Reply to MCPS faces Teacher shortage next year

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Signing bonuses, competitive pay, and generous benefits is how employers fill positions. Do more than your competitors, then you will get the better candidates.

Particularly for hard to fill positions including Special Education jobs, MCPS advertise low wages and no benefit or signing bonuses. This results in positions going unfilled while candidates choose other school districts or private employment opportunities.[/quote]
Valuing your personnel goes a long way, and it’s not happening most places. Not just In MCPS.[/quote]

It's not even MCPS. It's the parents of this community and the complete lack of respect teachers get in general. People are sick and tired of being treated this way. You're so privileged bc you have SuMmEr OfF, sToP wHiNiNg....It's disgusting. People who disparaged teachers for two years are running for BOE. No one wants to put up with these types of people anymore. [/quote]

That must be why over 800 teachers quit this year - because the current BOE supports teachers and respects them a lot?

You just buried yourself honey.[/quote]

Ew. Who says “honey” in the year 2022? You just dated yourself. Teachers quit because of parents. [b]You didn’t even make a point for “burying”… you’re really bad at this[/b]. Must be someone vying for the “slate” of imbeciles. [/quote]

Since you didn't get it the first time, let's spell it out so it's simple enough that even someone who works in the MCPS CO or is a member of the current MC BOE could understand the point.

Last year over 500 teachers quit and not all of those positions were filled by the beginning of the 21-22 school year.  The DCUMS posters last year blamed everything on covid.  Most parents bought it, and even though MCPS never filled all the positions, MCPS managed to barely make it to the end of the school year.

This year MCPS doesn't have the covid excuse anymore because rocket scientists like McKnight said everything was fine and the schools had to remain open in-person.  MCPS CO can't blame staff shortages on covid because they were so stupidly stubborn, even though 2100 faculty / staff and over 9% of the student body got sick, causing all sorts of disruptions in January to the point someone begged for National Guard troops to drive kids into school and they had to shut down 21 schools for two weeks each anyway and messed up so badly MCPS kept changing the covid dashboard reporting and metrics to hide how bad it was, imho.  I think either way the MCPS Central Office and MC BOE looked like fools.

Right now I believe there are over 800 anticipated teacher vacancies MCPS will need to fill by August.   Since last year MCPS couldn't fill all 500 positions, what makes anyone think they can realistically fill 800 positions with top-notch teachers this year?  Both McKnight and the BOE knew it was an issue, at least according to the published articles where they were interviewed about it, and it was also supposedly the reason why McKnight flew to her alma mater to recruit alumni (while picking up two personal awards while she was there).  It might be possible MCPS hires 800 people with a pulse, but we all know there is no way MCPS will find 800 quality, certified teachers by August.   Since nothing is ever the fault of the MC BOE or MCPS CO (cough), come August when all of this blows up, I think the MCPS CO will need new scapegoats to blame?

I don't think MCPS can blame covid or a lack of funding.  McKnight already requested oodles of covid money for spec ed and teacher incentives (at least that's what the ESSER III funding says - now, is the money really going to spec ed and teachers?  who knows).   I think last year there was also a property tax increase (with a good chunk for education) that kicked in?  There was also the $160M for electric buses, $2M for discrimination training, $2M for Kid Museum. $1M for bocce ball, etc. so if MCPS could pay a million here and there for goodie bags, I don't see a credible way the MCPS CO can claim a "lack of funding" is the issue (unless they're total idiots and admit incompetent budgeting / fiscal planning?  If you've got the money for cake, there better be bread on the table).

The posters on this thread are testing the waters claiming "entitled parents" are bullying them so badly that they are driven to quit, yet there are never any specific schools or incidents mentioned.  I'm sure there may have been an instance or two that are valid, but I think it pales in comparison to how the MC BOE and MCPS CO treated teachers like cattle this year, imho.  I would believe that the BOE or CO are getting an earful from parents, but line teachers?  Maybe a safety issue at the Title I / Red Zone schools (ex. no SRO's)?  I'd want to see stats from exit interviews or maybe request the Maryland IG investigate any claims like that to determine the real root cause (and hope that's exactly what the new board does when these incumbents are replaced this Fall)?

