How is FCPS teacher/staff shortage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need some drastic moves recruit and retain high quality teachers. One bold move would be to go to a 4-day school week for kids. Increase T-F by 30 minutes. Kids do async work on Monday’s. Teachers plan, have pd on Monday’s. That means less time away from kids T-F. There are other models to accomplish this.

Parents will have to decide whether they want 5 days of school with a crappy, unqualified teacher in a large class or figure out childcare one day a week and get a high quality teacher in a decent sized class.

https://www.edsurge.com/amp/news/2022-06-22-can-four-day-school-weeks-keep-teachers-from-leaving

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/19/texas-schools-four-day-weeks/amp/

I’m in full support of a 4-day in-person week with Monday planning time for teachers while students use digital tools. I know for a fact this would be a huge boost for retention and the well-being of our staff

OMG. I hope this is a joke. I"m here for the kids, not the teachers.

"Digital tools" are garbage. Virtual school was a no-learning disaster and you want to cut out 20% of the school year?

Actually, it would be easy to extend the instructional time over 4 days and allow a day of planning for teachers and an additional day of rest/recreation for students. I would imagine that the mental and physical health benefits would be worth it. The way school is currently operating is not working for many people.

You think you’re “sticking it to” middle and upper middle class suburban moms with cushy full time telecommute government jobs or stay at home parents with this 4 day school week stuff. In reality, those families will make adjustments and have a lot of resentment toward teachers as a result, while kids on the margins of society won’t do their “asynchronous work” at all and will just continue to fall behind.

Let me explain the reality: We’re in a crisis right now and need to figure out how to attract teachers to work here and to retain those that are already here. A 4-day week with students could make a real difference. You’re worried about what could happen to those students on the “margins of society.” Those would be kids who typically go to Title 1 schools. Right NOW, these are the schools that literally have classrooms without teachers. This week, there are 14 schools with 6-10 teacher vacancies at elementary schools. TEN of those 14 are Title 1 schools. (Yes, there’s a list.)

So if I have the choice between 4-days of instruction for every kid with a qualified teacher that was excited to work/stay in FCPS because of the 4-day teaching schedule vs 5 days with a class staffed with a teacher whose best qualifications are that they are breathing and haven’t hurt a child, I’ll take the former. That will be better for those kids on the “margins of society” that I serve.

-Administrator in a Title 1 ES

Two teachers here, both ES. Why would we be excited about 4 days of instruction vs 5? Please explain the benefit. I’m reminded of early release Mondays. They were often filled up with meetings. The same will happen with full day on Monday and anything I might get done that day will probably have to be tweaked by mid-week.

I currently get 300 minutes a week for planning (an hour each day). 120 of those are spent in not-so-worthwhile CT meetings, after which I find I still have to plan and gather materials. Give me those 300 minutes, or at minimum 240, unencumbered so during the school day I can get done some of what I need to get done.

I’ll be curious to know how much time we will be given before the students return. Out of 6 contract days it looks like 2 are listed as TW days, one of which can be used to complete MyPDE trainings and the other is scheduled for Open House. Add in all the BOY tasks and conferences with families prior to Open House prior to BTSN and we’re already behind by the second week of September.

Conferences with families before BTSN? What school is this? THAT is not anything I’ve ever heard of, and I’ve been teaching ES for a long time in the county.

I'd like someone, particularly a principal, to actually pinpoint on a calendar times they expect those to be done. I'd be like, "Show me where I can fit them in".

[Anonymous]

Just got a staff “welcome back” FCPS all e-mail including this:

Special Education Licensure Requirement Course Starts August 15
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), in partnership with Radford University, is offering a compressed, seven-week asynchronous online course for 25 individuals. This Legal Aspects of Special Education course is free.

The course will begin August 15 and course requirements should be completed by September 30. Interested candidates should contact Dr. Darren Minarik, co-director, Virginia Inclusive Practices Center, Radford University, at [e-mail], or 540-831-7660, for additional information. A list of qualifications to apply for the course and explanation of the VDOE requirements for licensure this course fulfills is available online.

