ACPS now closed for the entire thanksgiving week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy it - you don't have sick leave or family days?

Have you ever had a job? It is not required in most jobs that paid leave is approved. You request it ahead of time and based on the needs of the organization it could be denied for the specific days you asked for. This does not mean you don’t have paid leave. It means you can’t take it whenever you feel like it at all times.

And yes of course you can just be a jerk and call out sick when you’re not really sick. But most people are ethical and feel some sort of an obligation not do to that.

Ethics are one thing. If you buy plane tickets and have non refundable reservations and are flying out on a day they later don’t approve for personal leave as they always did , you’re gonna call out. This is a staffing issue that will not improve in future years. Public education cannot withstand the assault its under and this is your first sign.

+1 Alexandria has actually been much better situated than any of the other school systems around us. I haven't seen any data but anecdotally we have had better retention than other contiguous districts from last year to this year, and that directly benefits students in Alexandria schools.

I did not see the email until I was walking out the door of the building. As I walked down the hallway and spoke to my colleagues, four of them told me that this gave them a reason to not quit at the break...and I believe them.

It has been an unbelievably stressful year. We all feel pushed to the breaking point. The lack of subs means that none of us have had a regular classroom, without extra kids split up from an absent teacher's classroom, in over a month. The general feeling is that this is a sign that what we're doing is valued even if we aren't being treated respectfully by parents. It means a lot.

Are teachers calling out sick repeatedly? I don’t understand why in a profession with so many built in days off there is so much leave taken.

Because we have kids who get sick? Because we ourselves get sick? Because we have doctors appointments and dental appointments? You don't understand why we would need to be out for those things?

People also forget that we aren't allowed to take just an hour of leave at the end of the day to run to the doctor's appointment or to come in 30 minutes after the first bell because we were able to get an early appointment. We are required to take a half-day or a full-day of leave. The inflexibility of the system adds to the problem.

This is absolutely part of the problem. I have had to take half-days several times because of appointments that just cut things a bit too close. I think if they could relax some subbing rules and allow people to work for an hour after arrival or the hour prior to dismissal there would be plenty of parents willing to pitch in while making $20

[Anonymous]

I think if they could relax some subbing rules and allow people to work for an hour after arrival or the hour prior to dismissal there would be plenty of parents willing to pitch in while making $20

Yes, they need to relax the subbing rules. I have a TS clearance, and am a vetted ACPS volunteer. Yet, they would not allow me to volunteer to help supervise my 7th grade son's gym class (which has had no teacher all year) so that the kids could either jog on the track or play soccer outside.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean, treated respectfully? Are you viewing people's distress over a last minute decision to provide additional days off, with no childcare provisions or assistance, as disrespect to you? If so, why? Do you feel that respect necessarily encompasses additional days off, with no coverage, and people being happy about how that lack of coverage impacts them? Or is there a separate lack of respect that you are referencing?


Your response is a good example. Your "distress" about the two days is nothing over which I have any control and I don't understand why you are attacking me about it. By "treated respectfully" I mean that tone and word choice matter. When you speak with, Zoom with, text with or email your child's teacher, tone and word choice matter.

Yes, asking questions is very rude, I can see how you feel highly offended. Hopefully none of your students are ever so audacious.

[Anonymous]

Our family supports it. Three weeks seems to be ample notice. After all, LCPS got only a week notice when their system did the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What do you mean, treated respectfully? Are you viewing people's distress over a last minute decision to provide additional days off, with no childcare provisions or assistance, as disrespect to you? If so, why? Do you feel that respect necessarily encompasses additional days off, with no coverage, and people being happy about how that lack of coverage impacts them? Or is there a separate lack of respect that you are referencing?


Your response is a good example. Your "distress" about the two days is nothing over which I have any control and I don't understand why you are attacking me about it. By "treated respectfully" I mean that tone and word choice matter. When you speak with, Zoom with, text with or email your child's teacher, tone and word choice matter.

Yes, asking questions is very rude, I can see how you feel highly offended. Hopefully none of your students are ever so audacious.

You have got to be a kid posting. No parent could be so immature...riiiiiiiight??? God, I hope so. (DP)

[Anonymous]

What do you mean, treated respectfully? Are you viewing people's distress over a last minute decision to provide additional days off, with no childcare provisions or assistance, as disrespect to you? If so, why? Do you feel that respect necessarily encompasses additional days off, with no coverage, and people being happy about how that lack of coverage impacts them? Or is there a separate lack of respect that you are referencing?


Your response is a good example. Your "distress" about the two days is nothing over which I have any control and I don't understand why you are attacking me about it. By "treated respectfully" I mean that tone and word choice matter. When you speak with, Zoom with, text with or email your child's teacher, tone and word choice matter.

Are you one of my son's three ACPS teachers that never responds to my calls or emails about why you are not implementing his IEP, perhaps? If so, that could be the reason that the tone is escalating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reason number 634,262,825,962 to put your kids in private or religious schools.

