Leaving the suburbs for DCPS pay??
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Anonymous
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Hi,
Has anyone had a good experience leaving their teaching job in a suburban school district for DCPS? Any tips or tricks? Thanks! |
Anonymous
Caveat Emptor! |
Anonymous
I came from Maryland. It's the Wild West over here if you're used to a district that has their act together. I keep promising I won't be surprised by anything anymore and yet I still shake my head in disbelief. My overall experience has been positive and although I could easily go back, I have no desire to. Like the suburbs, things are wildly different school to school and that is probably even more so here in DC. I am at an elementary school. I would not recommend working at a middle or high school at this point given the current scandals. PROs: -Lots more money (I half jokingly call it hazard pay) -More advancement opportunity within schools than in my previous district. Can't say whether the same is true for moving up to central office though. -Relative freedom--there are units and curriculum but it's not as strict as it was in Maryland. Very little is uniformly monitored like you'll be used to. CONS: -Little valuable professional development. This is not an easy place for new teachers. -Disorganization as a district. "Reform" takes years and we are still in the early stages. Lots of initiatives and people come and go so don't get too attached. -Positions never feel as permanent as they did in the suburbs. I never heard people as worried about getting excessed as I have here every single year. Positions change wildly year to year. -Maybe not necessarily a con, but DCPS has a strong culture and language closely related to charters. I think it took 3 years before I really felt like I spoke the same language. A lot of central office are Teach for America alums so it's coming from the top down. Not bad, just different. I'm not sure where to put the IMPACT evaluation system. I came in as an experienced highly effective teacher and have easily maintained my ratings. If I were a new teacher I would worry more about my scores. Like any evaluations, your relationship with your principal will be a large factor in your score. We do get student performance and student surveys included for some teachers. Search "Impact guidebooks" and look for the closest job title you're looking for and read the criteria. I would consider DC if you are: -interested in working hard and not just an 8-3:15 job. -easy going -flexible and ok with ambiguity and change -able to go back to your old district if DCPS doesn't work out -aware of the social/racial/economic issues facing many district kids and how it impacts learning |
Anonymous
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Thanks PP, for the detailed advice. I'd definitely be teaching ECE and not anything higher than that. I've heard about how difficult DCPS is and it's many reforms. I'm used to very high quality professional development and strong union so that would take a lot of getting used to. I'm sad to hear DCPS doesn't value continuity and DCPS is an educational playground for DCPS. I'm definitely going to make sure I keep my door open to go back to the burbs if DCPS doesn't work out.
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Anonymous
Touché with the ominous Latin!! |
Anonymous
| I work with a half dozen people in FCPS who did the opposite. All were happy to give up $$ for sanity. I teach high school though. |
Anonymous
| ECE isn't without it's hard behavior problems. |
Anonymous
| Don't do it, the money is not worth it. The reforms and scandals happen every 6 months! The parents fall into two camps: crazy and poor or middle/upper and crazy. It's a rat race and politics rule every educational move instead of doing what's best for students---including the JKLM's who have to fight for basic common sense policies. |
Anonymous
| The principal is key. |
Anonymous
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If you're teaching ECE, then you won't have the same problems that cause most teachers to flee. That isn't to say that your job won't be difficult, but you don't have to worry about kids your height trying to fight you, cursing you out, and walking in and out of the room at will. You also won't have the large achievement gap to contend with. It's hard to teach Algebra 2 to a room full of kids who can't subtract double digit numbers.
At the ECE level, you'll have your own challenges, but the biggest ones will probably be the attention deficit city leadership. The money is good, but you definitely earn it. You won't feel like you lucked up by coming here. The parents are either hyper-involved or completely absent depending on where you teach. The helicopter parents are annoying and can bring you to the point of rage on occasion, but it's easier on your emotions than constantly seeing the kids who are coming in with no coats, sandals in the winter, and malnourished. At the same time, you feel like you want to be there for the latter because they have no one else. Like I said, you earn the money either way. |
Anonymous
| Yes there are crazy cursing and violent behaviors in ece too. I see it every year |
Anonymous
| I’m a teacher who teaches special ed. I’m upper elementary and it’s easier at a WOTP school but who your principal is matters. I don’t work 120 hours a week because I’m efficient and use every hour to the Max. I try to work from 8-8:45 when I don’t have meetings and use my planning wisely. That said, I have two IePs to write over this break and an inclusions eLa lesson to write, but that doesn’t take a lot of time once I get down to doing it. If you can work hard and smart and are a good teacher, then the parents tend to leave you alone IME. YMMV |
Anonymous
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Not sure how DC breaks down, but Arlington is the best place for teachers to get paid in the suburbs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-surburban-school-distrcits-measure-up/2015/11/22/04774c5a-9179-11e5-8aa0-5d0946560a97_graphic.html?utm_term=.fc5981f915c3 |
Anonymous
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As a parent who went from a DCPS Title 1, Head Start program to the suburbs, unless our Arlington teachers (who are wonderful) are hiding in the evening, they aren't working the same hours as our DCPS teaches did. Both our ECE teachers were in the building until 6-7pm most nights and were present at night and weekends at various school events, kids birthday parties, just simply around. In the summers they came to our home for the Flamboyan home visit. They would come to before school PTA meetings. Our ECE teachers were excellent, but they worked more than I do as an attorney. They made such an enormous impact on my child's life that I cannot adequately describe it or thank them enough. We all work for different reasons, and my best guess is that they work to make that difference and not for the extra money (and extra money isn't a bad thing...it's why I do what I do). Again, our Arlington teachers are great. It's just an entirely different environment.
Best of luck to you in your decision! |
Anonymous
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PP, thanks for that helpful advice. I had no idea teachers are required to make home visits, it seems like an intrusion of privacy if I don't know the family well. Also, is wonder how teachers east of the river feel about visiting certain home of children who are not well kept. What's better about Arlington vs DCPS for you?
Thank you for explaining DCPS at the ECE level. |