Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of turnover among subs. They are treated with so much disrespect by both teachers and students. They are given little or no training and expected to do exactly what the room teacher does. The kids know you are not coming back. They try to get away with as much as they can.

I have taught in both FCPS and LCPS. It seems to be difficult for school systems to find subs who can speak and understand English. I have no idea how many of them get through the sub process. Those of us who know the few excellent subs have them on speed dial/text to arrange for them directly. I absolutely do not trust the office to secure a decent sub for me.

I'm a sub in FCPS and can answer this for you: FCPS does not do face-to-face interviews as a condition of employment as a sub. There's an online questionnaire which requires English proficiency to complete, but FCPS has no way of knowing whether the person who completes it is the same one who is applying for the job. There's also a three question written "quiz" at the end of the (unpaid) orientation. Honestly, a Level I ESL speaker could probably answer these questions and they in no way assess whether someone could comprehend and execute a daily lesson plan. The people at the sub office aren't standing around monitoring the quiz taking, so you could very easily get someone else to complete it if you were so inclined.

Also, for what it's worth, the people who work at the sub office are really rude and not at all helpful to potential hires, including retired teachers. I know several who sub in Loudoun and at local privates because they got so fed up.

OH!!! I could start and fill a thread JUST ABOUT THIS!!! Absolutely the WORST! And I guarantee they do their best to make the people who show up feel as though they are doing YOU a favor rather than the other way around.

x1000 A slightly different take but we have a long-term sub who is trying to get hired for the position the sub is in right now. The position has been unfilled since the first day of the school year. The credentialing specialist for our school system, not FCPS, is out and out rude as well as completely incompetent, and has not even bothered to call the State (which the sub has). We have made numerous complaints to the Teacher Advisory Committee about this issue but have been told that they are done hearing about it.

People want to know what's wrong at our schools and why your children don't have qualified personnel in the classrooms for all of their classrooms? In our school system what's wrong is the people like our so-called credentialing specialist who don't do their jobs and other people there who don't know that their job is to serve the people who are on the front-line at the schools. The stories we hear from our subs about dealing with central office are just appalling. Our subs should be lauded yet they are treated like dirt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of turnover among subs. They are treated with so much disrespect by both teachers and students. They are given little or no training and expected to do exactly what the room teacher does. The kids know you are not coming back. They try to get away with as much as they can.

I have taught in both FCPS and LCPS. It seems to be difficult for school systems to find subs who can speak and understand English. I have no idea how many of them get through the sub process. Those of us who know the few excellent subs have them on speed dial/text to arrange for them directly. I absolutely do not trust the office to secure a decent sub for me.

I'm a sub in FCPS and can answer this for you: FCPS does not do face-to-face interviews as a condition of employment as a sub. There's an online questionnaire which requires English proficiency to complete, but FCPS has no way of knowing whether the person who completes it is the same one who is applying for the job. There's also a three question written "quiz" at the end of the (unpaid) orientation. Honestly, a Level I ESL speaker could probably answer these questions and they in no way assess whether someone could comprehend and execute a daily lesson plan. The people at the sub office aren't standing around monitoring the quiz taking, so you could very easily get someone else to complete it if you were so inclined.

Also, for what it's worth, the people who work at the sub office are really rude and not at all helpful to potential hires, including retired teachers. I know several who sub in Loudoun and at local privates because they got so fed up.

OH!!! I could start and fill a thread JUST ABOUT THIS!!! Absolutely the WORST! And I guarantee they do their best to make the people who show up feel as though they are doing YOU a favor rather than the other way around.

I have heard the same from substitutes.

I would like FCPS to institute some type of incentive for saving leave. Teachers used to be able to at least get some service credit for unused leave when they retired, but that stopped for new hires many years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of turnover among subs. They are treated with so much disrespect by both teachers and students. They are given little or no training and expected to do exactly what the room teacher does. The kids know you are not coming back. They try to get away with as much as they can.

I have taught in both FCPS and LCPS. It seems to be difficult for school systems to find subs who can speak and understand English. I have no idea how many of them get through the sub process. Those of us who know the few excellent subs have them on speed dial/text to arrange for them directly. I absolutely do not trust the office to secure a decent sub for me.

