FCPS Outreach to Federal Employees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was brilliant! FCPS has thousands of open positions, now, and thousands of laid off Feds are looking for jobs, now. The 2 fields have a lot of overlap in their skills sets and compensation packages. However, any jobs with FCPS require a 100% RTO, which will likely turn off a lot of Feds.

But summers and holidays off. And if you work at a school close to home it is not a huge deal.

RTO issues are usually due to child care (now you could work the same or close hours) and holidays/summer.

Win win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was brilliant! FCPS has thousands of open positions, now, and thousands of laid off Feds are looking for jobs, now. The 2 fields have a lot of overlap in their skills sets and compensation packages. However, any jobs with FCPS require a 100% RTO, which will likely turn off a lot of Feds.

But summers and holidays off. And if you work at a school close to home it is not a huge deal.

RTO issues are usually due to child care (now you could work the same or close hours) and holidays/summer.

Win win.

No, not win-win.

A new teacher will work over 60 hours a week, minimum. You’ll be meeting with colleagues after work hours to lesson plan and you’ll be bringing grading home. A lot of it.

And you are not guaranteed a job in the school closest to you. When I first started teaching, I was assigned to one of the schools on the other end of the county from where I was living. That’s where the opening was.

And when my children are sick, my husband stays home from work. It’s easier for him than for me. He doesn’t have to write sub plans, prep for a sub, and then grade the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t realize FCPS was this desperate.

Where have you been? All DMV school systems are this desperate, and have been since 2020. Good for FCPS. Thanks for posting, OP.

They are not desperate. I am a veteran teacher and have been interviewing with all the counties recently. I've had offers from quite a few school administrators, but run into trouble with HR when I turned out to be too expensive, or wasn't willing to accept a lower pay step than where I should be based on experience and education. I think they are primarily interested in new teachers or people with no teaching experience because they are much cheaper than experienced teachers. I see this as a bad sign for the teaching profession.

I'm not even sure they want new teachers. My kid is already certified and finishing a Master's from a very well-regarded program. Has sent apps to a bunch of schools and so far got one interview and was turned down. Crickets from the others. But yes, at 64k a year with a master's, a teacher trainee who makes 50k and can be replaced in year when they quit does turn out to be a lot cheaper. No pension and 50k forever!

Has he directly emailed the principal/assistant principal/department chair in charge of the department he wants to be a part of (assuming it’s a secondary role)? If he’s only applying through the county website, he’ll probably never hear anything.

If he has, the current focus is internal transfers through March, then current employees are frozen and outside hiring will begin in earnest. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am getting ready for a wave of former Feds coming in with provisional teaching licenses and then leaving a few months in because they realize how hard teaching is - just like all these people did post-Covid. If your child has a fake teacher at the start of next school year, RUN!!

Teacher here. I am encouraged by the idea of Feds filling our empty classrooms!

But I do see your point, in one sense. We lose a lot of first-year teachers once reality hits and the challenges start to pile up. It would be up to current teachers to make sure they have the resources and the support they need as they make this transition. But this is true for all new teachers and not just Feds.

But don’t call them fake teachers. If they are willing to take this on, then they deserve every ounce of our gratitude and respect.

I'm a veteran teacher of many years, looking to move closer to a new home, so applying for teaching jobs in NoVa. I've had no difficulty with principals wanting to hire me, but a lot of trouble getting through the HR process after, as they no longer want to pay as much for previous experience. Apparently they feel they can fill their classrooms cheaper with new grads and career switchers.

I’m confused. The salary scale is public. It’s not up for any negotiation. You presumably know the salary HR will offer you, why are you continuing to apply if it’s not a number you’re happy with? There is 0 negotiation room for a traditional classroom position. (Some of the odd career based teaching roles like the aviation instructor or the auto tech roles will give years of experience for non teaching roles, but no one else gets that)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was brilliant! FCPS has thousands of open positions, now, and thousands of laid off Feds are looking for jobs, now. The 2 fields have a lot of overlap in their skills sets and compensation packages. However, any jobs with FCPS require a 100% RTO, which will likely turn off a lot of Feds.

But summers and holidays off. And if you work at a school close to home it is not a huge deal.

RTO issues are usually due to child care (now you could work the same or close hours) and holidays/summer.

Win win.

No, not win-win.

