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Alright FCPS teachers, I& #39;m going to speak directly to you right now. This is going to be a marathon, so get your running shoes on.
So I talked with an anonymous school board member today, who pointed out a few important things to me. (1/18)
So I talked with an anonymous school board member today, who pointed out a few important things to me. (1/18)
-The School Board (SB) was given $20 million in CARES funding.
-The Board of Supervisors (BoS) was given $200 million in CARES funding.
-Over 50% of the county budget is designated to schools. Despite this, the BOS has not yet shared any nor have they indicated they will. (2/18)
-The Board of Supervisors (BoS) was given $200 million in CARES funding.
-Over 50% of the county budget is designated to schools. Despite this, the BOS has not yet shared any nor have they indicated they will. (2/18)
In fact some have indicated the opposite. But this is an ongoing dialogue.
-The School Board has no say over childcare. The BoS run SACC. The BoS runs the Neighborhood and Community Services department which provides services to the community (3/18)
-The School Board has no say over childcare. The BoS run SACC. The BoS runs the Neighborhood and Community Services department which provides services to the community (3/18)
including sports camps, after school programs, and teen training and volunteer programs. They provide childcare options through daycamps and summer camps. The SB has no say over this.
(4/18)
(4/18)
In fact, schools are not even allowed to utilize SACC rooms when during the school day when SACC is not using it.
-To emphasize the above points, every member of the BoS earns a $90k salary and has five staffers.
(5/18)
-To emphasize the above points, every member of the BoS earns a $90k salary and has five staffers.
(5/18)
Each member of the SB earns a $32,000 a year salary, except for the student member and board chair. The board chair earns a $34,000 a year salary, while the student member earns $50 a meeting. The board members each have 1/2 of a staff member.
(6/18)
(6/18)
To make a long story short, a lot of the issues people are complaining to the SB about are not SB issues. They are issues for the BoS. Issues regarding testing? The health department overseen by the BoS. The essence of the health plans? BoS. Childcare? BoS.
(7/18)
(7/18)
In fact, the SB has already given teachers the only possible offering they had to give (and received criticism for it from both teachers and the community).
(8/18)
(8/18)
Takeaway? The SB really wants to work with us. The member I spoke with was passionate in their adamance to both support teachers AND ensure a healthy year of instruction for students.
(9/18)
(9/18)
While many of us want a virtual start, there are safety issues involved in this also, particularly regarding mental health. The SB is willing to go with a virtual start if that is indeed the best way to keep students safe, but they do need teachers to work with them.
(10/18)
(10/18)
-Teachers need to stop bullying and harassing SB members. The member I spoke to shared some truly appalling comments that teachers have made. I& #39;m talking comments that would result in student suspensions if a student said them.
(11/18)
(11/18)
-Teachers need to be thoughtful regarding student health of all sorts. Physical and mental health both are important. We need to be thoughtful about considering these issues also.
(12/18)
(12/18)
-Teachers need to think about concrete steps they can take, both individually and as a collective, to ensure quality instruction. There were children of board members who had teachers end class regularly after 15 minutes of class...
(13/18)
(13/18)
, there were teachers clearly teaching from the beach, there were teachers who were disinterested. Obviously we aren& #39;t evaluators, but what can we do to ensure our colleagues are giving their all for our students?
(14/18)
(14/18)
-Teachers need to view the board as a fellow stakeholder in this journey towards the 2020-2021 school year, not as adversaries. If we treat this as an adversarial relationship, we should expect them to, also.
(15/18)
(15/18)
-Be sure we are addressing the right people. If you are concerned about childcare issues? Talk to the BoS. If you are concerned about funding? BoS. Concerned about the testing plan? BoS. On the other hand, concerned about schedules, or educational programming? SB.
(16/18)
(16/18)
I& #39;ve said this before and I& #39;ll say it again. Dr. Brabrand and the SB are working so hard right now and are considering so many different factors. In all things, we should PRESUME POSITIVE INTENTIONS. We all want the same thing here. We want students educated.
(17/18)
(17/18)
We want students, teachers, and families healthy and secure. We want schools to provide a beacon of stability to our students in a time of inherent instability. We may not agree on how to get there, but our goals are the same.
Have a good night, everybody! (18/18)
Have a good night, everybody! (18/18)
@Keys_Gamarra @AbrarOmeish @RachnaHeizer @Megan4Schools @ElaineTholen @MelanieForEdu @Kaufax4Schools @Ricardy4Mason @Karen4Schools @KarlFrischFCPS @LJ4fcps @stella_pekarsky @FCPSSupt
Thank you for all you are doing for our students, teachers, staff, and family.
Thank you for all you are doing for our students, teachers, staff, and family.
You are all appreciated for your hard and caring (even if us teachers aren& #39;t always great at showing so).
