Anonymous wrote:My district offered us a bonus to teach ESY. We are still short teachers and are combining classes. It is a shame but you really can't blame your district if they don't have enough staff. People are burned out.

They are legally required to provide ir. They need to pay market rate.

$19 hour for a tutor and virtual (I bet virtual isn't even a live person at the other end) is so illegal.
They are just hoping to get away with it and that most families won't know they are entitled to more.

Anonymous wrote:I’d hire a lawyer for that one

MCPS has failed to meet the student's needs of students. Highly abled students are also ignored in the name of equity.

Anonymous wrote:That is iPad for the course for MCPS. I’m sorry OP you have to deal with this.

Also I was not surprised that that they said your child was signed up for the morning session but then gave you afternoon hours. Just exemplifies the incompetence.

+ unbelievable incompetence.

I’d hire a lawyer for that one

My district offered us a bonus to teach ESY. We are still short teachers and are combining classes. It is a shame but you really can't blame your district if they don't have enough staff. People are burned out.

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn’t they hire staff first, then see how many kids they can accommodate? It’s not perfect but certainly better than this mess.

ESY is defined by IEPs not staff availability. They have to offer something to the families who have ESY in their child's IEP.

Why wouldn’t they hire staff first, then see how many kids they can accommodate? It’s not perfect but certainly better than this mess.

It’s not media propaganda. Before the end of school year, I remembered seeing an email saying that special ed teachers will get 25% more in their daily rate if they work ESY.

Oh but the teacher shortage is just media propaganda...

And to Dawn-who is oso outraged by this (and offering no solutions of course)...teachers are leaving because of testimonies and people like you. Hope you're comforted by being supported by people like Bethany Mandel instead of teachers.

Well that's...creative. I guess. Maybe they should go the route of allowing families to opt for a lump sum earmarked for "summer tutoring" to obtain their own private services during the summer in exchange for indemnifying MCPS against a due process complaint. Sort of like a LISS grant.

Because they can't manufacture staff from nothing and they can't force teachers to work, so that leaves them stuck like this.

That is iPad for the course for MCPS. I’m sorry OP you have to deal with this.

Also I was not surprised that that they said your child was signed up for the morning session but then gave you afternoon hours. Just exemplifies the incompetence.

See: teacher shortage thread

Whoa. That’s crazy. What program is that for? Is your child able to learn anything virtually?

Is all ESY going to be provided virtually? No in person for anyone? And I love how they give parents 2 days to find a person that can support your child 1:1 for 4 hours/day. What an absolute mess!

Still digesting this:

June 29, 2022

Dear Parents/Guardians:

On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Office of Special Education (OSE) invited you to a meeting to discuss Extended School Year (ESY) services for your child beginning, July 5, 2022. The purpose of the meeting was to share some very urgent and important information regarding the impact of the special education teacher shortage on delivering in-person ESY services in Summer 2022.

Due to the significant teacher shortage, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) OSE has been unable to hire special education teachers to serve a select group of ESY eligible students in-person. Also, MCPS offered incentive pay to special education teachers in an effort to encourage and attract teachers to work in the ESY program this summer. Unfortunately, not enough teachers indicated an interest in the opportunity.

As a result, MCPS will provide virtual ESY services for your child. To support your child during virtual instruction, MCPS will pay a person that you identify $19 per hour. This person may be a parent/guardian, relative or childcare provider. The person will be paid for working 4 hours daily, with the exception of July 19, 2022, when schools are closed. In order to pay your selected person, please complete the ESY survey by July 5, 2022.

Your child will be attending the morning ESY session that will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. You will be sent a link that will enable you to access virtual ESY services at the time referenced in this letter. If there are any concerns about your child’s session or the ESY Provider Survey, please contact Anna_E_Szilagyi-Weichbrod@mcpsmd.org.

You are invited to pick up your child’s Chromebook from their school of enrollment during the 2021–2022 school year from 9:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 30, 2022, or Friday, July 1, 2022. Chromebooks are expected to be returned to the school from which it was picked up from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1, 2022.

Please contact me at Gwendoyn_J_Mason@mcpsmd.org if you have any questions.

Sincerely,


Gwendolyn J. Mason, Ed.D.
Acting Associate Superintendent