So they are trying to pull other employees into being emergency sped teachers but letting them start with absolutely 0 training. Oof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need some drastic moves recruit and retain high quality teachers. One bold move would be to go to a 4-day school week for kids. Increase T-F by 30 minutes. Kids do async work on Monday’s. Teachers plan, have pd on Monday’s. That means less time away from kids T-F. There are other models to accomplish this.

Parents will have to decide whether they want 5 days of school with a crappy, unqualified teacher in a large class or figure out childcare one day a week and get a high quality teacher in a decent sized class.

https://www.edsurge.com/amp/news/2022-06-22-can-four-day-school-weeks-keep-teachers-from-leaving

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/19/texas-schools-four-day-weeks/amp/

I’m in full support of a 4-day in-person week with Monday planning time for teachers while students use digital tools. I know for a fact this would be a huge boost for retention and the well-being of our staff

OMG. I hope this is a joke. I"m here for the kids, not the teachers.

"Digital tools" are garbage. Virtual school was a no-learning disaster and you want to cut out 20% of the school year?

Actually, it would be easy to extend the instructional time over 4 days and allow a day of planning for teachers and an additional day of rest/recreation for students. I would imagine that the mental and physical health benefits would be worth it. The way school is currently operating is not working for many people.

You think you’re “sticking it to” middle and upper middle class suburban moms with cushy full time telecommute government jobs or stay at home parents with this 4 day school week stuff. In reality, those families will make adjustments and have a lot of resentment toward teachers as a result, while kids on the margins of society won’t do their “asynchronous work” at all and will just continue to fall behind.

Let me explain the reality: We’re in a crisis right now and need to figure out how to attract teachers to work here and to retain those that are already here. A 4-day week with students could make a real difference. You’re worried about what could happen to those students on the “margins of society.” Those would be kids who typically go to Title 1 schools. Right NOW, these are the schools that literally have classrooms without teachers. This week, there are 14 schools with 6-10 teacher vacancies at elementary schools. TEN of those 14 are Title 1 schools. (Yes, there’s a list.)

So if I have the choice between 4-days of instruction for every kid with a qualified teacher that was excited to work/stay in FCPS because of the 4-day teaching schedule vs 5 days with a class staffed with a teacher whose best qualifications are that they are breathing and haven’t hurt a child, I’ll take the former. That will be better for those kids on the “margins of society” that I serve.

-Administrator in a Title 1 ES

Two teachers here, both ES. Why would we be excited about 4 days of instruction vs 5? Please explain the benefit. I’m reminded of early release Mondays. They were often filled up with meetings. The same will happen with full day on Monday and anything I might get done that day will probably have to be tweaked by mid-week.

I currently get 300 minutes a week for planning (an hour each day). 120 of those are spent in not-so-worthwhile CT meetings, after which I find I still have to plan and gather materials. Give me those 300 minutes, or at minimum 240, unencumbered so during the school day I can get done some of what I need to get done.

I’ll be curious to know how much time we will be given before the students return. Out of 6 contract days it looks like 2 are listed as TW days, one of which can be used to complete MyPDE trainings and the other is scheduled for Open House. Add in all the BOY tasks and conferences with families prior to Open House prior to BTSN and we’re already behind by the second week of September.

Conferences with families before BTSN? What school is this? THAT is not anything I’ve ever heard of, and I’ve been teaching ES for a long time in the county.

I'd like someone, particularly a principal, to actually pinpoint on a calendar times they expect those to be done. I'd be like, "Show me where I can fit them in".

Agree! Not only does it take time to do the actual conference, but there’s also the time it takes to schedule them. That would be a nightmare. We do a Welcome Walk at our school before school starts. It’s a tradition that I love. Our principal buys us dinner and adjusts the time we have to be at school that day and on Friday. If we’re done setting up after the open house on Friday morning, we can leave. There’s no way I could have time to set up and get conferences done.

