MCPS faces Teacher shortage next year

[Anonymous]

Question:

Do they conduct exit surveys, and is there data indicating what teachers are leaving (read: demographics on age, race, etc.) and why they are leaving (teaching elsewhere, retirement, career change, etc.)?

Lastly, are certain schools impacted more heavily?

Hypothesis:

Since they plucked lots of teachers from UMC diverse but mostly white Sherwood for seemingly less affluent/more diverse schools, maybe it’s because teachers are leaving those schools in droves?

Anyone know if that’s a legit question or a wildly off base assumption?

I hope someone is getting data to better address the problem.

[Anonymous]

Replace McKnight and the BOE?

[Anonymous]

We need to know why we have a shortage before we can even begin to fix the problem.

Is there legit data?

Blaming retirement and typical turnover isn’t a good answer; that’s something that happens each year and schools should be able to plan to increase the pipeline years in advance.

Are neighboring districts more attractive? Better pay/benefits? Better cost of living? More desirable for other reasons? Are shifting demographics and behavior issues playing a role? Poor leadership at the school? Frustrating curriculum?

I’m not a teacher, but I have a few kids in mcps (plus a fairly recent mcps grad). I’m also essentially a lifelong MoCo resident. Full disclosure: I attended private schools. My day job entails policy work and I am intimately familiar with the County’s budget woes which have been dramatically impacted by shifting demographics—primarily the affluent tax base retiring, dying, or opting for VA while our immigrant and 1st Gen population grows. MoCo doesn’t have money to boost teacher pay, and mcps simply isn’t the most desirable employer in the region the way it was 20+ years ago.

I hope the county realizes this and takes action.

Fun fact: the perception of bad schools impacts housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need to know why we have a shortage before we can even begin to fix the problem.

Is there legit data?

Blaming retirement and typical turnover isn’t a good answer; that’s something that happens each year and schools should be able to plan to increase the pipeline years in advance.

Are neighboring districts more attractive? Better pay/benefits? Better cost of living? More desirable for other reasons? Are shifting demographics and behavior issues playing a role? Poor leadership at the school? Frustrating curriculum?

I’m not a teacher, but I have a few kids in mcps (plus a fairly recent mcps grad). I’m also essentially a lifelong MoCo resident. Full disclosure: I attended private schools. My day job entails policy work and I am intimately familiar with the County’s budget woes which have been dramatically impacted by shifting demographics—primarily the affluent tax base retiring, dying, or opting for VA while our immigrant and 1st Gen population grows. MoCo doesn’t have money to boost teacher pay, and mcps simply isn’t the most desirable employer in the region the way it was 20+ years ago.

I hope the county realizes this and takes action.

Fun fact: the perception of bad schools impacts housing.

The county has plenty of money for their pet projects. I'm sure if someone did a real audit they could cut out a lot of wasteful spending and find the money for teacher pay raises and school repairs.

[Anonymous]

Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

Parents want to deny its a combination of things from covid, kids behavior, parents lack of parenting, administration issues/principal issues, lack of good curriculum, lack of discipline, lack of any standards or expectations, not teaching the basics so as kids move up in grades they don't have the foundation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

Does Howard county have a shortage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

Does Howard county have a shortage?

NM

Google tells me HoCo has a shortage, and they just raised starting salaries from $50 to $56.

MSEA suggests setting base pay at $60.

Geez, that’s pathetically low.

Increase it to $70 at the very least!

[Anonymous]

$60k just isn’t enough. One bedroom apartments are close to $2k a month on average now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Replace McKnight and the BOE?

[Anonymous]

When you go nearly a decade with a poor internally developed curriculum that sunk an entire generation you basically get what you have now - a culture that puts benefits and pensions ahead of mission. A pox upon MCPS’ house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

Does Howard county have a shortage?

NM

Google tells me HoCo has a shortage, and they just raised starting salaries from $50 to $56.

MSEA suggests setting base pay at $60.

Geez, that’s pathetically low.

Increase it to $70 at the very least!

Yes, this is a national problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have posted here for well over a year telling you why there would be a teacher shortage. Many of you fail to listen. For those who do want to listen, ask the teachers you know in real life. This is a nationwide problem. Yes, mcps pays well but there it isn’t enough for many to continue to put up with the negatives of the job. And they are the same negatives in every other district.

Does Howard county have a shortage?

NM

Google tells me HoCo has a shortage, and they just raised starting salaries from $50 to $56.

MSEA suggests setting base pay at $60.

Geez, that’s pathetically low.

Increase it to $70 at the very least!

Yes, this is a national problem.

The problem isn't so much the starting pay as it is the pay down the line in some places. Texas, for example, starts people off pretty high. But then they only get like $500 a year increases. I'm in a different part of the country. Yes, I think my pay should increase. But teachers are leaving over working conditions, varied ones, not pay. Some people are leaving over pay, but that is usually in the south and in the western united states. Every teacher I know who is leaving is leaving due to conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to know why we have a shortage before we can even begin to fix the problem.

Is there legit data?

Blaming retirement and typical turnover isn’t a good answer; that’s something that happens each year and schools should be able to plan to increase the pipeline years in advance.

Are neighboring districts more attractive? Better pay/benefits? Better cost of living? More desirable for other reasons? Are shifting demographics and behavior issues playing a role? Poor leadership at the school? Frustrating curriculum?

I’m not a teacher, but I have a few kids in mcps (plus a fairly recent mcps grad). I’m also essentially a lifelong MoCo resident. Full disclosure: I attended private schools. My day job entails policy work and I am intimately familiar with the County’s budget woes which have been dramatically impacted by shifting demographics—primarily the affluent tax base retiring, dying, or opting for VA while our immigrant and 1st Gen population grows. MoCo doesn’t have money to boost teacher pay, and mcps simply isn’t the most desirable employer in the region the way it was 20+ years ago.

I hope the county realizes this and takes action.

Fun fact: the perception of bad schools impacts housing.

The county has plenty of money for their pet projects. I'm sure if someone did a real audit they could cut out a lot of wasteful spending and find the money for teacher pay raises and school repairs.

So, SO true. The money is there. MCPS just spends the money on useless initiatives and random other expenses that don’t directly benefit students. No oversight, despite the ginormous budget, so MCPS can spend taxpayer money any way it wants without any accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question:

Do they conduct exit surveys, and is there data indicating what teachers are leaving (read: demographics on age, race, etc.) and why they are leaving (teaching elsewhere, retirement, career change, etc.)?

Lastly, are certain schools impacted more heavily?

Hypothesis:

Since they plucked lots of teachers from UMC diverse but mostly white Sherwood for seemingly less affluent/more diverse schools, maybe it’s because teachers are leaving those schools in droves?

Anyone know if that’s a legit question or a wildly off base assumption?

I hope someone is getting data to better address the problem.

Mcps has some kind of teacher survey and sometimes schools have informal staff surveys