Anonymous wrote:

Maybe their job needs to be reimagined. They should be pairing themselves with teachers in the classroom and coaching them in the moment. Identifying a skill deficit, create an agreed upon instructional intervention, coach them and then run fidelity checks to ensure skill acquisition etc.

What makes you think they have better ideas than the teachers they are supposed to help? Some took the job to get out of the classroom.

I knew someone who was hired as an instructional coach who was an ESL teacher and had never been a classroom teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

I disagree, at least at our school. With all the new teachers, they really help out with their planning and coaching. These teachers have mentors, but they can’t do it all, especially when they’re teaching their own classes.

Also with the amount of teacher trainees and novice teachers there is an absolute need for coaching support. I’ve seen first hand that teacher skillset in the county is not what it was 15 years ago.

I was a young, naive teacher once. Do you know who I learned from? My colleagues at the same grade level. This is one reasons some of this training needs to be examined much more carefully.

I admit that I worked with colleagues that, for the most part, got along well. I worked in three different school systems and always learned more from my team. And, while we did have team meetings from time to time, we also gathered informally after school frequently as friends sharing ideas and suggestions.

And I’ve listened to MANY of those veteran colleagues state that they are exhausted with having to do this and that new teachers today need so much more support. This isn’t a criticism but instead an acknowledgment that more support is necessary.

I’m one of those veteran teachers.

I’d rather help the new members in the department myself. Coaches are out of the classroom and therefore are no longer using the skills, dealing with the stress, etc. And as circumstances change year after year, coaches actually lose the expertise they are supposed to have. Their knowledge becomes outdated.

I’d rather the coaches go back into classrooms. Take the weight off the rest of us. We’ll continue to support our new teachers the way we always have.

Exactly. You’re ONE of them and I’m sure there are some more on this board that hate coaches and will pipe up. I can promise you that across the county many veteran teachers genuinely emotionally dump on me about their work load due to novice teachers. Stop thinking that your experience is the only one and accept that the teacher candidate pool has changed drastically over the last 15-20 years.

And no I’m not an instructional coach.

Please. I still have the same amount of work to do. The coach isn’t in the classroom, doesn’t collaborate or provide materials, etc. New teachers lean on me just as much now as they did before coaches.

Put them back in the classrooms so they can alleviate loads - fewer students, less grading, etc. Now all they do is duplicate effort.

Maybe their job needs to be reimagined. They should be pairing themselves with teachers in the classroom and coaching them in the moment. Identifying a skill deficit, create an agreed upon instructional intervention, coach them and then run fidelity checks to ensure skill acquisition etc.

Fairfax County runs itself with the delusion that all staff have the necessary foundational knowledge, which is not the case. There is no systematic method of implementing new programming and people that are already struggling drown even more. FCPS needs to be stripped down and put back together in a socially valid way with all stakeholders having a voice at the table.

Maybe their job needs to be reimagined. They should be pairing themselves with teachers in the classroom and coaching them in the moment. Identifying a skill deficit, create an agreed upon instructional intervention, coach them and then run fidelity checks to ensure skill acquisition etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

I disagree, at least at our school. With all the new teachers, they really help out with their planning and coaching. These teachers have mentors, but they can’t do it all, especially when they’re teaching their own classes.

Also with the amount of teacher trainees and novice teachers there is an absolute need for coaching support. I’ve seen first hand that teacher skillset in the county is not what it was 15 years ago.

I was a young, naive teacher once. Do you know who I learned from? My colleagues at the same grade level. This is one reasons some of this training needs to be examined much more carefully.

I admit that I worked with colleagues that, for the most part, got along well. I worked in three different school systems and always learned more from my team. And, while we did have team meetings from time to time, we also gathered informally after school frequently as friends sharing ideas and suggestions.

And I’ve listened to MANY of those veteran colleagues state that they are exhausted with having to do this and that new teachers today need so much more support. This isn’t a criticism but instead an acknowledgment that more support is necessary.

I’m one of those veteran teachers.

I’d rather help the new members in the department myself. Coaches are out of the classroom and therefore are no longer using the skills, dealing with the stress, etc. And as circumstances change year after year, coaches actually lose the expertise they are supposed to have. Their knowledge becomes outdated.

I’d rather the coaches go back into classrooms. Take the weight off the rest of us. We’ll continue to support our new teachers the way we always have.

Exactly. You’re ONE of them and I’m sure there are some more on this board that hate coaches and will pipe up. I can promise you that across the county many veteran teachers genuinely emotionally dump on me about their work load due to novice teachers. Stop thinking that your experience is the only one and accept that the teacher candidate pool has changed drastically over the last 15-20 years.

And no I’m not an instructional coach.

Please. I still have the same amount of work to do. The coach isn’t in the classroom, doesn’t collaborate or provide materials, etc. New teachers lean on me just as much now as they did before coaches.

Put them back in the classrooms so they can alleviate loads - fewer students, less grading, etc. Now all they do is duplicate effort.

Maybe their job needs to be reimagined. They should be pairing themselves with teachers in the classroom and coaching them in the moment. Identifying a skill deficit, create an agreed upon instructional intervention, coach them and then run fidelity checks to ensure skill acquisition etc.

