demoralized in MCPS

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05/08/2019 22:44

Subject: demoralized in MCPS

Anonymous

I work in MCPS and there has been a rapid increase of serious behavior problems in my school. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the code of conduct and my principal's boss also says their hands are tied. We have one counselor for over 600 students, and school resources are tied up in putting out fires all day every day, so the people in those positions are unable to do their actual jobs. Once students on the cusp see that the students with serious behavior problems don't face any consequences, then they emulate what they see. You can imagine this does not make for a safe and effective learning environment. The rights of these students take priority over the other students' rights to learn and also for the students and staff to feel safe in their school. Yes, many of these students have FBAs and BIPs, but these behaviors have not been solved by implementing these plans. Parents refuse to be involved in many cases.

A few days ago we got our MCEA rep to come in and listen to our concerns. The rep listened for a bit and told us that what's happening in our school is not unique and it's going on throughout the county. There's nothing in the contract that states anything regarding staff's right to a safe working environment. He also told us that there's nothing MCPS central office will do about it and we just have to handle it at the school level. When we asked why there is nothing central office will do we were told that positions in central office were cut and there's not enough money to fund extra personnel to help support at the school level. We just have to "think outside the box" to figure out how to handle these mental health issues with the resources we have. Somehow we need to suddenly become mental health professionals overnight.

MCPS doesn't care that our schools are imploding. They don't care that there are physical fights frequently in elementary schools or that classroom property is being destroyed by students in fits of anger on a daily basis. All they care about is what looks good on paper regarding closing the achievement gap. There's a reason why people fought viciously to keep their jobs in central office when cuts were being made--they knew what they would be in for if they had to go back to working in a school.

I guess I've always know that central office doesn't really care about what actually goes on in schools as long as we are all good little puppets and follow their initiatives that were developed by people who haven't actually been in classrooms in years, and collect the data for them to be able to judge us by, but to hear it in such blunt terms is really demoralizing. MCPS doesn't care about what is truly going on in our buildings. They don't care about what is happening to your children. The staff does care about what is happening to your children, but don't have the manpower or tools to be able to handle these severe cases.

If you're wondering why there's so much teacher turnover--this is a big reason why. Teachers are not supported and we are expected to diffuse students in crisis with 20 something other students in the room for whom we're also responsible at the exact same time the student is in crisis with no one available to come help support. And MCPS had the grand idea to cut paraeducator hours as well, so there will be even less support in classrooms next year.

We know that although it doesn't feel like it, central office really only listens to parents when they have complaints. They don't listen to teachers and school staff at all. If you have a child who is affected by a situation like this, please document your concern with the principal and go above the principal if it continues. Continue up the food chain if it continues after that. Request more support for your child's school. Lobby for a revamp of the code of conduct. Document incidents where your child has been harassed, threatened, cursed at or physically hurt. Fill out a bullying form if the incidents meet the definition of bullying. Keep copies for your records.

This is something I'd want to know as a parent who may not be familiar with how things really work in MCPS, which is why I'm sharing. Please also keep this in mind when it's time to vote for new leadership.