I'm a sub in FCPS and can answer this for you: FCPS does not do face-to-face interviews as a condition of employment as a sub. There's an online questionnaire which requires English proficiency to complete, but FCPS has no way of knowing whether the person who completes it is the same one who is applying for the job. There's also a three question written "quiz" at the end of the (unpaid) orientation. Honestly, a Level I ESL speaker could probably answer these questions and they in no way assess whether someone could comprehend and execute a daily lesson plan. The people at the sub office aren't standing around monitoring the quiz taking, so you could very easily get someone else to complete it if you were so inclined.

Also, for what it's worth, the people who work at the sub office are really rude and not at all helpful to potential hires, including retired teachers. I know several who sub in Loudoun and at local privates because they got so fed up.

OH!!! I could start and fill a thread JUST ABOUT THIS!!! Absolutely the WORST! And I guarantee they do their best to make the people who show up feel as though they are doing YOU a favor rather than the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$14.23 short term.
$20 long term

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY18-substitute-and-homebound-rates.pdf

I pay a sitter $15/hour. $20 is not enough for a classroom. Not if you want someone experienced and professional.

Isn't it crazy?
I'm a former teacher (14 years ago before I worked in a different industry) and I now accept sub jobs at my kids' school mostly because they need the qualified subs and there always seems to be 5-8 teachers out every single day. But my DH and I joke that I make less per hour than the HS babysitter we hire on date night! I do it because they need it and the hours work for me and our family! Honestly, it's convenient to my otherwise-SAH life and I can say no when I need to stay home with a sick kid or go to a doctor's appoint, etc. But it really is pathetic what passes as acceptable pay.

And there are NEVER enough subs!
I went to the mandatory FCPS orientation for new subs (they hold two a month) and even though there were about 45 new hires at my one session alone, they allow you to designate which school you will accept jobs from, so it's just not enough people.

Principal really is telling the truth! If they can't find someone willing to do it, then it's a no go! (And keep in mind that the $20/hour paid to a long-term sub is because she/he has to do all the lesson planning and grading! And that takes up all your nights and weekends! Nope!)

I was a long-term sub for three months and then was offered a full-time job. I was treated with respect but the lower pay and lack of benefits keeps people from doing this long-term since you work almost as hard as a full-time teacher (we are talking working every weekend too).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are just absolutely falling apart. The social breakdown of these areas absolutely dictates the necessity of private schools.

teachers going out on maternity leave happens at the privates just as much. Happened to DC in English class two years in a row.

Yep, irresponsible, unprofessional teachers can be found anywhere.

Oh, stop. Taking time off to care for your children is not at all irresponsible.

One of the issues, however is that schools do not value veteran teachers in the way that they used to. They believe newer younger teachers will be some type of magic bullet. The more young teachers, the more likely maternity leave, career-switching, school transfers, etc are. They come and go. Veteran lifelong educators are not going to get pregnant and are unlikely to leave the field within five years.

That is not to say that schools should not hire new or young teachers. NOT AT ALL. The problem is that when you look around most schools the majority of the teachers are young (and white). The MAJORITY of the teachers in your building having less than 5 years of teaching experience is a problem.

Anonymous wrote:You are lucky that your principal is doing this! We begged ours to do this last year. Kids ended up with 4 teachers. One after another of subs. It was chaos and a true disservice to the kids. I’d much rather have had them combine with established teachers at this point in the year. The established teachers know the discipline issues and how to teach the grade the kids are in.

Last year we hit 30/31 students per grade 3 class around October. We qualified for another classroom. We were told HR had nobody to give us and our principal did not or could not find a long term sub. We went all year without the additional class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$14.23 short term.
$20 long term

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY18-substitute-and-homebound-rates.pdf

I pay a sitter $15/hour. $20 is not enough for a classroom. Not if you want someone experienced and professional.

The truth is that babysitters are treated better than teachers and subs.

This is the truth. We are constantly short of subs at my school. Pretty much every day I am asked to give up my planning period to monitor a classroom that has been combined and there is no sub.

Do you teach HS?

Anonymous wrote:You are lucky that your principal is doing this! We begged ours to do this last year. Kids ended up with 4 teachers. One after another of subs. It was chaos and a true disservice to the kids. I’d much rather have had them combine with established teachers at this point in the year. The established teachers know the discipline issues and how to teach the grade the kids are in.