Fairfax County runs itself with the delusion that all staff have the necessary foundational knowledge, which is not the case. There is no systematic method of implementing new programming and people that are already struggling drown even more. FCPS needs to be stripped down and put back together in a socially valid way with all stakeholders having a voice at the table.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:County employees -- operational employees who have far less to do than FCPS operations -- got SIX percent last year, when McKay and team cut FCPS to 3 or 4 percent. Some got 10 to 12 percent, which McKay/Walkinshaw celebrated as a victory for collective bargaining and workers finally getting a say in contracts.

FCPS is the largest employer in the county and it's biggest cost is labor, specifically school-based labor. It's also the main reason anyone buys homes and relocates corporations here.

Don't fall for misleading info from our "colleagues" in county government and don't attack each other. That's when they win -- there is zero reason educators have to take peanuts every year given what we bring to this region. Be proud and stand together.

You have got to stop putting out lies. Fairfax County gave all its employees a 2% MSA in the FY25 budget. There were other targeted increases based on performance so some employees got between a 3% and 6% raise. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/budget/sites/budget/files/Assets/Documents/fy2025/fy2025-adopted-package.pdf

FCPS gave all of its employees a 4% MSA plus a 2% midyear increase. “The approved budget includes a 4% compensation increase for all employees, funding to maintain class sizes in light of projected enrollment growth, continuation of key multiyear initiatives, and resources to support student well-being outside the classroom. The approved budget also maintains the mid-year 2% compensation increase for all employees approved by the School Board in January.” https://www.fcps.edu/news/fairfax-county-school-board-adopts-fy-2025-budget-focusing-available-resources-staff#:~:text=The%20FY%202025%20Approved%20Budget,the%20FY%202024%20Approved%20Budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope everyone who is writing here with their thoughts in Reid’s proposal also writes the school board, the union (if they are a member) and signs up to speak at the May 13 budget hearing. https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/community-participation

Reid, the school board and the union seem extremely out of touch with what most teachers and parents want.

and out of touch with spending-teacher salaries and cuts at ES shouldn’t even have to be issue when FCPS has a documented increase in spending of $1 billion in last 5 years. $1 billion increase in budget since 2021 and Reid says still can’t find $ to pay the teachers and is instead making cuts to impact ES. Oh, but let’s make sure to buy $17 million worth of electric buses, hire and pay so many consultants to do study after study that aren’t actually used….

I saw they reduced the expenditure by $2.8 mil. Are they still budgeting $17 mil for electric buses?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope everyone who is writing here with their thoughts in Reid’s proposal also writes the school board, the union (if they are a member) and signs up to speak at the May 13 budget hearing. https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/community-participation

Reid, the school board and the union seem extremely out of touch with what most teachers and parents want.

and out of touch with spending-teacher salaries and cuts at ES shouldn’t even have to be issue when FCPS has a documented increase in spending of $1 billion in last 5 years. $1 billion increase in budget since 2021 and Reid says still can’t find $ to pay the teachers and is instead making cuts to impact ES. Oh, but let’s make sure to buy $17 million worth of electric buses, hire and pay so many consultants to do study after study that aren’t actually used….

I saw they reduced the expenditure by $2.8 mil. Are they still budgeting $17 mil for electric buses?

Anonymous wrote:County employees -- operational employees who have far less to do than FCPS operations -- got SIX percent last year, when McKay and team cut FCPS to 3 or 4 percent. Some got 10 to 12 percent, which McKay/Walkinshaw celebrated as a victory for collective bargaining and workers finally getting a say in contracts.

FCPS is the largest employer in the county and it's biggest cost is labor, specifically school-based labor. It's also the main reason anyone buys homes and relocates corporations here.

Don't fall for misleading info from our "colleagues" in county government and don't attack each other. That's when they win -- there is zero reason educators have to take peanuts every year given what we bring to this region. Be proud and stand together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

I disagree, at least at our school. With all the new teachers, they really help out with their planning and coaching. These teachers have mentors, but they can’t do it all, especially when they’re teaching their own classes.

Also with the amount of teacher trainees and novice teachers there is an absolute need for coaching support. I’ve seen first hand that teacher skillset in the county is not what it was 15 years ago.

I was a young, naive teacher once. Do you know who I learned from? My colleagues at the same grade level. This is one reasons some of this training needs to be examined much more carefully.

I admit that I worked with colleagues that, for the most part, got along well. I worked in three different school systems and always learned more from my team. And, while we did have team meetings from time to time, we also gathered informally after school frequently as friends sharing ideas and suggestions.

And I’ve listened to MANY of those veteran colleagues state that they are exhausted with having to do this and that new teachers today need so much more support. This isn’t a criticism but instead an acknowledgment that more support is necessary.

I’m one of those veteran teachers.

I’d rather help the new members in the department myself. Coaches are out of the classroom and therefore are no longer using the skills, dealing with the stress, etc. And as circumstances change year after year, coaches actually lose the expertise they are supposed to have. Their knowledge becomes outdated.