Ha! Most of them already take lots of time off, and have a shorter calendar period, so no, that's not the reason to go private.

I'm curious... how many days in the school year at a private or religious school? 180 days like public school? Or do the kids go more days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reason number 634,262,825,962 to put your kids in private or religious schools.

Ha! Most of them already take lots of time off, and have a shorter calendar period, so no, that's not the reason to go private.

I'm curious... how many days in the school year at a private or religious school? 180 days like public school? Or do the kids go more days?

In general private and religious schools have a lot fewer school days. I teach public school and our children go to private schools in the District. I would say our children in elementary school have 15-20 fewer school days than what I teach in public, and they have a lot more half or partial days. High school may be even more, especially for seniors. The saying is "you pay, you play" about privates.

[Anonymous]

For those suggesting it’s a sub issue, the communication from ACPS had no indication of that. It’s basically extra time off to give teachers a break. I have mixed feelings about it. I know teachers deserve a break, but this really is hard on families and kids who need the routines that are finally been reestablished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers have children who get sick and they also get sick themselves. When I was young and single, I'd take tylenol sinus and power through the day, but now I have two kids who get sick all the times and it's COVID - if you are sick - you need to stay home.

+1,000,000
THat symptom checker-we fill out means I have missed work more. Before when my personal kids are out sick and I have a sore throat, I would go to school. Now, I fail the symptom checker and don’t go in. I have to wait for my personal kids to get a covid test just like you do before they can go back to school and we have been sick ALOT. Also, I have just realized how much over the last 15+ years of teaching, I go to work sick so the kids can learn. I can’t do that this year. Super frustrating, but also I guess necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably. I really don't think it's a "decompress" issue as much as it's a "can't find subs because we're paying shit wages" issue, though.

Right I agree. I really think they just need to tell teachers they can't take off though. I mean it is that way in any public facing job. You need coverage. I dont blame teachers for asking, I blame admit for granting. They need to be better/stronger managers.

Then they’ll just call out sick, which yes, they are allowed to do if they have sick days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But if they don’t take off, how can teachers scream at us that school isn’t daycare?!?

I’m in loudoun county and it was SO HARD to find care for the next 6 days (they’re off today and all next week). Our final plan is that Dh and I will take turns calling out sick from work. We couldn’t get off with only 2 weeks notice.

You mean "remind you that school isn't daycare"?

I think they know some of you will never get it.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers wouldn't be so burnt out if you parents had actually tried to teach your kids last year. Instead, you bished, moaned, and complained while dragging your kids on all kinds of errands and vacations. Now that they are in school and testing a year or more behind what do we get? More whining and grumbling that teachers need a break.

My best friend left teaching this year after 13 years and is now making $2,000 more per year doing a low stress office admin job.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a teacher but I think teachers esp in the NOVA ACPS community and APS have it good. You signed up for a teaching job - the profession is about working with kids - whether the kids/families are easy or hard to teach - your job is to teach them. You do the best you can just like in any other job, people do as well. You get every summer off. 2 weeks over holidays. Spring Break - check. Every federal holiday off. You get teacher appreciation days. You get many times, gifts from families that really appreciate what you do. There are a lot of jobs that pay the same or lower where you do not. get. days. off. You do not. get. appreciation. at. all. You do not get the satisfaction of what you signed up to do and that is to know you were impacting the life of a kid. Whether you feel personally it's a career you want to stick with or not, to complain that teachers have it oh so bad to me is a joke. Do your job and stop complaining. I know a lot of people who are in worse career professions who would get blasted if they complain and whine as much as any NOVA teacher on this forum did.

If it’s such an “easy job,” feel free to sign up, jump in there and show them how it’s done. Oh, and enjoy your pay cut!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What do you mean, treated respectfully? Are you viewing people's distress over a last minute decision to provide additional days off, with no childcare provisions or assistance, as disrespect to you? If so, why? Do you feel that respect necessarily encompasses additional days off, with no coverage, and people being happy about how that lack of coverage impacts them? Or is there a separate lack of respect that you are referencing?


Your response is a good example. Your "distress" about the two days is nothing over which I have any control and I don't understand why you are attacking me about it. By "treated respectfully" I mean that tone and word choice matter. When you speak with, Zoom with, text with or email your child's teacher, tone and word choice matter.

Are you one of my son's three ACPS teachers that never responds to my calls or emails about why you are not implementing his IEP, perhaps? If so, that could be the reason that the tone is escalating.

You are lashing out at the wrong person. Why haven't you contacting the principal or your child's case manager? I certainly would have. Instead of doing something productive, though, you're here being a keyboard warrior trying to impress the rest of us that you can beat this teacher into submission.

Sign me as a parent who is not impressed. Although I do respect that you indubitably proved the teacher's point. So there is that.