VA law made collective bargaining legal, but strikes are illegal. They won’t happen as employees would be immediately terminated. Here are some things that could be included (others can add more) for bargaining: - max class size - increased non student facing time (planning time) - flexibility for telework on teacher work days - reduced professional development to only essentials, redirect this time to planning - calendar considerations, such as having an early release day every Friday or every other Friday - guaranteed pay when forced to give up their planning time to substitute for a sick colleague - and much much more |
There IS money. And we are choosing to spend it on things like Tutor.com, ST Math, the boondoggle of Schoology, layer upon layer upon layer of bureaucracy, and all kinds of things that do not directly benefit students…and in many cases detract from student learning. Having been at negotiating meetings in another state, I can say that a seat at the table would have gotten us a saner school calendar with fewer random PD days strewn about the place, interrupting routine. More teacher workdays at the end of the quarter, with teacher-directed work time and predicable schedule to allow for family travel or child care programs like 2-day camps adjacent to the weekend. That budget-neutral change alone would have had a huge impact on instruction for me this fall. It’s been nearly impossible to re-establish routine with so many missed instructional days scattered all over October and November. It’s not all about money in teacher pockets but yes, that’s part of it. Fairfax County voters and cowardly elected officials have repeatedly chosen to buckle and dime our school system rather than finding teacher compensation adequately. Things like biting down the meals tax which would have had very little impact on lost families but could have had a huge positive impact on schools. I believe our community in general understands the value of good teachers and would support budgets that prioritize teachers. But teachers have had little power to effect this change. |
Apologies for typos…typing quickly in small iPhone screen and did not notice the incorrect autocorrects! |
That makes sense. These all sound reasonable to me assuming class sizes wouldn’t blow up the budget. School Board should be ashamed that most of these aren’t already in place for our teachers and IAs. The amount of work teachers need to get done with less than an hour of personal time each day is literally insanity. |
This! Collective bargaining is about working conditions which then trickle down to students. I am not sure why any parent would be against any of these things. |
+1 The first thing that came to my mind was "protected, unencumbered planning time", followed by "Strikes will still be illegal". |
Less PD, more autonomy, less initiatives, less administrative tasks, ability to work from home on TWD. |
Where do the teachers and classrooms come from for smaller class sizes? |
Haha, if we went to a 4 day school week, vacancies in FCPS schools would cease to exists, as every teacher in the metro area would flock here and principals would be knee deep in the resumes of the best and brightest. For that reason it will likely not happen, because it makes sense, it is the future, and a bunch of wealthy parents who don’t like their kids will throw fits that they have to see them for another day. On a more serious note, check out some articles on school divisions that have gone to 4 day weeks. The school communities (after some initial growing pains) are experiencing much success. |
"Much success" - the school districts that have been forced to reduce the school week by 30% did so because they lacked the money to pay for 100% of the school week. Not because it's a good idea. |
They don’t. It’s just a talking point to make collective bargaining seem student friendly |
I think teachers should be compensated for larger classes. There are teachers in the county with 18 kids in a class and teachers with 25 or more. In my opinion, any additional student over 20 should be a stipend of at least $500. So someone with 26 students would get paid an additional $3,000 per year. Someone with 30 students? They would get paid an additional $5,000 a year. |
Or, you know, the school board and Board of Supervisors funding our education system so that 32 6th graders don’t need to sit on top of each other in a classroom all day. Imagine that…. Yep, in 6th grade those armpits start to get pretty stinky after PE, too! Cmon BoS! |
So teachers at Title I schools would make less money than other schools because they have smaller classes? |
Teachers couldn’t legally strike in DC, yet they effectively did. Same thing in Chicago. Parents would be nuts not to fight collective bargaining for teachers in FCPS. Particularly given some of the demands in this thread, like Friday afternoons off. |