I have been asking for input from teachers and students since the new schedule for middle and high school was implemented.
Marilyn Brown with the Tampa Tribune recently wrote an article about the new schedule and the affects on teachers and students.
Read full article here.
I want to hear from you, share your feelings and your experiences here.
17 comments:
Wil let you know more as this unfolds. We started the year with more than 25 students per class and now 9 weeks into the year we are adjusting the schedule. Students have formed relationships with teachers and staff, gotten used to paths to take between classes and adjusted to their classmates. Now 1/4 of the year later many of these things will have to be relearned. YES, I am frustrated.
Things at my school are are frightening, especially in terms of services for ESE students. I will have to work things through the "chain of command" before I throw everything out there, and bring out the "dead" before the school board. But I will, because this has become an impossible job for teachers and it hurts to see the impact on the students.
gc
I am frustrated that the elementary school teachers continue to snipe at us.
Folks, marking 100 AP English essays in the 50 minutes given to us for planning simply can't be done very often. There's simply no time. On top of that, you know everything else we have to do.
We're not going to take a shot at you, the elementary school teacher, because we don't live in your world. Please trust your high school colleagues when they say it was the wrong decision.
Plus, whether you agree or disagree with the former 5/7 teaching schedule, the fact remains that hundreds of your colleagues had their pay cut up to $5,000. Imagine sitting in a conference room hearing that message with no answers.
We're in this together. Fight for what's right in your school, and we'll continue to fight for what we think is best.
Personally? I'm leaving after this year. This district continues to be operated by a core group of people who are completely out-of-touch with reality. Anyone that tries to reason with these folks gets smacked down and told that conformity is the name of the game.
Too bad. We could be so much better.
My assignments, tests, grading, adjusting, and creating new presentations were based on last years timeline. I tried to keep the pace. I am falling farther and farther behind.
My students parents don't have a clue. They just know the quizzes aren't up at EdLine. I get tired of trying to explain why they have to be patient with me.
I have one period for potty, paperwork, practice, etc.
I notice the Board takes a time-out after about an hour and a half. I must wait much longer - try it.
I just need someone to listen!
Currently, I have 159 students. I am a high school English honors teacher. I work very hard and am on the verge of losing my mind. I get about 4 hours of sleep a night, have no time for my spouse, work through the weekends, and skip my lunch period everyday to tutor absent/failing students. I can't find enough time in the day to return phone calls and answer emails promptly. Everyone wants to be treated like a one and only, but the reality is that it isn’t even a possibility. I am in survival mode. I want to be great, but these circumstances are making it impossible. I feel like I am drowning. PLEASE TELL MS. ELIA TO GIVE US OUR MUCH-NEEDED PLANNING PERIOD BACK. I know that I am a very dedicated teacher, who loves her job, and is in love with her students, but I can’t keep this up. It is only October, but it feels like March. I feel horrible for my students: they are the ones losing out because I can’t even touch the teacher I was last year. The morale at my school is so low. I hate to bring it up, but teachers aren’t even given the flexibility with the new schedule to relieve themselves as they need to, especially when they are covering another teacher’s class. Please forgive me for my negativity. We just want to be heard and be given an environment to be successful in. If next year is a repeat, I know that many wonderful teachers will leave for other counties or professions, and I will be one of them.
Thank you.
Re: anon Oct 22, 7:25pm - about ESE students
I have reason to believe that there was going to be an IEP assistant that is as qualified as a substitute that may instruct the students for six months or more.
I have reason to believe that double checking the criteria required and the screening that must be passed assures the competence of the IEP assistant.
I have reason to believe that the ability to advocate for students with disabilities is not threatened or reduced due to the benefit of an IEP assistant.
I have reason to believe that it was a "ludicrous jump to a conclusion based on flawed data" that planning time is in jeopardy.
I have reason to believe that Dr. Grego, Wynne Tye and Barbara Franques were provided the same opinions dated May 18, 2007.
This is in response to Special Ed Concierge. My school does not have the IEP assistant yet. With each teacher having 300+ hours of paperwork and case management responsibilities per year, and one 50 minute planning period.............. it takes only 3rd grade math skills to figure that the paperwork/ESE issues cannot be done within the workday.
But where is planning? Where are the hours of consultation and collaboration to provide accommodations and modifications?
Do you really think that the IEP Assistant can fill in all these gaps, with a school such as mine with 260+ ESE students?
Don't always believe what you are told. Question authority.
I find it completely disrepectful and an outrage that the teachers of Hillsborough county are being asked to relist our concerns. Haven't we jumped through the hoops enough? Whats the point... no one listens! Dr. Steele himself stated in the article that no changes will be made! I stood in front of the school board multiple times begging for someone to listen. Our concerns are now the reality. I have all honors and AP courses. It is taking me 2.5 weeks to get student work graded and passed back! I am not able to respond to parents until 3 or 4 days after I received their messages! Often 1 parent phone call will take up 1/2 my planning period! I will not be teaching next year and have already begun dusting off my resume. With my BA and MA I can easily aquire a different job paying 3 times as much money. This is just ridiculous.
The most telling part in the entire article were the remarks made by Steele. They anticipated these problems, but intend to make no changes! Changes are happening, already-- and not a one is positive! Students are being woefully shorted and the consequences are going to show in semester grades decreasing, class failures increasing , FCAT scores and school grades crashing. Maybe then will Elia and the SB listen to the voices of thousands of professional degrees and hundreds of thousands of years experienced daily with students.
