How does this end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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

+1
The first thing that came to my mind was "protected, unencumbered planning time", followed by "Strikes will still be illegal".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I think things will get worse before they get better. With that being said, there are so many things FCPS could be doing now to help retain teachers. I am concerned about the budget and not giving raises. If surrounding counties give raises but not FCPS, many will jump ship.

Please share some of the ways! I am looking for your input so that we as a community can help advocate them to the SB and BoS. I have two kids in elementary school and don't want to see this division go down the tube.

Less PD, more autonomy, less initiatives, less administrative tasks, ability to work from home on TWD.

[Anonymous]

Where do the teachers and classrooms come from for smaller class sizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like one big factor that doesn’t help and that FCPS can’t control is the ability for so many other professions to work from home at least part time now. It’s hard to sign up for a job that has none of that flexibility when others around you are in sweatpants on Zoom. Never mind the low pay and extra aggravation. I know teaching is a calling, but at some point those quality of life factors start to weigh more heavily. This issue obviously isn’t specific to FCPS but being in a high COL area with bad traffic and crazy parents just adds to the challenges.

COVID changed the working world and attitudes toward work. We are going to see fewer people interested in going into teaching because of it.

Agree with you 100%. And I wonder at what point the pressure to staff schools becomes so critical that flexibility is offered to retain/attract staff. For example, 4 slightly longer school days per week instead of 5, and students focus on asynchronous work on the 5th. Or early release Friday at noon every week when teachers can go home (or stay) to focus on the many hours of grading, planning, copying, parent meetings, etc. many of which are usually reserved for the weekend. Work has changed and the model of “work in front of student all week with no time for all the other minutiae of your job until the system runs you into the ground” can’t possibly continue.

If there’s no money for significant compensation changes, benefits in the form of work life balance and others need to be considered.

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like one big factor that doesn’t help and that FCPS can’t control is the ability for so many other professions to work from home at least part time now. It’s hard to sign up for a job that has none of that flexibility when others around you are in sweatpants on Zoom. Never mind the low pay and extra aggravation. I know teaching is a calling, but at some point those quality of life factors start to weigh more heavily. This issue obviously isn’t specific to FCPS but being in a high COL area with bad traffic and crazy parents just adds to the challenges.

COVID changed the working world and attitudes toward work. We are going to see fewer people interested in going into teaching because of it.

Agree with you 100%. And I wonder at what point the pressure to staff schools becomes so critical that flexibility is offered to retain/attract staff. For example, 4 slightly longer school days per week instead of 5, and students focus on asynchronous work on the 5th. Or early release Friday at noon every week when teachers can go home (or stay) to focus on the many hours of grading, planning, copying, parent meetings, etc. many of which are usually reserved for the weekend. Work has changed and the model of “work in front of student all week with no time for all the other minutiae of your job until the system runs you into the ground” can’t possibly continue.

If there’s no money for significant compensation changes, benefits in the form of work life balance and others need to be considered.

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do the teachers and classrooms come from for smaller class sizes?

They don’t. It’s just a talking point to make collective bargaining seem student friendly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do the teachers and classrooms come from for smaller class sizes?

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do the teachers and classrooms come from for smaller class sizes?

They don’t. It’s just a talking point to make collective bargaining seem student friendly

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!

[Anonymous]

So teachers at Title I schools would make less money than other schools because they have smaller classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only hope I have is that FCPS will finally pass a collective bargaining agreement. Teachers are the experts on what teachers need and don’t need. I’m sick of the entire profession being controlled by people who have never spent time in a classroom professionally and have NO idea.

With power, teachers can insist on the class sizes, planning time, staffing ratios, and compensation that our community needs in order to strengthen our entire public education system and make the teaching profession more attractive to retain existing good teachers and recruit new teachers.

Teachers know what our classrooms need. We need the power to actually do what we know the KIDS need. Please help us get that power by letting your school board know that you support collective bargaining!!!

What do teachers plan to ask for? Are they expecting double digit raises even though there is no money? I don’t understand how collective bargaining helps. I’m sure it will happen since the board is all democrats but, as a parent, all I think is there will be strikes and more closed schools like what’s happened in other districts with unions.

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

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.