Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 13:47     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Do schools ever hire SDT teachers outside of the school or is it usually always in-school hiring?

Asking as a SDT in Anne Arundel and thinking of moving...here..it's almost impossible to land a job unless you've been working at the same school for x number of years. (Not an official policy...just how it always ends up happening)
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 13:20     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:SDT is actually highly competitive.


Is it more money than a regular teacher? I understand the appeal.
Teaching is very inflexible - you cannot be even 5 minutes late, taking time off is a huge hassle, constant interaction with all manner of students is exhausting and you are at the bottom of the totem pole


It’s only more $ because we get paid for 120 hours of summer work but are considered MCEA teachers. However, many of us end up putting in more hours than allocated and work for free for a good portion of summer; SIP, ILT, pre-service, and all of the other asks/roles cannot be completed in the hours that we get paid. But having the flexibility during the school year makes a huge difference and many of us enjoy the challenging nature of the job.
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 13:10     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:SDT is actually highly competitive.


Is it more money than a regular teacher? I understand the appeal.
Teaching is very inflexible - you cannot be even 5 minutes late, taking time off is a huge hassle, constant interaction with all manner of students is exhausting and you are at the bottom of the totem pole
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 12:58     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:

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


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.

Being a para with a college degree, I find most of my job is about building relationships to help SN kids navigate school. It's not about the degree. Empathy is far more useful.

The learning behind the degree is very helpful. My degree is in a hard science with a lot of psych, and I'm a computer geek by trade. God help me to support English and History!

I despise classroom management. I routinely decline teacher sub requests. I'm all about supporting my kids.


You sound like a good para. Some are good. Some do as little as possible and mostly just sit on their phones


I've never seen a Para on their phone in class


This is in high school and some are definitely on their phones. They usually tell me they don’t understand the class content and cannot help the kids.
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 11:30     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I, a paraeducator -- and most of my para friends -- do have a teaching degree or other college degree. Sorry yours do not.


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.

Being a para with a college degree, I find most of my job is about building relationships to help SN kids navigate school. It's not about the degree. Empathy is far more useful.

The learning behind the degree is very helpful. My degree is in a hard science with a lot of psych, and I'm a computer geek by trade. God help me to support English and History!

I despise classroom management. I routinely decline teacher sub requests. I'm all about supporting my kids.


You sound like a good para. Some are good. Some do as little as possible and mostly just sit on their phones


The phone thing is fake news. I agree some paras are too snappy/quick to tell (looking at you, recess monitors!), but even they are never on their phones. It’s a tough job with little advancement and it’s only logical it would weigh on people.
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 11:26     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?


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


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.

Being a para with a college degree, I find most of my job is about building relationships to help SN kids navigate school. It's not about the degree. Empathy is far more useful.

The learning behind the degree is very helpful. My degree is in a hard science with a lot of psych, and I'm a computer geek by trade. God help me to support English and History!

I despise classroom management. I routinely decline teacher sub requests. I'm all about supporting my kids.


You sound like a good para. Some are good. Some do as little as possible and mostly just sit on their phones


I've never seen a Para on their phone in class
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 11:24     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I, a paraeducator -- and most of my para friends -- do have a teaching degree or other college degree. Sorry yours do not.


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.

Being a para with a college degree, I find most of my job is about building relationships to help SN kids navigate school. It's not about the degree. Empathy is far more useful.

The learning behind the degree is very helpful. My degree is in a hard science with a lot of psych, and I'm a computer geek by trade. God help me to support English and History!

I despise classroom management. I routinely decline teacher sub requests. I'm all about supporting my kids.


You sound like a good para. Some are good. Some do as little as possible and mostly just sit on their phones
Anonymous
Post 07/28/2023 02:54     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As last year, MANY teacher positions will go to long term subs. Some are retired teachers who are fabulous. And others are big time duds. Special Ed, Foreign Lang, sciences and math will suffer the most.

Last year, Monica McKnight told the entire community MCPS was 99% staffed on opening day. She did not talk about how many of those were long term subs


It was quoted on Fox5 yesterday during their Fairfax County Schools segment that MCPS is 99% staffed right now too...


MCPS has something like 25k staff. They could be over 400 personnel and still be “98/99% staffed”. The devil is in the details.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2023 12:32     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:As last year, MANY teacher positions will go to long term subs. Some are retired teachers who are fabulous. And others are big time duds. Special Ed, Foreign Lang, sciences and math will suffer the most.

Last year, Monica McKnight told the entire community MCPS was 99% staffed on opening day. She did not talk about how many of those were long term subs


It was quoted on Fox5 yesterday during their Fairfax County Schools segment that MCPS is 99% staffed right now too...
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2023 11:17     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
As last year, MANY teacher positions will go to long term subs. Some are retired teachers who are fabulous. And others are big time duds. Special Ed, Foreign Lang, sciences and math will suffer the most.

Last year, Monica McKnight told the entire community MCPS was 99% staffed on opening day. She did not talk about how many of those were long term subs
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2023 10:34     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:SDT is actually highly competitive.


I get that, but it seems like a miserable role.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2023 10:08     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
SDT is actually highly competitive.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2023 10:02     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
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)


It's a stepping stone job for administration or central office.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2023 22:24     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I, a paraeducator -- and most of my para friends -- do have a teaching degree or other college degree. Sorry yours do not.


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.

Being a para with a college degree, I find most of my job is about building relationships to help SN kids navigate school. It's not about the degree. Empathy is far more useful.

The learning behind the degree is very helpful. My degree is in a hard science with a lot of psych, and I'm a computer geek by trade. God help me to support English and History!

I despise classroom management. I routinely decline teacher sub requests. I'm all about supporting my kids.
Anonymous
Post 07/26/2023 21:48     Subject: What happens if MCPS isn't staffed by the first day of school?
Anonymous wrote:I, a paraeducator -- and most of my para friends -- do have a teaching degree or other college degree. Sorry yours do not.


Many do not. It's not a job requirement. We have wonderful paras with and without degrees. Since it's not required, even the wonderful paras who takes great care of our kids and are attentive and hard working, are often not capable of filling the role of the teacher. They also don't get paid nearly enough for their own role let alone filling in for a position they didn't sign up for.