New High School Teacher Contract Times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have been told by their admin that this new set contract time is because of the collective bargaining agreement worked out by the combined unions. (FEU)

Teachers are told “you can come in as early as you care to but you must stay until the contract end time” - at many HS 3:30.

Students are told they must not come in before 7:45. No exceptions. And then when the weapon detectors are in place, go through them.

Teachers are frustrated and very unhappy.

Unions keep saying that they got the teachers a 6% raise -so hooray! But many ask at what expense?

Admin keeps saying that, but nowhere in the CBA does it say we need to come in at 8:00. This is admin discretion and are forcing teachers to do more.

The CBA doesn’t have to state that you have to come in at 8am. That’s well within the bounds of the administrators’ discretion as the leaders of the school. They set the workday hours for their school. No admin is forcing you to do more. Was your workday expanded beyond the 7.5 hours?

The CBA says that teachers have to be allotted a specific number of planning hours within the 7.5 hour workday across the week. Once the administrator assures that is in place, the administrator can absolutely determine what duties the teacher has to do whether it’s hall duty or the cafeteria or wherever inside that 7.5 hour day. And the administrators can absolutely set the work start/end time. It’s about the operations of the school.

If teachers don’t like it, they’re welcome to speak with their collective bargaining representatives. This is what they voted for.

I feel there’s a fascinating transition that takes place when one becomes an administrator. They immediately forget the challenges of being a teacher.

And so have the dynamic we have, with more restrictions and more obligations placed on teaching staff every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have been told by their admin that this new set contract time is because of the collective bargaining agreement worked out by the combined unions. (FEU)

Teachers are told “you can come in as early as you care to but you must stay until the contract end time” - at many HS 3:30.

Students are told they must not come in before 7:45. No exceptions. And then when the weapon detectors are in place, go through them.

Teachers are frustrated and very unhappy.

Unions keep saying that they got the teachers a 6% raise -so hooray! But many ask at what expense?

Admin keeps saying that, but nowhere in the CBA does it say we need to come in at 8:00. This is admin discretion and are forcing teachers to do more.

The CBA doesn’t have to state that you have to come in at 8am. That’s well within the bounds of the administrators’ discretion as the leaders of the school. They set the workday hours for their school. No admin is forcing you to do more. Was your workday expanded beyond the 7.5 hours?

The CBA says that teachers have to be allotted a specific number of planning hours within the 7.5 hour workday across the week. Once the administrator assures that is in place, the administrator can absolutely determine what duties the teacher has to do whether it’s hall duty or the cafeteria or wherever inside that 7.5 hour day. And the administrators can absolutely set the work start/end time. It’s about the operations of the school.

If teachers don’t like it, they’re welcome to speak with their collective bargaining representatives. This is what they voted for.

You just argued my point. The CBA has nothing to do with this, this was all admin discretion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they could choose to come in earlier like a responsible professional.

I'm sure most will. But you can't force people to work before contract and lots of teachers are going to show up at 8.

I guess You probably can’t force a teacher to grade papers or plan lessons after 330 PM either, but I think they would if they wanted to do well at their job.
Most salaried jobs have contract times, but you do what you need to do to get the job done. It’s called being a professional.

Frankly, I’m tired of giving 60 or 65 hours a week to my job.

There are threads all over DCUM with people from other professions saying they refuse to work outside hours. They won’t read emails after 5. They won’t attend a meeting scheduled at 8am. They expect to be adequately compensated for their time and they demand work/life balance.

But teachers? If they don’t give every waking moment to their job, they aren’t professional.

The call for martyrs is wearing thin.

Don't read emails after school. That is your time. We need teachers that are heathy and happy. Teachers are allowed and should have boundaries. And the crazy Karens will still be Karens even when you go above and beyond. So take care of you and save your energy for the classroom. Hope you have a good year!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

[Anonymous]

Do teachers in HS ever stay after school for study sessions and such or is that only in MS? Is that just done on teacher’s own time and not required if they do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

[Anonymous]

The petty administrator should be reported to the region superintendent and to the superintendent. There is no room in our profession for a tyrant, who tries to bolster their own self-esteem by being a small minded bean counter! This type of an administrator probably was an awful teacher to begin with and couldn’t wait to get out of the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

That's demeaning-I understand your husband's position on this. It's controlling and does not make humans feel valued or trusted. IT's not how you treat staff and the sad part is the students lose out when teachers/staff are worn down by behaviors like these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

It's happening at smaller schools too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have been told by their admin that this new set contract time is because of the collective bargaining agreement worked out by the combined unions. (FEU)

Teachers are told “you can come in as early as you care to but you must stay until the contract end time” - at many HS 3:30.

Students are told they must not come in before 7:45. No exceptions. And then when the weapon detectors are in place, go through them.

Teachers are frustrated and very unhappy.

Unions keep saying that they got the teachers a 6% raise -so hooray! But many ask at what expense?

Admin keeps saying that, but nowhere in the CBA does it say we need to come in at 8:00. This is admin discretion and are forcing teachers to do more.

The CBA doesn’t have to state that you have to come in at 8am. That’s well within the bounds of the administrators’ discretion as the leaders of the school. They set the workday hours for their school. No admin is forcing you to do more. Was your workday expanded beyond the 7.5 hours?

The CBA says that teachers have to be allotted a specific number of planning hours within the 7.5 hour workday across the week. Once the administrator assures that is in place, the administrator can absolutely determine what duties the teacher has to do whether it’s hall duty or the cafeteria or wherever inside that 7.5 hour day. And the administrators can absolutely set the work start/end time. It’s about the operations of the school.

If teachers don’t like it, they’re welcome to speak with their collective bargaining representatives. This is what they voted for.

