I, a paraeducator -- and most of my para friends -- do have a teaching degree or other college degree. Sorry yours do not.

They have para-educators (no teaching degree) stand in. For our ES that meant double recess. Was like that the entire year. For my MS child they had a long term sub. A bit better. For my kid in a self contained classroom there was never a sub when teacher was gone. Just 2 para educators. Or 1 if only 1 showed up that day.

Anonymous wrote:Staff development teacher. I'd explain what they do, but mine doesn't seem to do much so I have no idea what they're supposed to do.

They're basically extra support for administrators in low functioning schools but they're supposed to support teachers in training and professional development and looking at school data. Ours helped us with a new math software and curriculum etc...

Staff development teacher. I'd explain what they do, but mine doesn't seem to do much so I have no idea what they're supposed to do.

What is SDT?

Bigger classes. Fewer choices of classes. Bigger caseloads for sped teachers and related service providers. Long term subs and contractors. Staff who doesn't know your kids as well because they're stretched too thin. Behavior issues because kids aren't getting the attention they need.

Burnt out staff. Burnt out admin. More staff leaving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had no 4th grade teacher for the majority of the year. There was a rotating coverage schedule throughout the week and no consistency for the kids. Occasionally we’d get a sub but they never lasted more than a day or 2. That was about 6 months of the year. I expect the same this year. The elementary schools are a mess and nobody wants to work in 4th and 5th.

I worry a lot less for the SDT and AP roles as those positions will be snapped up leaving even more empty classrooms.

Why would anyone want a SDT job? (I'm genuinely curious, it seems like a terrible role)

SDT is seen as a way out of the classroom and a track to being an administrator, it shouldn't be, I think it should be saved for teachers who actually demonstrate a passion and the knowledge to train and help others, but it's almost always just admin's favorite.

Let’s use common sense. If a school has 5 kindergarten classes and only four teachers, then they break up the class with no teacher and disperse those students. So, your class of 25 may end up being a class of 30. If a school has 4 kindergarten classrooms and 3 teachers but they have an interventionist for reading then that interventionist will continue their pay but be put back in the classroom. In other words, it’s a game of moving things around. What else are they going to do, deny your child entry?

Anonymous wrote:We had no 4th grade teacher for the majority of the year. There was a rotating coverage schedule throughout the week and no consistency for the kids. Occasionally we’d get a sub but they never lasted more than a day or 2. That was about 6 months of the year. I expect the same this year. The elementary schools are a mess and nobody wants to work in 4th and 5th.

I worry a lot less for the SDT and AP roles as those positions will be snapped up leaving even more empty classrooms.

Why would anyone want a SDT job? (I'm genuinely curious, it seems like a terrible role)

Anonymous wrote:I am seeing 432 open teaching positions including long term subs. Last year was pretty similar, and the number dropped to about 250 by the start of the school year.

At some schools the one listed classroom position actually means 3 open positions that need to be filled.

Also, we already have long term subs and people without licenses teaching. Who is left out there?

I am seeing 432 open teaching positions including long term subs. Last year was pretty similar, and the number dropped to about 250 by the start of the school year.

Anonymous wrote:There are an incredible number of classroom teacher, AP, staff development, and support staff positions that are still open on MCPS careers.

What's the scoop on what happens if positions are not filled?

They weren’t fully staffed last year, so whatever happened then, I guess.

We had no 4th grade teacher for the majority of the year. There was a rotating coverage schedule throughout the week and no consistency for the kids. Occasionally we’d get a sub but they never lasted more than a day or 2. That was about 6 months of the year. I expect the same this year. The elementary schools are a mess and nobody wants to work in 4th and 5th.

I worry a lot less for the SDT and AP roles as those positions will be snapped up leaving even more empty classrooms.

7 AP/ASA jobs and 8 SDT? Not an incredible number
- those will be filled in no time, acting APs mostly. For the teaching and support positions they'll get long term subs, warm bodies, bigger workloads and coverages for everyone in the building. No different than last year.

There are an incredible number of classroom teacher, AP, staff development, and support staff positions that are still open on MCPS careers.

What's the scoop on what happens if positions are not filled?