Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There's only 286 1.0 FTE (which eliminates the substitutes).
150 ES
78 MS
48 HS
10 other
This is a lot better than last year at this time.

Why are there so many ES teacher positions vacant? That is surprising to me

There are more ES teacher positions vacant because there are more ES teachers maybe per student perhaps. I know that there also generally are more ES students per grade in any society with a growing population. The youngest generations are going to be largest. Also, ES is 6 grades (K-5). HS is 4 grades, and MS is 3 grades. I'd then expect the vacancies in ES to be at least 2x the MS vacancies and 1.5x the HS vacancies. That said, MS positions are generally considered less sought after than HS positions, which may be why there are so many more MS positions vs HS positions.

Anonymous wrote: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?

Doesn't that violate state law on class sizes?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The SDT at my HS is good but he almost never has time to help teachers as he is so busy doing administrative tasks such as managing all the required state testing. Maybe they should call the position something else as it feels like there is no one who actually focuses on staff support and development

At our high school, the state testing is managed by one of the APs, not the SDT.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There's only 286 1.0 FTE (which eliminates the substitutes).
150 ES
78 MS
48 HS
10 other
This is a lot better than last year at this time.

Why are there so many ES teacher positions vacant? That is surprising to me

As an elementary upper grade teacher, this does not surprise me at all. Elementary schools are falling apart. Unlike middle and high schools, there are no security guards and classes have become dangerous. Kids are bringing weapons to school and fighting both verbally and physically. The county has decided that elementary kids are too young to face any consequences yet teachers (and students) are scared to be in classrooms with some of the kids.

We used to be able to send disruptive kids to the office while now we are scolded and told that any and all behaviors are due to our not forming deeper relationships. There are now considerably higher numbers of students with disabilities and kids with no English. Those kids we had used to be served by the sped teacher and ESOL teachers but now there are fewer staff to share and they are all scrambling so nobody’s needs get met.

On top of this, elementary teachers are expected to plan for every subject at every level imaginable.

Basically, all of the behaviors that people used to complain about from middle school have trickled down with none of the support available. It’s a mess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, our private school is fully staffed with the exception of an art teacher. Another reason private school is worth it.

Private schools hire teachers publics do not consider credentialed. Thanks for dropping by.

LOL, but the teachers are highly qualified and motivated vs. the union member teachers who look for any reason to not show up. And, news flash, mcps is hiring teachers who are not credentialed now.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, our private school is fully staffed with the exception of an art teacher. Another reason private school is worth it.

Private schools typically don’t need SPED, ESOL, paraeducators, etc. They typically dont offer a competitive STEM curriculum with lots of AP’s.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, our private school is fully staffed with the exception of an art teacher. Another reason private school is worth it.

Private schools hire teachers publics do not consider credentialed. Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The SDT at my HS is good but he almost never has time to help teachers as he is so busy doing administrative tasks such as managing all the required state testing. Maybe they should call the position something else as it feels like there is no one who actually focuses on staff support and development

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There's only 286 1.0 FTE (which eliminates the substitutes).
150 ES
78 MS
48 HS
10 other
This is a lot better than last year at this time.

Why are there so many ES teacher positions vacant? That is surprising to me

Wow, our private school is fully staffed with the exception of an art teacher. Another reason private school is worth it.

Anonymous wrote: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)

I have only seen SDTs come from within MCPS but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Apply and see how it turns out. Another option would be to try for a different position and then if you get into MCPS, you will have a better chance at SDT later. I would take a good look at the salary and steps though. People have said MCPS hurts themselves by not placing outside transfers in the correct step when they get offered a job and then it is not worth it to lose steps in their current county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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)

Networking is key

It's usually internal because they want someone who knows the curriculum, software and culture

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There's only 286 1.0 FTE (which eliminates the substitutes).
150 ES
78 MS
48 HS
10 other
This is a lot better than last year at this time.

But how many positions have been "filled" with long term subs?? I assure you, it is many

Anonymous wrote: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)

Networking is key

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.

There's only 286 1.0 FTE (which eliminates the substitutes).
150 ES
78 MS
48 HS
10 other
This is a lot better than last year at this time.