You just argued my point. The CBA has nothing to do with this, this was all admin discretion.

The response was to a poster saying that that “nowhere in the CBA does it say that we have to come in by 8:00am” Principals have had the discretion to set the work day hours since forever. This didn’t start with the CBA. I still don’t understand why anyone is complaining as long as the workday ends 7.5 hours from the start time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they could choose to come in earlier like a responsible professional.

I'm sure most will. But you can't force people to work before contract and lots of teachers are going to show up at 8.

I guess You probably can’t force a teacher to grade papers or plan lessons after 330 PM either, but I think they would if they wanted to do well at their job.
Most salaried jobs have contract times, but you do what you need to do to get the job done. It’s called being a professional.

Frankly, I’m tired of giving 60 or 65 hours a week to my job.

There are threads all over DCUM with people from other professions saying they refuse to work outside hours. They won’t read emails after 5. They won’t attend a meeting scheduled at 8am. They expect to be adequately compensated for their time and they demand work/life balance.

But teachers? If they don’t give every waking moment to their job, they aren’t professional.

The call for martyrs is wearing thin.

Don't read emails after school. That is your time. We need teachers that are heathy and happy. Teachers are allowed and should have boundaries. And the crazy Karens will still be Karens even when you go above and beyond. So take care of you and save your energy for the classroom. Hope you have a good year!!

Agree. My principal made it very clear that we are NOT to answer emails at night or on the weekends. If we do, we’re telling parents that they should expect to have access to us all the time, and she doesn’t want that. She said that we do need to respond by the end of the next business day, even if it’s just to say that we got their email and will follow up soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

It's happening at smaller schools too.

I was an elementary teacher. When I was teaching first grade, there was another teacher who would oversleep. (Honestly, she was a great teacher, but she had trouble with the alarm clock, I guess.) There were a couple of times that she was not there --and the asst principal had to call her. It's not good when teachers are not there when the kids arrive. There is good reason for checking in.
It does seem to me that today, you should be able to check in that you are present electronically. I would hope that the honor system would be enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

It's happening at smaller schools too.

I was an elementary teacher. When I was teaching first grade, there was another teacher who would oversleep. (Honestly, she was a great teacher, but she had trouble with the alarm clock, I guess.) There were a couple of times that she was not there --and the asst principal had to call her. It's not good when teachers are not there when the kids arrive. There is good reason for checking in.
It does seem to me that today, you should be able to check in that you are present electronically. I would hope that the honor system would be enough.

Then you deal with the staff that is a problem-when you do it for everyone you create an environment of distrust-where teachers and staff no longer put in extra energy or effort-because their supervisor has already discounted them. FCPS often overlooks the fact that they are dealing with humans. Eventually humans stop caring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

It's happening at smaller schools too.

I was an elementary teacher. When I was teaching first grade, there was another teacher who would oversleep. (Honestly, she was a great teacher, but she had trouble with the alarm clock, I guess.) There were a couple of times that she was not there --and the asst principal had to call her. It's not good when teachers are not there when the kids arrive. There is good reason for checking in.
It does seem to me that today, you should be able to check in that you are present electronically. I would hope that the honor system would be enough.

Then you deal with the staff that is a problem-when you do it for everyone you create an environment of distrust-where teachers and staff no longer put in extra energy or effort-because their supervisor has already discounted them. FCPS often overlooks the fact that they are dealing with humans. Eventually humans stop caring.

So, you have kids without a teacher? That's a safety issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So treat us and pay us like professionals. I bet you don’t have to sign in every day.

This is ridiculous...professional adults being treated like children. No one should be surprised why FCPS can't keep people. Do Gatehouse employees sign in?

The signing in has to do with at large schools they need to know who isn’t there before the bell rings so someone can go cover a classroom without a teacher. The issue is that so many administrators become tyrants.

My husband is a morning person and likes getting to school early in the morning. He was often the first teacher to arrive. He gets busy grading and helping students with math homework before school and then would realize it is 7:50. So he goes to the office to sign in and a petty administrator would berate him and try to mark him as late even though he arrived at school before 7 am. He was getting there before the sign in books were even put out so he couldnt sign in when he got there.

Over the course of his 25 years of teaching he no longer has any patience for administrators. He is over having to argue he shouldn’t be marked late or told he is no longer allowed to come so early in the morning even though he has found more students like getting math help early in the morning after going home and trying to do homework and not understanding how to do it. Or doing test reviews the morning before a test.

So he started last year no longer going in early after a new especially petty administrator started at his school. So he signs in and a couple minutes before being required and doesn’t open his classroom door in the morning until the bell rings. Then leaves the minute the contract says he can.

It's happening at smaller schools too.

I was an elementary teacher. When I was teaching first grade, there was another teacher who would oversleep. (Honestly, she was a great teacher, but she had trouble with the alarm clock, I guess.) There were a couple of times that she was not there --and the asst principal had to call her. It's not good when teachers are not there when the kids arrive. There is good reason for checking in.
It does seem to me that today, you should be able to check in that you are present electronically. I would hope that the honor system would be enough.

Then you deal with the staff that is a problem-when you do it for everyone you create an environment of distrust-where teachers and staff no longer put in extra energy or effort-because their supervisor has already discounted them. FCPS often overlooks the fact that they are dealing with humans. Eventually humans stop caring.

So, you have kids without a teacher? That's a safety issue.

That’s not what PP is saying. Stop with the sign-in sheets for EVERYONE. If there’s a teacher that is late, then admin needs to deal with that directly. That chronically late teacher should be required to sign in for a period of time. But not everyone else. It’s the same with lesson plans. If you’re planned and ready to go, you shouldn’t have to turn in lesson plans. But if your instruction shows that you’re just winging it and making up lessons as you go, then you should have to turn them in.