A new teacher will work over 60 hours a week, minimum. You’ll be meeting with colleagues after work hours to lesson plan and you’ll be bringing grading home. A lot of it.

And you are not guaranteed a job in the school closest to you. When I first started teaching, I was assigned to one of the schools on the other end of the county from where I was living. That’s where the opening was.

And when my children are sick, my husband stays home from work. It’s easier for him than for me. He doesn’t have to write sub plans, prep for a sub, and then grade the work.

Sounds like a central office position is what most people want

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t realize FCPS was this desperate.

Where have you been? All DMV school systems are this desperate, and have been since 2020. Good for FCPS. Thanks for posting, OP.

They are not desperate. I am a veteran teacher and have been interviewing with all the counties recently. I've had offers from quite a few school administrators, but run into trouble with HR when I turned out to be too expensive, or wasn't willing to accept a lower pay step than where I should be based on experience and education. I think they are primarily interested in new teachers or people with no teaching experience because they are much cheaper than experienced teachers. I see this as a bad sign for the teaching profession.

I'm not even sure they want new teachers. My kid is already certified and finishing a Master's from a very well-regarded program. Has sent apps to a bunch of schools and so far got one interview and was turned down. Crickets from the others. But yes, at 64k a year with a master's, a teacher trainee who makes 50k and can be replaced in year when they quit does turn out to be a lot cheaper. No pension and 50k forever!

Has he directly emailed the principal/assistant principal/department chair in charge of the department he wants to be a part of (assuming it’s a secondary role)? If he’s only applying through the county website, he’ll probably never hear anything.

If he has, the current focus is internal transfers through March, then current employees are frozen and outside hiring will begin in earnest. Hang in there.

Yes he has contacted the principal or other person in charge directly, with resume, cover letter and portfolio with glowing references. Do they automatically prioritize internal transfers until the freeze date (seniority type of thing?). I understand preferring an experienced teacher, all other things being equal, but then why even have this trainee program if there are plenty of applicants? Anyway, thanks for the info. I will let him know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am getting ready for a wave of former Feds coming in with provisional teaching licenses and then leaving a few months in because they realize how hard teaching is - just like all these people did post-Covid. If your child has a fake teacher at the start of next school year, RUN!!

Teacher here. I am encouraged by the idea of Feds filling our empty classrooms!

But I do see your point, in one sense. We lose a lot of first-year teachers once reality hits and the challenges start to pile up. It would be up to current teachers to make sure they have the resources and the support they need as they make this transition. But this is true for all new teachers and not just Feds.

But don’t call them fake teachers. If they are willing to take this on, then they deserve every ounce of our gratitude and respect.

I'm a veteran teacher of many years, looking to move closer to a new home, so applying for teaching jobs in NoVa. I've had no difficulty with principals wanting to hire me, but a lot of trouble getting through the HR process after, as they no longer want to pay as much for previous experience. Apparently they feel they can fill their classrooms cheaper with new grads and career switchers.

I’m confused. The salary scale is public. It’s not up for any negotiation. You presumably know the salary HR will offer you, why are you continuing to apply if it’s not a number you’re happy with? There is 0 negotiation room for a traditional classroom position. (Some of the odd career based teaching roles like the aviation instructor or the auto tech roles will give years of experience for non teaching roles, but no one else gets that)

I suspect PP’s talking about veteran teachers being placed on lower steps.

I applied to MCPS. The highest step they’ll place teachers on is step 8. I had 15 years of experience at the time, but they would only acknowledge 8 of these. It was a difference of over $20K.

Experienced teachers are penalized by these entrance step limits. It’s a real challenge for teachers who move, etc. Districts simply prefer to hire cheaper teachers, so experience actually works against you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t realize FCPS was this desperate.

Where have you been? All DMV school systems are this desperate, and have been since 2020. Good for FCPS. Thanks for posting, OP.

They are not desperate. I am a veteran teacher and have been interviewing with all the counties recently. I've had offers from quite a few school administrators, but run into trouble with HR when I turned out to be too expensive, or wasn't willing to accept a lower pay step than where I should be based on experience and education. I think they are primarily interested in new teachers or people with no teaching experience because they are much cheaper than experienced teachers. I see this as a bad sign for the teaching profession.

