s so saturated? The fact that county unemployment is at an all time high?

Fairfax residents should be prioritized for FCPS postings. That will limit how many people are taking advantage of taxpayers while availing themselves of rational schedules for their own families.

What do sub applications have to do with FCPS full time job positions? Subbing is a much easier gig, especially at the middle and high school level. teachers leave plans/work and the sub monitors to make sure kids are behaving (no planning, no grading). Subs can also pick which days they want to work, making it a super flexible schedule.

Do you honestly think teachers live in other counties and work in FCPS because FCPS has more days off?? I work in FCPS but live in Loudoun because I can't afford to live anywhere near my school. My kids go to LCPS schools and with only 1-2 exceptions have the same days off I do (they are also going to be off 4/21 they just haven't had the official vote yet.

If your kids go to Loudoun you:

- didn’t have a nonsensical early release for a tornado which was forecasted to arrive at the same time as early release.
- don’t have elementary school monthly early release releases on Wednesdays to contend with.
- started school later
- had five day school weeks in September
- combined teacher work days with the Winter break
-have one day off for Memorial day
- finish earlier.

There are quite a few more than “1–2 exceptions” and since the calendars are public, why would you lie about that? If you had to live with the consequences of the calendar, you’re advocating you would feel differently about it. Which is why teachers should be hired out of Fairfax County first.

Subbing is advertised as a route to full-time FCPS employment. So it looks like they have plenty of candidates.

You forgot to add: if your kids go to Loudoun for elementary, you have 7 straight years of a 7:20 or 7:30 am start time.

Young kids with an early start time?!!?! Its as though any working parent was consulted in the creation of this schedule.

The Fairfax County parents went nuts when presented with that option earlier. They did not want a 7:30 am start time for 7 years. Becuase it also meant kids would be getting out by 2:15 pm and of course that’s not good with their work schedule. They said let the middle schoolers deal with it as it’s only two years. Even though research shows it’s not best for those ages.

This is a very strange thing to lie about. FCPS time warp affecting you?

It’s not a lie. The thread here on DCUM was full of elem school parents who have said they don’t want a 7:30 am start time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like the fact that FCPS isn’t even accepting applications for new subs because it’s so saturated? The fact that county unemployment is at an all time high?

Fairfax residents should be prioritized for FCPS postings. That will limit how many people are taking advantage of taxpayers while availing themselves of rational schedules for their own families.

What do sub applications have to do with FCPS full time job positions? Subbing is a much easier gig, especially at the middle and high school level. teachers leave plans/work and the sub monitors to make sure kids are behaving (no planning, no grading). Subs can also pick which days they want to work, making it a super flexible schedule.

Do you honestly think teachers live in other counties and work in FCPS because FCPS has more days off?? I work in FCPS but live in Loudoun because I can't afford to live anywhere near my school. My kids go to LCPS schools and with only 1-2 exceptions have the same days off I do (they are also going to be off 4/21 they just haven't had the official vote yet.

If your kids go to Loudoun you:

- didn’t have a nonsensical early release for a tornado which was forecasted to arrive at the same time as early release.
- don’t have elementary school monthly early release releases on Wednesdays to contend with.
- started school later
- had five day school weeks in September
- combined teacher work days with the Winter break
-have one day off for Memorial day
- finish earlier.

There are quite a few more than “1–2 exceptions” and since the calendars are public, why would you lie about that? If you had to live with the consequences of the calendar, you’re advocating you would feel differently about it. Which is why teachers should be hired out of Fairfax County first.

Subbing is advertised as a route to full-time FCPS employment. So it looks like they have plenty of candidates.

You forgot to add: if your kids go to Loudoun for elementary, you have 7 straight years of a 7:20 or 7:30 am start time.

Young kids with an early start time?!!?! Its as though any working parent was consulted in the creation of this schedule.

The Fairfax County parents went nuts when presented with that option earlier. They did not want a 7:30 am start time for 7 years. Becuase it also meant kids would be getting out by 2:15 pm and of course that’s not good with their work schedule. They said let the middle schoolers deal with it as it’s only two years. Even though research shows it’s not best for those ages.

This is a very strange thing to lie about. FCPS time warp affecting you?

It’s not a lie. The thread here on DCUM was full of elem school parents who have said they don’t want a 7:30 am start time.

I believe it was one of the 5 original ideas that the company FCPS hired came up with. It did not make the final cut. But I can pull up the thread if you like to show you how none of the elementary school parents liked that. They thought it was too early plus the kids would get out too early.

So to all those complaining about FCPS, go ahead and move to Loudoun and enjoy your 7:30 am start time!

[Anonymous]

Hah now the early releases are canceled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

I now expect a 15-page thread about how awful FCPS is for canceling the April early-release days. Anything less than 15 pages will be a disappointment. LET'S GO WITH THE COMPLAINING!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

Only one set of them but I’ll take it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

Only one. But it is a start. Seems too little too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

I now expect a 15-page thread about how awful FCPS is for canceling the April early-release days. Anything less than 15 pages will be a disappointment. LET'S GO WITH THE COMPLAINING!