[Anonymous]

As a parent, it makes more sense to do conferences more into the school year, so there is student progress and performance to discuss. What is there to be said before the year starts? Please don't stick them on the laptops all year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got a staff “welcome back” FCPS all e-mail including this:

Special Education Licensure Requirement Course Starts August 15
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), in partnership with Radford University, is offering a compressed, seven-week asynchronous online course for 25 individuals. This Legal Aspects of Special Education course is free.

The course will begin August 15 and course requirements should be completed by September 30. Interested candidates should contact Dr. Darren Minarik, co-director, Virginia Inclusive Practices Center, Radford University, at [e-mail], or 540-831-7660, for additional information. A list of qualifications to apply for the course and explanation of the VDOE requirements for licensure this course fulfills is available online.

So they are trying to pull other employees into being emergency sped teachers but letting them start with absolutely 0 training. Oof.

They’re also begging Sped IAs to apply for Sped teaching jobs. $53,000 per year to lead a class at a CSS site or head up a Cat B classroom. Those IAs are also criminally underpaid but at least they aren’t putting in 60-70 hour weeks.

[Anonymous]

CSS classroom teachers should be paid double the pay of a regular teacher. They have multiple grades per class and every kid is at a different level. Plus managing all the behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CSS classroom teachers should be paid double the pay of a regular teacher. They have multiple grades per class and every kid is at a different level. Plus managing all the behaviors.

Agree and that’s the main reason those jobs don’t get filled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got a staff “welcome back” FCPS all e-mail including this:

Special Education Licensure Requirement Course Starts August 15
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), in partnership with Radford University, is offering a compressed, seven-week asynchronous online course for 25 individuals. This Legal Aspects of Special Education course is free.

The course will begin August 15 and course requirements should be completed by September 30. Interested candidates should contact Dr. Darren Minarik, co-director, Virginia Inclusive Practices Center, Radford University, at [e-mail], or 540-831-7660, for additional information. A list of qualifications to apply for the course and explanation of the VDOE requirements for licensure this course fulfills is available online.

So they are trying to pull other employees into being emergency sped teachers but letting them start with absolutely 0 training. Oof.

That is not good a good sign. They are desperate for SPED teachers this year.

[Anonymous]

A third of our 20+ department left over the last year. Only one of those was a SPED teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that high school teachers get a bonus if they have more than 150 students?

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that high school teachers get a bonus if they have more than 150 students?

No

If they give up one of their planning blocks to teach another class, then they get extra pay. That's been around since the beginning of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers want a 4 day workweek?! They already have summer off, winter break, spring break and tons of holidays. Most people work all week and all year. And they want students to have online learning one day a week?!

We need to get teachers from other countries like some districts have done. They are willing to work.

Teacher here. I don’t want a 4 day work week.

I want the following:

1) A salary that I can afford to live in this area.
2) Class Sizes not to exceed 24 kids.
3) Get rid of mandated CLTS and let the team and individual teachers plan how they want without being micromanaged.
4) Less useless professional development. We need more individual choice.
5) Better maternity leave policies
6) Better ESOL/Sped support in ES
7) Actual consequences for kids who misbehave
8) Parent follow through

Most teachers want reasonable things.

I want those things too. If i can’t have them, I will take the 4 day work week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that high school teachers get a bonus if they have more than 150 students?

No

If they give up one of their planning blocks to teach another class, then they get extra pay. That's been around since the beginning of time.

Right. I teach 5 classes. I always have more than 150 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, it makes more sense to do conferences more into the school year, so there is student progress and performance to discuss. What is there to be said before the year starts? Please don't stick them on the laptops all year?

Not if it’s HS/ MS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If was 4 day a week and you could plan from home that would be great.

How would you plan from home when you need the photocopy machine?

LOL. I use my own printer most of the time anyway.