MCPS teacher shortages continue..
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Anonymous
Nope. I pulled my kid out of MCPS long ago. Thank God. |
Anonymous
DP, but why the hell are commenting on this thread? |
Anonymous
I’m a parent who has not brought in an attorney to my child’s IEP meetings but MCPS feels compelled to bring in their attorney as well as the Director of RACU (also an attorney) to IEP meetings. Meanwhile, MCPS is continuing not to provide the services as outlined in my child’s IEP. As a teacher, you may be burnt out. But you should be advocating for more services and help so student needs can be met. Explain at the IEP meeting what the lack of a para educator means for the rest of the staff that needs to do what the para educator would do. Advocate for filling the long term special education vacancies. Tell RACU that without proper staffing that meets the IEP, the school is non-compliant. Teachers are burnt out because of the lack of resources but MCPS is pocketing millions from not filling the vacancies. You are working overtime for free because there is no incentive for MCPS administrators to fill vacancies for special education positions. |
Anonymous
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At my MCPS elementary school we are only down one teaching position. However, I know one of our current teachers is on the verge of quitting and I can't see them making it to June. Our bigger issue is the lack of subs. We had days this past week with double-digit staff out and pretty much everyone was used to cover classes, lunch and recess.
We also have several non-coded students in gen. ed classes who require one-on-one adult supervision which also eats up our para hours. While these students are going through the IEP process, they currently don't have critical staffing assigned to them. Not that it matters because there's nobody to hire. I know in one of the rooms this week we did have to pull the 1:1 support and the teacher ended up getting kicked and punched throughout the day. MCPS is the wild, wild west these days. |
Anonymous
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My child’s IEP reads like a 504 plan where most of the responsibility is on the general education teacher. When I initially read it, I immediately could see that one teacher who has 30+ other students could not possibly do what the IEP said would be done. Despite our advocacy, Churchill pushed through the IEP and the teachers couldn’t implement the IEP. This was a school driven administration problem, not a teacher problem and I could understand why teachers are leaving the school to find more supportive environments for themselves and students.
At Churchill, we were also told my child could only access para educator support in specific classes. My child has to choose between the class he has the ability to take and special education services. Classes they identify as general education classes are filled with students who have 504 plans and IEPs so they are not the least restrictive environment for the students who are assigned there. |
Anonymous
Few new teachers have families. Most work several years before they have kids. If you can’t afford rent in a decent area, you probably aren’t planning a baby, but you still need a place to lay your head at night. Once people can afford a baby, they also can afford to live somewhere nicer. |
Anonymous
All of that is true -- but they cannot hire paraedcuators!!! Look on the MCPS job site. it's filled with para educator jobs. No one wants them. Maybe because they get NO BENEFITS or job security and get paid less than someone who works at McDonalds?? Do ya think? Plus the job is really hard. Why would anyone with other options take that job? There are two job openings for every worker looking in America right now. |
Anonymous
Again, the lack of pay and benefits is a MCPS administration created problem. Surely MCPS could combine para educator positions to create full-time jobs instead of multiple part time jobs. Giving staff a full time option with benefits would be more attractive for prospective candidates. However, MCPS administrators have gotten used to teachers working overtime and covering vacancies for free. They are saving millions by not filling jobs and not paying for substitutes. There are solutions to the staffing shortages, however, there’s not a strong incentive for MCPS to want to fix the problem. |
Anonymous
I have a second grader and felt the same way when I saw the IEP draft. In the meeting with the teacher, principal and SpEd teacher, I asked how this would actually work and what kind of support or PD is the classroom teacher given to implement all of the accommodations. SpED teacher assured me she would “push in” when my kid would need to work in small groups but I can’t see how this will come to fruition when there are many classes with many kids like mine. Also, how can the teacher read aloud directions for my kid and redirect while also meeting the needs of the rest of the class at the same time? |
Anonymous
I am a special ed teacher and we advocated for additional staffing due to some significant needs of students. MCPS approved extra staffing for our school. The position was posted in the summer, and still has not been filled. No one wants these jobs. |
Anonymous
This! I'm an elementary administrator and we've had para positions posted since this summer and nobody is applying. It's not an appealing job given the rate of pay and lack of benefits. Our admin and core team have been doing lunch and recess all year which is great for getting to know the kids better but also keeps us from getting into classrooms to observe and provide support to teachers. |
Anonymous
I thought so, too, but student schedules drive when and where paras are needed. IEPs sometimes state that math classes has to be in the AM. As a result, my school has all of the supported math classes before lunch. That means that we need 10 paras in the AM. We need fewer in the afternoon, usually adaptive PE. Some paras stay at our school and do other jobs like substitute or office staff. But we can’t create a full day para position for them. |
Anonymous
DP. I have a lot of sympathy for the families with special needs children, but this is unreasonable. At the end of the day, the SPED teachers are still employees of MCPS and they can not speak out against their employer in a meeting with clients (parents and families). They have to tread very carefully. The lawyer is not only to monitor the agreements and terms of the IEP or 504, but they are also there to make sure that the teacher does not promise more than the school system can provide, but also to prevent the staff from speaking out against the school system. Or to say something that could put the school system in a bad legal position. If the SPED teacher does some of the things that you advocate, they could be at risk to lose their job. Not only to lose their job, but to lose their job for cause and potentially be blackballed from teaching at a minimum within MCPS, but at higher risk of anywhere in MD. When there is a school system lawyer in the room, it is very hard for SPED teachers to talk about many of the things that you would like them to do. Just remember that while they want to advocate for your child as a student, they will only do so where the school system and current regulations allow them. |
Anonymous
Teachers don’t want admin in their classrooms. |
Anonymous
Why are you posting here when you have no clue? |