I'm not even sure they want new teachers. My kid is already certified and finishing a Master's from a very well-regarded program. Has sent apps to a bunch of schools and so far got one interview and was turned down. Crickets from the others. But yes, at 64k a year with a master's, a teacher trainee who makes 50k and can be replaced in year when they quit does turn out to be a lot cheaper. No pension and 50k forever!

Has he directly emailed the principal/assistant principal/department chair in charge of the department he wants to be a part of (assuming it’s a secondary role)? If he’s only applying through the county website, he’ll probably never hear anything.

If he has, the current focus is internal transfers through March, then current employees are frozen and outside hiring will begin in earnest. Hang in there.

Yes he has contacted the principal or other person in charge directly, with resume, cover letter and portfolio with glowing references. Do they automatically prioritize internal transfers until the freeze date (seniority type of thing?). I understand preferring an experienced teacher, all other things being equal, but then why even have this trainee program if there are plenty of applicants? Anyway, thanks for the info. I will let him know.

Oh, he's a trainee? That changes everything. They will hire "trainees" as a last ditch effort at the end of summer if they can't find people with full licensure already. It's a lot more work and much higher risk to hire someone on a provisional license. Sorry Principals go on vacation the beginning of July, and once they come back they will panic hire trainees to unfilled positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am getting ready for a wave of former Feds coming in with provisional teaching licenses and then leaving a few months in because they realize how hard teaching is - just like all these people did post-Covid. If your child has a fake teacher at the start of next school year, RUN!!

Teacher here. I am encouraged by the idea of Feds filling our empty classrooms!

But I do see your point, in one sense. We lose a lot of first-year teachers once reality hits and the challenges start to pile up. It would be up to current teachers to make sure they have the resources and the support they need as they make this transition. But this is true for all new teachers and not just Feds.

But don’t call them fake teachers. If they are willing to take this on, then they deserve every ounce of our gratitude and respect.

I'm a veteran teacher of many years, looking to move closer to a new home, so applying for teaching jobs in NoVa. I've had no difficulty with principals wanting to hire me, but a lot of trouble getting through the HR process after, as they no longer want to pay as much for previous experience. Apparently they feel they can fill their classrooms cheaper with new grads and career switchers.

I’m confused. The salary scale is public. It’s not up for any negotiation. You presumably know the salary HR will offer you, why are you continuing to apply if it’s not a number you’re happy with? There is 0 negotiation room for a traditional classroom position. (Some of the odd career based teaching roles like the aviation instructor or the auto tech roles will give years of experience for non teaching roles, but no one else gets that)

I suspect PP’s talking about veteran teachers being placed on lower steps.

I applied to MCPS. The highest step they’ll place teachers on is step 8. I had 15 years of experience at the time, but they would only acknowledge 8 of these. It was a difference of over $20K.

Experienced teachers are penalized by these entrance step limits. It’s a real challenge for teachers who move, etc. Districts simply prefer to hire cheaper teachers, so experience actually works against you.

FCPS no longer has a maximum entry step. Neither do any of the local Virginia districts AFAIK, because they all want talent. (This changed...3 years ago? After the pandemic) If you come in with 15 years of experience, you will be placed on the scale where someone who taught for FCPS the past 15 years is (currently step 11 or 12 I think due to step freezes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was brilliant! FCPS has thousands of open positions, now, and thousands of laid off Feds are looking for jobs, now. The 2 fields have a lot of overlap in their skills sets and compensation packages. However, any jobs with FCPS require a 100% RTO, which will likely turn off a lot of Feds.

But summers and holidays off. And if you work at a school close to home it is not a huge deal.

RTO issues are usually due to child care (now you could work the same or close hours) and holidays/summer.

Win win.

No, not win-win.

A new teacher will work over 60 hours a week, minimum. You’ll be meeting with colleagues after work hours to lesson plan and you’ll be bringing grading home. A lot of it.

And you are not guaranteed a job in the school closest to you. When I first started teaching, I was assigned to one of the schools on the other end of the county from where I was living. That’s where the opening was.

And when my children are sick, my husband stays home from work. It’s easier for him than for me. He doesn’t have to write sub plans, prep for a sub, and then grade the work.

Sounds like a central office position is what most people want

Just as an FYI to anyone reading, central office positions are year round positions, they do not have summers/winter break off. If you are trying to match childcare schedules, these aren't the roles to look for.