There will be no strike. It's against the law in DC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

The Chancellor should have added: "...for teachers working in our Title I schools."

I'm a highly effective teacher with DCPS for +7 years, still earning five figures.

Our colleagues in Title I schools deserve those bonuses. We all deserve retro pay and a fair salary increase, just like firefighters/emts and police officers received in their latest contract.

Our schools are being told that we will have budget cuts and will lose teachers next year. We are being told that there is no money for teacher salary increases. This is an expense that should have been anticipated, given the five years the District has stalled the negotiating process.

The city has a $2 billion reserve. Why aren't our public schools and teachers worth funding?

I agree that teachers should be fairly paid. However, complaining that you have been teaching for 7 years and aren't yet making six figures is ludicrous, and not going to earn you any support. Fair is obviously in the eye of the beholder.

My mom taught for 40 years with two specialized masters degrees and never broke six figures! How many careers around here do break six figures?

I was only responding to the Chancellor's assertion. I didn't become a teacher for the $. I do expect our District to approach negotiations in good faith.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

The Chancellor should have added: "...for teachers working in our Title I schools."

I'm a highly effective teacher with DCPS for +7 years, still earning five figures.

Our colleagues in Title I schools deserve those bonuses. We all deserve retro pay and a fair salary increase, just like firefighters/emts and police officers received in their latest contract.

Our schools are being told that we will have budget cuts and will lose teachers next year. We are being told that there is no money for teacher salary increases. This is an expense that should have been anticipated, given the five years the District has stalled the negotiating process.

The city has a $2 billion reserve. Why aren't our public schools and teachers worth funding?

I agree that teachers should be fairly paid. However, complaining that you have been teaching for 7 years and aren't yet making six figures is ludicrous, and not going to earn you any support. Fair is obviously in the eye of the beholder.

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

They consistently say that as if DC doesn't consistently rank among the most expensive cities to live. I would certainly hope that we would be paid more than teachers in Omaha. What they don't tell you is the percentage of teachers who actually get the carrot that they keep dangling in front of us. God help you if you start in DCPS as a first-year teacher. I've never seen another district that fires first year teachers so indiscriminately. There's no opportunity to develop. You either sink or swim. If you manage to somehow skate by, then your salary/step is frozen for a year unless you're one of the rare prodigies who earn a high IMPACT score their first year.

DCPS banks on not having to pay most first years a salary increase. They also know that most of the teachers won't take the fast track to six figures. At my school there were too many people getting high IMPACT scores, so they started sending people from downtown around with our admins to shadow them while they do their observations. Your score now has to be defended before it's posted. Maybe they're preventing favoritism or maybe they're just protecting their budget.

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

Yet majority of teachers can't afford to live in the District, especially if they have a family. On top of that, fastest path if you work in Title I. Yet administrators (and ME's when we had them) can't justify giving highly effective ratings to teachers in Title I schools when they have less than 50% proficiency on PARCC. It's cute to know that Wilson is cut from the same cloth as Henderson and Rhee. I wonder if Wilson will use the same excuse as Henderson, when questioned about teacher retro pay: "Our teachers aren't poor anymore."

Perhaps the Chancellor could clarify. Either way, our students are losing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

The Chancellor should have added: "...for teachers working in our Title I schools."

I'm a highly effective teacher with DCPS for +7 years, still earning five figures.

Our colleagues in Title I schools deserve those bonuses. We all deserve retro pay and a fair salary increase, just like firefighters/emts and police officers received in their latest contract.

Our schools are being told that we will have budget cuts and will lose teachers next year. We are being told that there is no money for teacher salary increases. This is an expense that should have been anticipated, given the five years the District has stalled the negotiating process.

The city has a $2 billion reserve. Why aren't our public schools and teachers worth funding?

That's different than what I'm hearing on my LSAT. We heard that all positions are costing more. I'm not sure if that's in salary or benefits.

^ When you attend conferences this Friday, ask your principal how many teaching positions are being cut at your school for next year. Hope your DC doesn't like personal attention or small class sizes

I'm glad PP is so sure teachers can be replaced so easily! That's a big relief! Maybe this year I won't hear my students complain about having substitutes in multiple classes until November because the school can't find a qualified replacement.

Anonymous wrote:This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

The Chancellor should have added: "...for teachers working in our Title I schools."

I'm a highly effective teacher with DCPS for +7 years, still earning five figures.

Our colleagues in Title I schools deserve those bonuses. We all deserve retro pay and a fair salary increase, just like firefighters/emts and police officers received in their latest contract.

Our schools are being told that we will have budget cuts and will lose teachers next year. We are being told that there is no money for teacher salary increases. This is an expense that should have been anticipated, given the five years the District has stalled the negotiating process.

The city has a $2 billion reserve. Why aren't our public schools and teachers worth funding?

Anonymous wrote:There's talk of a walkout to let administration know they are serious

That would be quite silly. Those teachers will be replaced quickly.

This is a ditrct quote from NPR this morning: "We have the highest first-year teacher salary in the country, and the fastest path to a six-figure salary", says Chancellor Wilson.

+1

Anonymous wrote:No raise in 4 years? No retroactive pay? Extended day and school year? Spending hundreds in their own cash on supplies?

Our family is with you!

#StandWithDCPSTeachers

This DC teacher and parent says thank you!

There's talk of a walkout to let administration know they are serious