MCPS faces Teacher shortage next year
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Anonymous
That is the general feeling among majority of parents. Vote incumbent board members out. That is the best way to bring positive change that benefits all students. Right now, resources are used for political and PR. That money should go towards education. |
Anonymous
Says who? |
Anonymous
I’m a DP, but this is also what I hear as both a parent and teacher. I think it stems from the insane amount of requests for filling out the anti-racist survey that were sent out while the system was falling apart. I am certainly hopeful that things can improve because it’s hard to imagine another year like this past one. However, I have not seen any initiatives to get new teachers such as incentives. Instead, the county continues to focus on more new social initiatives. Personally it seems more important to fill the jobs! |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Hear from who? How many parents have you heard from to feel it’s a majority? And if you’re a teacher, I’m surprised you’ve narrowed down the BoE or Super’s focus to only social justice initiatives, since clearly they mention and followup on LOTS of other things every board meeting. To name a few: 3rd grade reading rates New LETRS program Maryland Blueprint Construction of new schools Principal Appointments Wellness centers Recruitment Financial Literacy |
Anonymous
I am the poster you are responding to. I am glad you are having a different viewpoint than mine and of the people I speak with. However, I am speaking the truth about what the majority of MY friends and MY coworkers feel. I wasn’t the poster that said majority of people and I would never try to state what the majority of people feel. However, I do feel that my feelings and the feelings of fellow teachers are important right now. This past year was filled with open positions and no substitutes. We had many classes with no teachers in both September and again in January. In other months, we were down a few almost daily so we had classes doubling up all the time. So during all of this, it was very tone deaf to receive around 30 texts/emails about a survey that just did not make sense this year. Yet if we stayed that we had other priorities THIS YEAR (like staffing and substitutes) we were called racist. And I’m still not aware of anything that will help the situation this coming year. |
Anonymous
Don't forget Bocce Ball! 
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Anonymous
The GOP operatives prefer to focus on emotional class warfare issues. |
Anonymous
As a teacher none of this filters down to us or even directly affects us. The constant social justice emails and surveys seemed so out of touch with reality last year. It just seemed like central office only cared about testing and PR. The social justice stuff was rarely mentioned in my high school and we are predominantly POC. Right now there is a huge mismatch between want teachers are requesting and and what admin or central office wants to talk about. |
Anonymous
Nothing is going to help this year. The insane reopening parents have ensured no evolutionary change will occur… (they have jobs! You expect to care for the kids they had? Your problem!) |
Anonymous
This x 1000. I am a teacher and parent of two (biracial) MCPS students. Social justice issues are important but looking at the idea of restorative justice - it can’t be implemented due to lack of staffing. As almost every teacher has mentioned, not only do we need to hire more teachers and support staff but also need to look at how we can attract and retain substitutes. The para pay grade structure should also be re-examined - paras make $20 an hour and are often the ones responsible for students. Those are the issues McKnight needs to dig deep and find some creative solutions so teachers are not quitting or feeling drained and defeated every single day. |
Anonymous
| I check MCPS careers this morning. We are up to 532 teachers positions open. About 40% are ESOL, SpEd, and STEM. It has been increasing a few positions every day. July 15th is the date when teachers need to declare that they are leaving in order to stay in good standing. So, that means after July 15th other current public school teachers in Maryland but outside of MCPS are less likely to apply for our positions. |
Anonymous
I don't understand the obsession with bocce ball. I'm sure that whatever mcps spent on bocce fraction of what they will spend on basketball and baseball and football |
Anonymous
It's because it's aimed at special needs kids, and some people want to keep them out of sight, out of mind. |
Anonymous
On the contrary. This was not a new program at all. The high schools were already playing bocce ball using $50 sets and PVC pipes. It's shameful, since the federal covid money could have been used for teacher incentives or other disabled programs. Think about this. Instead of hiring more support staff or funding more disabled treatment programs, MCPS spent federal covid money on bocce ball? It is very much like "keep them out of sight, out of mind" by doing that. It's like telling the disabled, "go play with the balls instead of getting supports". Has anyone seen the 40 bocce ball courts set up at middle schools? Well guess what. MCPS requested federal covid grant money to build bocce ball courts at 40 locations, so where did that money go? I don't know who you are pp, but if you're involved in this, I hope you are someday charged with waste fraud and abuse. From the bottom of my heart, I really, really do. Any scum who hides behind the disabled doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. |