Anonymous October 23, 6:17 PM,
I hope you are not feeling like I am disrespecting teachers by asking for input. Quite the opposite thought is going through my mind as I ask for continued updates from the people being affected by the new schedule. I want a realistic view point when the data comes from administration.
And yes, someone is listening...me. April
Thank you, April.
I, too, am concerned with the current situation. Let me be CLEAR when I say this is NOT about money. When I entered this profession, I came because I didn't care about money or prestige. I cared about making a MARKED difference in a child's life. Call me an idealist. But this year, my dreams have been ripped from my fingers.
Under the current conditions, I am constantly apologizing to my students because I just don't measure up to the teacher I was last year. When one is teaching upper level high school English honors classes, a 50 minute period is not enough. I can’t get to everyone; I have to put off questions, extra practice, and accommodations because of the time crunch. Not to mention, as all have said, with more than 150 students, one measly 50 minute planning period is not enough. In that time, I am busied with meetings, phone calls, emails, and paperwork. I can’t even touch grading and planning, WHICH IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING and THE THING I WENT TO COLLEGE AND BECAME CERTIFIED FOR.
I know you are only one person, but help us. We are not respected as the educated, hard-working professionals that we are. We are bashed by our district with these standards, the media with its limited vision and bias, the parents with their egocentricities, and the student with their insolence and disrespect. I hate feeling like my best is never enough for anyone. I hate being in a place where excellence is an impossibility. I will be leaving this district next year, if things are not fixed. I cannot sacrifice my happiness, my marriage, and my family life for this job like I do. I, like many, feel as if I could disappear tomorrow, and I would be replaced in a blink of an eye, with no acknowledgement to my contributions and sacrifices. I know I am waxing poetic, but this is my life and my life calling. Like the old feminist adage says, “THE POLITICAL IS PERSONAL.”
Please tell the SB for us…
You should post a blog asking for POSITIVE comments Ms. Griffin. That way you won't be accused of only asking for negatives.
I had a conversation with a teacher who told me his count is at 13 teachers - who have stated this is their last year. Every one of them have less than 5 years experience. The school currently has almost 90 teachers on staff.
The one conference period doesn't leave much time or energy for in-service training, tech training, reading consultation, AP conferences or the time to stop what you're doing and respond to the principal's request for info or paperwork. FTE accuracy? hahahaha
I have 4 years left until I can retire. No DROP for me.
I am preparing for a pay cut. Why not? With the housing market in the tank, the taxes and insurance rates heading up, and people NOT moving to Florida - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the state coffers will be bare. My retirement check will be affected since the formula is based on the last 5 years of service.
It's only October.
Based on my attitude and the number of unhappy people increasing every day, it's only a matter of time until someone's idea sparks some sort of action or response.
The district NEEDS to throw us a bone.
'Cause when the poop hits The WALL -
Anonymous October 23, 10:37 PM,
I do not specifically ask for negative comments. I ask for comments in general, with one stipulation. That they be for the betterment of the school district. I want realistic input, good, bad, and everything in between. I will be able to make more informed, educated decisions then. I never get my information from one source.
I truly believe this is a great school district, with a lot to be proud of. I also believe we have some areas that need some serious change. I am working towards that.
April
In response to 10/23 5:42
I must say I laughed out loud at your last statement to "question authority".
Are you new to the system?
I could write a book about the abuse of power in this District. And have been asked to do so many times. The Whitehead trial, the one that went to Federal court, was exactly that. It was not an IDEA trial - it was a 504 civil rights trial. The Whiteheads proved retaliation by the District for the attempts of the Whiteheads to advocate for their child. There is a link to it on my blog.
When it comes to gate keeping resources (money and personnel), once an act is committed, the reflexive action of the District is to not waiver if at all possible, even when the act is learned to be wrong or illegal.
To be as succinct as possible, the difficulties within the District are trumped by the abuse of power and the need to maintain an image of control.
There are obvious signs that this arrogance and cavalier attitude is being questioned more publicly.
Today's change went well. I now have 6 classes of 25 or fewer students.
I am an elementary teacher in hillsborough. During the summer I became aware of the coming changes for my colleagues in secondary. I am upset to see that the changes have indeed been difficult and disheartening-- as predicted by many.
What strikes me about the blogs posted by teachers "caught" by the new schedule is how involved they are with their students-- and how this schedule precludes that involvement. Several reported wanting to leave because they could not envision regaining the "excellence" of previous years. I'm sure that many will learn to cope with the changes (our profession is based on coping with bureaucratic obstacles), but does this mean that they will be forced to lower their personal standards of performance?
Our national, state, and county governing bodies are continually asserting that educational excellence depends on teachers, and teachers must be coninually increasing their standards of performance. As professionals, good teaching is the goal for which we work so persistently. If we are unable to feel competent, how are we expected to continue in a system that does not support success?
I believe the teachers that say they will leave. Teaching in Hillsborough can be great, but not if your job duties become unmanageable. If many qualified teachers leave secondary, who will be coming to fill their positions? Will they really be qualified teachers who are better at coping, or less qualified teachers who care even less about educational excellence...?
As a family of teachers, I have to say that money does matter. One family member has three children to raise and you need money to do that. He works harder at this teaching job then he did earning a Ph.D. in physics at a very prestigious research facility. He loves his students and has a passion for his subject. The school district is very fortunate to have someone like him. However, he does not get the respect and the financial support that he deserves. It is demoralizing to do the work he does and qualify for WIC. Adding insult to injury, he has even more work this year and his children do not see him for DAYS at a time because he is also teaching night school to pay the bills.
Is this really how the school board and all the administrators "support" teachers?
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