Is that better at making the point?  Are you happy now?[/quote]

Not really. People like you are the actual problem.[/quote]

How can you say people like this pp are the problem? What is the problem with wanting exit interviews to look at why teachers are quitting? And what is the problem with inquiring about the millions of dollars MCPS has received in COVID relief funds from the state when we are unable to retain teachers? Or have enough teachers and support staff available so our students are able to learn, feel valued and enjoy school? Many teachers may not be leaving the system this year but are at the point of wanting to quit. While I have not experienced the craziness of interacting with super demanding and entitled parents at my school, I have friends teaching at other schools who have absolutely dealt with this issue. When you give 100% and spend all your energy on your job / students to the point that it is takes away from your ability to give to your own children, and you constantly hear parents complaining that it’s still not enough, you can imagine the resulting impact on morale (again, not my personal experience, but I have heard this issue come up frequently with other teachers). I work at a Title I school and the amount of severe behavior issues we have seen has increased every year. Yes, MCPS has a code of conduct, but does not provide enforceable consequences. Like another PP wrote, often the principals hands are tied but those students end up right back in the classroom continuing to disrupt the class. It is near impossible to successfully teach content to a class of 17 students when two or three of those students are constantly displaying violent outbursts. I believe in Dr. Green’s motto of ‘kids do well when they can’ and try to co-regulate students who are experiencing meltdowns. I have a calm down corner, flexible seating and sensory figits available to all students but I am only one person. I wish I could split myself in half - I need to simultaneously help a student (or multiple students) work through their disregulation while the other half of me is successfully teaching the other 16 kids. We need the flexibility to have another adult (para) in the classroom who can help with behavior issues - providing them adequate compensation. A paraeducator makes $20 a hour - yes, the benefits are good, but many of the paras I know are actually former teachers or have MA degrees. Offering $20 an hour makes it difficult to attract or retain highly experienced support staff. While this is likely a Union issue (I am not pro Union), central office could absolutely provide stipends / incentives to staff in these roles. Prioritizing additional compensation for SpEd teachers should also be at the forefront of the discussion.

Many of my students have experienced trauma and COVID has only made the situation worse but more central office positions are not going to help those students. Adding in mandatory curriculums Benchmark ELA and Eureka math (and the awful Curriculum 2.0), and taking away the flexibility for teachers to modify the curriculum to best engage students OR allow for remediation of foundational skills is a recipe for disaster. I am disappointed in MCPS as both a teacher and a parent. Kids are subjected to endless testing ($$$) and we are required to collect and document hundreds of data points - for what purpose? We are unable to use that information to modify the curriculum. Data should be used to drive further instruction, and as teachers, our hands are tied. I have been a Science of Reading advocate long before it was popular and incorporate (sneak in) OG methodology as much as possible but it has been very demoralizing to witness my students personal victories and growth, see them develop confidence in themselves and think of themselves as capable learners, and to observe the frustration and shut-down that occurs after taking the required Benchmark assessments. Almost any teacher could have predicted the staffing issues with ESY and summer school but MCPS failed to try to develop creative solutions and be proactive about the situation. I absolutely think exit interviews should be conducted with the results available to the public. We should be examining WHY there is such a disconnect between central office, BoE, teachers, admin and parents, and how those gaps can be bridged. [/quote]

MCPS elementary teacher here of 20 years - you have nailed it!  Exit interviews would be an excellent idea. It's awful right now.  We are not doing right by kids given the curriculum demands, lack of consequences or appropriate supports for students, etc.[/quote]

I would not advise anyone to be honest in an exit  interview. Usually they aren't going to like what you had to say or use that feedback in an actionable way[/quote]

Who would do these exit interviews? That would be a few FT jobs right there! And who cares if you are honest because that's the point. You are leaving and you are giving reasons why. I bet the reasons are almost all the same- being treated like a child by admin, no ability to make decisions about curriculum, discipline, parents, the increasing workload and not additional time to complete it, no support from admin about discipline, etc.[/quote]

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