Does FCPS have a dress code for teachers now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you teach PP?

Fairfax County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you teach PP?

Fairfax County

One of the richest counties in America. So I can see why you wouldn't need to spend your own money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you teach PP?

Fairfax County

One of the richest counties in America. So I can see why you wouldn't need to spend your own money.

If you are the same poster, do all of your teachers spend $1,000+ for school supplies?

Are you getting my point? You are buying basics that the school should be supplying. Why in the world should the school supply them if the employees are going to do it? You say the school can't afford to buy them, so they don't. You say you can't afford to buy them, yet you do.

What would happen if all the teachers stopped enabling and stopped subsidizing the district?

[Anonymous]

I would like to point out that the dress code at my school is that we need to wear t-shirts or sweatshirts three days a week: one day is Subject Matter day, one day is College/University day, and one day is School Pride day. So those days I wear jeans. The other two days we get to wear what we want so those days I wear pants or skirts with nice blouses or sweaters depending on the weather. We have had faculty meetings where we were encouraged to adhere to the t-shirt/sweatshirt policy. So please don't presume that I am wearing a t-shirt because I want to. I do not look good in t-shirts and I don't like wearing them; I am wearing a t-shirt because I'm being told to. It is what it is and I am a good team player. If this is my Principal's vision for the school then I will do as directed (because I love my Principal) or go to another school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you teach PP?

Fairfax County

One of the richest counties in America. So I can see why you wouldn't need to spend your own money.

If you are the same poster, do all of your teachers spend $1,000+ for school supplies?

Are you getting my point? You are buying basics that the school should be supplying. Why in the world should the school supply them if the employees are going to do it? You say the school can't afford to buy them, so they don't. You say you can't afford to buy them, yet you do.

What would happen if all the teachers stopped enabling and stopped subsidizing the district?

Every teacher at my school spends a good $500+ per year. Just because your schools has the money for basic supplies does not mean every school district does. It sounds to me like you live in a bubble. Do you know any teachers who teach in high poverty schools? Years ago, I worked as an assistant in a wealthy school district and we never had to want for anything. Every piece of technology worked and if it didn't, someone would come to fix in within a day. Copy paper of every color lined the copy room floor to ceiling (we are given 2 boxes of copy paper per year; if you run out, oh well). There were 4 copy machines in the building so you never had to wait long. Any school supply you needed was in a closet. Take what you need. If you run out of pencils, glue sticks, tissues, etc you could just email the parents and have more than enough by the end of the week. My school supplies the teachers with a random assortment of stuff at the beginning of the year. We trade and get some of what we need. If the students do not bring in the supplies from the list, the teachers fill in the gaps, not the school. The school has to pay for things the rich county schools don't like social workers and mental health workers and behavioral officers and school police. The point is, if we didn't buy anything, our students would've have anything. We don't even have a librarian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you teach PP?

Fairfax County

One of the richest counties in America. So I can see why you wouldn't need to spend your own money.

If you are the same poster, do all of your teachers spend $1,000+ for school supplies?

Are you getting my point? You are buying basics that the school should be supplying. Why in the world should the school supply them if the employees are going to do it? You say the school can't afford to buy them, so they don't. You say you can't afford to buy them, yet you do.

What would happen if all the teachers stopped enabling and stopped subsidizing the district?

Every teacher at my school spends a good $500+ per year. Just because your schools has the money for basic supplies does not mean every school district does. It sounds to me like you live in a bubble. Do you know any teachers who teach in high poverty schools? Years ago, I worked as an assistant in a wealthy school district and we never had to want for anything. Every piece of technology worked and if it didn't, someone would come to fix in within a day. Copy paper of every color lined the copy room floor to ceiling (we are given 2 boxes of copy paper per year; if you run out, oh well). There were 4 copy machines in the building so you never had to wait long. Any school supply you needed was in a closet. Take what you need. If you run out of pencils, glue sticks, tissues, etc you could just email the parents and have more than enough by the end of the week. My school supplies the teachers with a random assortment of stuff at the beginning of the year. We trade and get some of what we need. If the students do not bring in the supplies from the list, the teachers fill in the gaps, not the school. The school has to pay for things the rich county schools don't like social workers and mental health workers and behavioral officers and school police. The point is, if we didn't buy anything, our students would've have anything. We don't even have a librarian.

Every teacher in your school spends $500+ per year. That's money the school doesn't have to spend. I don't live in a bubble. I know people who teach in high poverty schools. My father taught elementary school in an inner city in Ohio. There is no way they would by soap or paper towels for the classroom. They would expect the school to provide those things. It sounds like the schools expect you to buy basics. You do that and that's your prerogative, but what would happen if you turned the table and expected the same of the school district? Don't tell me if you didn't the students wouldn't have anything. Why does that fall on your shoulders? If the staff in solidarity didn't buy basics how long would it take before the school starting to supply them?

I believe you said earlier that your own children will be entering high school (?) soon and you will have to cut back so you can pay tuition. What will happen then? Are you going to feel guilty because you aren't providing for the students in your school?

[Anonymous]

No, I won't feel guilty and maybe you should get to know the situation in inner city schools a bit more. A relative teaching 40+ yrs ago isn't exactly representative of the current situation in today's school budgets. Do you really think if teachers stopped buying things that these districts would magically come up with more money? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I won't feel guilty and maybe you should get to know the situation in inner city schools a bit more. A relative teaching 40+ yrs ago isn't exactly representative of the current situation in today's school budgets. Do you really think if teachers stopped buying things that these districts would magically come up with more money? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you.

For one, he didn't teach 40+ years ago. He retired in the late 90s.

You say you can't afford to purchase materials, yet you do. You magically come up with the money. Who is going to buy things when you "cut back"? You didn't answer that. Will the kids go without then?

I think you are being taken advantage of, but if you don't mind then that's ok.

[Anonymous]

Nobody will buy them and then it will impact everyone negatively. Every child should have access to books and with no librarian and no way to check out books, I choose to use money I would use for "fun" things on my students so they can have basic supplies and books to read. Ever heard of Donors Choose? Do you think all of the teachers on Donors Choose are enablers too?

[Anonymous]

Maybe you haven't felt these budget cuts as much as other districts since you are one in one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S. but many districts have felt it.

http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/most-states-have-cut-school-funding-and-some-continue-cutting

[Anonymous]

In our FCPS elementary school, we were constantly asked for $ for supplies, above and beyond the supply lists that were purchased at start of school. I remember mid-year there was an immediate need for two packs each of dry erase markers. I did that math - the classroom 'need' was 4 packs for each student of dry erase markers for the 30 kids in the classroom. That's 120 packs of dry erase markers. They came in packs of 6. So one classroom consumed 6*120 = 720 markers per year, or 4 markers a day?

Later I found out that about half of the supplies (all of the supplies, no just markers) were given to our sister school.

[Anonymous]

Can you guys start a separate supplies thread jeez

[Anonymous]

I don’t care what you wear if you connect with students and move students to and past their abilities and goals. We have to quit hassling people over stupid things and get back to what’s most important.

[Anonymous]

Teachers should be able to wear things that are comfortable. I am more concerned with their teaching ability and less concerned about their attire.

[Anonymous]

Dh makes between 400-500K a year and is a partner at a tech company. He wears jeans, t shirts, sweatshirts to work most days, unless he is meeting with a client. Then it is Polo and jeans or khakis and polos if it's an initial meeting.

I think the idea of professional clothing is outdated. Wear what is comfortable. I'd rather see DS' first grade teacher in jeggings and a t-shirt and getting on the floor with them etc vs having to work around a dress or structured pants.