Reply to FCPS teacher salaries--pathetic

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Reply to "FCPS teacher salaries--pathetic"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]FCPS teachers are being paid commensurate with others in the area. Maybe, it is not enough, but that is not the problem.

We have far more teachers desiring to teach in FCPS than we have positions.[/quote]

I've seen some of those resumes.  I've interviewed some of those people.  You would cringe.  The best students ARE NOT going into teaching.  It's not some kind of plum job.

[/quote]

From a different perspective, but supporting this point, about 50 percent of my kids' teachers have been mediocre or worse.  That is a terrible stat.  I'll use DC1, who is currently in 5th grade, as an example.

On the bad side, two of DC1's teachers were no longer teaching the year after DC1 had the misfortune of having them.  By the end of the year, the parents were just happy to have the year over so their kids could move on to other teachers.   Another teacher had just had a baby and spent much of the in class time on her computer, I assumed trying to get stuff done during the day so she wouldn't have to do them in the evening.  DC mentioned that the teacher was on the computer a lot and left the kids to work by themselves.  This was lower elementary, so kids working by themselves on a regular basis while the teacher was on the computer didn't seem appropriate. DH also witnessed this multiple times while volunteering in the classroom.

On the good side, there were two outstanding teachers whom DC loved and wished would move up to the next grade.  Another one was very nice, and while the material taught in class seemed a bit repetitive of what was taught the year before, DC and I still really liked this teacher because the teacher's kindness and love of teaching were evident.  DC still talks about how nice this teacher was and that he made the kids like school.

I think FCPS should be able to have a better batting average than 50 percent.  I'm convinced the low teacher salaries have a lot to do with this.  If you are bright with lots of potential, what is the incentive to pick a career where you can barely support yourself given the cost of living in this area?  I come from the perspective that teaching should be one of the most respected professions in our society, and was lucky to have some good ones, so  I'm disappointed my kids are having a very hit or miss experience  as far as teacher quality goes.  I'd gladly pay more in taxes if that would help increase salaries and help to attract better teachers.   I feel like FCPS is on a downswing, but I'm not sure how to fix it given the growth in the number of kids, the lower tax base since the decrease in housing values, and the salary stagnation in the area due to the federal pay and hiring freezes.[/quote]

I feel bad for the good teachers that aren't given a good working environment to work in. I'd rather support a good working environment that hopefully would attract people just as much as an increase in salary.[/quote]

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