No one will complain because the talking point that “FCPS Parents are the problem” is a Reid/Frisch one that is long since over.

It goes with “school is not childcare” and “YoU Had YEARS to plan!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

Good.

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

I now expect a 15-page thread about how awful FCPS is for canceling the April early-release days. Anything less than 15 pages will be a disappointment. LET'S GO WITH THE COMPLAINING!

Why would anyone complain about that? Even kids didn’t like it because they missed recess or their specials

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

I now expect a 15-page thread about how awful FCPS is for canceling the April early-release days. Anything less than 15 pages will be a disappointment. LET'S GO WITH THE COMPLAINING!

Why would anyone complain about that? Even kids didn’t like it because they missed recess or their specials

Topic-adjacent comment: FCPS is outdated in their specials scheduling, other counties do it differently where it isn’t based on a day of the week. They actually treat the specials curriculum like it matters. If you miss a day due to snow, for example, the next day of school is whatever your special would have been. Solves that issue. It a little more care is required of parents to pay attention to when to send kids in gym shoes or with their recorders, but everyone adapts well to it..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hah now the early releases are canceled

I now expect a 15-page thread about how awful FCPS is for canceling the April early-release days. Anything less than 15 pages will be a disappointment. LET'S GO WITH THE COMPLAINING!

Why would anyone complain about that? Even kids didn’t like it because they missed recess or their specials

Topic-adjacent comment: FCPS is outdated in their specials scheduling, other counties do it differently where it isn’t based on a day of the week. They actually treat the specials curriculum like it matters. If you miss a day due to snow, for example, the next day of school is whatever your special would have been. Solves that issue. It a little more care is required of parents to pay attention to when to send kids in gym shoes or with their recorders, but everyone adapts well to it..

Ew. Sounds ridiculous. Which county does this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m of two thoughts:

Yes, the calendar is too disjointed and it needs to be fixed.

But teachers need work days. If we want teachers to stay in the profession, they need to be granted time during the work week (even just occasionally) to get their work done. It shouldn’t be the expectation that nights and weekends belong to their jobs, too.

I have a demanding job. It has me on calls for a good portion of the day. This means I have to work outside of work hours to get my work done.

Teachers need to also use their time more efficiently. FCPS ES and MS have very little grading to do.

I used to teach. Then I took an office job. It’s so much easier for the same paycheck, it’s unreal. I now have fifteen to twenty extra hours in my week. You won’t get good people to stay in the profession unless you give them time to get the work done. The job completely changed during the time I was in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m of two thoughts:

Yes, the calendar is too disjointed and it needs to be fixed.

But teachers need work days. If we want teachers to stay in the profession, they need to be granted time during the work week (even just occasionally) to get their work done. It shouldn’t be the expectation that nights and weekends belong to their jobs, too.

I have a demanding job. It has me on calls for a good portion of the day. This means I have to work outside of work hours to get my work done.

Teachers need to also use their time more efficiently. FCPS ES and MS have very little grading to do.

I used to teach. Then I took an office job. It’s so much easier for the same paycheck, it’s unreal. I now have fifteen to twenty extra hours in my week. You won’t get good people to stay in the profession unless you give them time to get the work done. The job completely changed during the time I was in it.

I agree. I’m a career changer. I was able to get my old job done in 40-45 hours a week. As a teacher, I’m lucky if I can get below 60. I have papers on my lap as I type this.

Teachers talk. We have former coworkers who, like the PP, have found new jobs that give them their lives back. They no longer have to use their weekends to catch up.

The simple fact is teachers aren’t given the time they need to prep and grade. It’s just assumed we will do all of that work on our own time. That is the root cause of everything DCUM complains about: ungraded papers, lack of email responses, relying too much on computers, etc. If teachers were given time at work to work, we could fix ALL of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is just messed up. We have a super short Q3. Teacher work day and school planning immediately after the spring break. 3 days days off in May to celebrate yet another religious holiday. This school year has been a disaster. These kids are barely in school.

There needs to be 1 TW per quarter. One. And follow federal holiday schedule, no religious stuff. FYI, not a Christian here, I don't care if you are closed on my religious holidays or not.

People who constantly complain about the school calendar are ridiculous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just messed up. We have a super short Q3. Teacher work day and school planning immediately after the spring break. 3 days days off in May to celebrate yet another religious holiday. This school year has been a disaster. These kids are barely in school.

There needs to be 1 TW per quarter. One. And follow federal holiday schedule, no religious stuff. FYI, not a Christian here, I don't care if you are closed on my religious holidays or not.

People who constantly complain about the school calendar are ridiculous!

If the calendar wasn't so ridiculous, there would be less complaints.