Oh, don't give me a halo yet. It was a Catch-22 because it meant that I had to spend longer at school after dismissal to do what I would have been doing during that time. I was okay with it until last week when I walked down to the office to ask for someone to make copies (there weren't enough for all the kids crammed into my room). Lo and behold there were all the admin sitting around a conference room table eating lunch after they had already been visiting another teacher's room and eating lunch at a quick baby shower during lunch time for the kids. So now I am fine with the children coming into my room but they need to have work that they can do independently so I can do what I would normally be doing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of turnover among subs. They are treated with so much disrespect by both teachers and students. They are given little or no training and expected to do exactly what the room teacher does. The kids know you are not coming back. They try to get away with as much as they can.

I have taught in both FCPS and LCPS. It seems to be difficult for school systems to find subs who can speak and understand English. I have no idea how many of them get through the sub process. Those of us who know the few excellent subs have them on speed dial/text to arrange for them directly. I absolutely do not trust the office to secure a decent sub for me.

I'm a sub in FCPS and can answer this for you: FCPS does not do face-to-face interviews as a condition of employment as a sub. There's an online questionnaire which requires English proficiency to complete, but FCPS has no way of knowing whether the person who completes it is the same one who is applying for the job. There's also a three question written "quiz" at the end of the (unpaid) orientation. Honestly, a Level I ESL speaker could probably answer these questions and they in no way assess whether someone could comprehend and execute a daily lesson plan. The people at the sub office aren't standing around monitoring the quiz taking, so you could very easily get someone else to complete it if you were so inclined.

Also, for what it's worth, the people who work at the sub office are really rude and not at all helpful to potential hires, including retired teachers. I know several who sub in Loudoun and at local privates because they got so fed up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public schools are just absolutely falling apart. The social breakdown of these areas absolutely dictates the necessity of private schools.

teachers going out on maternity leave happens at the privates just as much. Happened to DC in English class two years in a row.

Yep, irresponsible, unprofessional teachers can be found anywhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My SAHM friend who used to teach before kids thought she would start subbing this fall and maybe work one or two days/week. She subs exclusively at two elementary schools in our area and says she could work just at those schools every single day if she wanted to.

Yes, because she is a rare breed. Once a good sub is in the building everyone gets wind of it and people contact them directly. Those aren't the subs picking jobs up from the system. The issue is that they're often booked far in advance so they're not always available. They're also less likely to take a long term sub job because they lose flexibility and their responsibilities increase by an exorbitant amount for very little pay increase. It's just not worth it to them when they can pick and choose jobs.

NP. I'm a sub in FCPS and am in the same position as the SAHM friend (former teacher, thought subbing would be a rather infrequent gig). The other PP is exactly right. I'm not kidding when I say I could work every single day. I think the pay is horrible for the amount of responsibiity but I genuinely like the work and our financial situation is good enough that I just put everything I make into a 403(b)--one "perk" the county offers is that subs can contribute to those, although there's no employer match. I would be very hesitant to take a long-term job unless it was in a classroom I already knew very well.

The school board did a study on the sub situation last year and the results were very telling. The county needs to reevaluate their approach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$14.23 short term.
$20 long term

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY18-substitute-and-homebound-rates.pdf

I pay a sitter $15/hour. $20 is not enough for a classroom. Not if you want someone experienced and professional.

The truth is that babysitters are treated better than teachers and subs.

+100

My 13 year old DD makes $15 an hour babysitting one kid. I think that’s nuts but so is the rate for subs.

You are lucky that your principal is doing this! We begged ours to do this last year. Kids ended up with 4 teachers. One after another of subs. It was chaos and a true disservice to the kids. I’d much rather have had them combine with established teachers at this point in the year. The established teachers know the discipline issues and how to teach the grade the kids are in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$14.23 short term.
$20 long term

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY18-substitute-and-homebound-rates.pdf

I pay a sitter $15/hour. $20 is not enough for a classroom. Not if you want someone experienced and professional.

The truth is that babysitters are treated better than teachers and subs.

This is the truth. We are constantly short of subs at my school. Pretty much every day I am asked to give up my planning period to monitor a classroom that has been combined and there is no sub.