I’d rather the coaches go back into classrooms. Take the weight off the rest of us. We’ll continue to support our new teachers the way we always have.

Exactly. You’re ONE of them and I’m sure there are some more on this board that hate coaches and will pipe up. I can promise you that across the county many veteran teachers genuinely emotionally dump on me about their work load due to novice teachers. Stop thinking that your experience is the only one and accept that the teacher candidate pool has changed drastically over the last 15-20 years.

And no I’m not an instructional coach.

Please. I still have the same amount of work to do. The coach isn’t in the classroom, doesn’t collaborate or provide materials, etc. New teachers lean on me just as much now as they did before coaches.

Put them back in the classrooms so they can alleviate loads - fewer students, less grading, etc. Now all they do is duplicate effort.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

I disagree, at least at our school. With all the new teachers, they really help out with their planning and coaching. These teachers have mentors, but they can’t do it all, especially when they’re teaching their own classes.

Also with the amount of teacher trainees and novice teachers there is an absolute need for coaching support. I’ve seen first hand that teacher skillset in the county is not what it was 15 years ago.

I was a young, naive teacher once. Do you know who I learned from? My colleagues at the same grade level. This is one reasons some of this training needs to be examined much more carefully.

I admit that I worked with colleagues that, for the most part, got along well. I worked in three different school systems and always learned more from my team. And, while we did have team meetings from time to time, we also gathered informally after school frequently as friends sharing ideas and suggestions.

And I’ve listened to MANY of those veteran colleagues state that they are exhausted with having to do this and that new teachers today need so much more support. This isn’t a criticism but instead an acknowledgment that more support is necessary.

I’m one of those veteran teachers.

I’d rather help the new members in the department myself. Coaches are out of the classroom and therefore are no longer using the skills, dealing with the stress, etc. And as circumstances change year after year, coaches actually lose the expertise they are supposed to have. Their knowledge becomes outdated.

I’d rather the coaches go back into classrooms. Take the weight off the rest of us. We’ll continue to support our new teachers the way we always have.

Exactly. You’re ONE of them and I’m sure there are some more on this board that hate coaches and will pipe up. I can promise you that across the county many veteran teachers genuinely emotionally dump on me about their work load due to novice teachers. Stop thinking that your experience is the only one and accept that the teacher candidate pool has changed drastically over the last 15-20 years.

And no I’m not an instructional coach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

Can you give an example of “more work?”

Different teacher, force us to sit in an hour long meeting to plan a unit that we already material to use from the previous year.

“Unpack standards” that are already unpacked in the pacing.
CT meetings that always start with a grounding exercise.
CT meetings in which we “jigsaw” an article and then “share out” about what we read.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do instructional coaches do?

They literally make more work for teachers. That's their entire job. Some of them are nice people and well-liked, but few of us would miss those positions if they were all cut.

Can you give an example of “more work?”

Different teacher, force us to sit in an hour long meeting to plan a unit that we already material to use from the previous year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I would rather get a smaller raise than have any of the cuts happen. These cuts will make my job harder and is not in the best interest of students. If the cuts were instructional coaches, there would be less pushback as they do not work with students and make teacher’s jobs easier. IMO, those positions should be the first to go.

Agreed but the big culprit where cuts need to happen is Gatehouse and most of those people absolutely do nothing but make teachers lives horrible.

Gatehouse employee here: Most of the people at “Gatehouse” are operational employees that are in the same collective bargaining unit as the teachers, and we aren’t making the fancy paychecks people think are. Everything we do is to support schools, and without us, people wouldn’t get hired, get their paychecks, get benefits support, supplies, building maintenance, tech support, security upgrades, etc. BUT there are a lot of “senior leadership” and chief positions at Gatehouse that have been created by Dr. Reid and we don’t need them. I really wish people would stop lumping all of Gatehouse together, because there are a lot of us that really care about teachers. A pay raise isn’t a victory if it comes at the cost of other employees, and I would happily take a lower pay raise to save jobs. Heck, give me back my telework and I’ll forfeit my entire raise!

We're not talking about operational positions. You're absolutely needed and we appreciate your work. We're talking about the "specialists" (thanks for all the extra testing that we have to do that reduce our time to teach, folks) and whoever is pushing the flavor-du-jour fad (SBG last year, UDL this year. What's next year?) and the "equity team" that lectures us once a year about oppression (what are you doing for kids exactly?) and other assorted meddlers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope everyone who is writing here with their thoughts in Reid’s proposal also writes the school board, the union (if they are a member) and signs up to speak at the May 13 budget hearing. https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/community-participation

Reid, the school board and the union seem extremely out of touch with what most teachers and parents want.

and out of touch with spending-teacher salaries and cuts at ES shouldn’t even have to be issue when FCPS has a documented increase in spending of $1 billion in last 5 years. $1 billion increase in budget since 2021 and Reid says still can’t find $ to pay the teachers and is instead making cuts to impact ES. Oh, but let’s make sure to buy $17 million worth of electric buses, hire and pay so many consultants to do study after study that aren’t actually used….