Black teachers are leaving. How can Maryland schools get them to stay? Montgomery lost 11% of Black teachers

...Black teachers like Ferrentino leave their schools at higher rates than teachers of any other race in all but one Maryland school district. They’re also underrepresented in school systems — a third of Maryland students are Black, but just 20% of their teachers are...

...Black teachers are underrepresented relative to Black students

In every school district but Garrett and Prince George's counties, there is a higher percentage of Black students than Black teachers...

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/maryland-black-teachers-YARRTE6ALRDCXNOXQHKOHLW3SI/

MCPS teaching staff is 50% White, 18% Black or African American, 17% Hispanic and 7% Asian.

 MCPS Teacher Staffing Reported at 99% as First Day Nears - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

‘I just found myself struggling to keep up’: Number of teachers quitting hits new high

The data is in: More teachers than usual exited the classroom after last school year, confirming longstanding fears that pandemic-era stresses would prompt an outflow of educators. That’s according to a Chalkbeat analysis of data from eight states – the most comprehensive accounting of recent teacher turnover to date. 

In Washington state, more teachers left the classroom after last school year than at any point in the last three decades. Maryland and Louisiana saw more teachers depart than any time in the last decade. And North Carolina saw a particularly alarming trend of more teachers leaving mid-school year...

More teachers are quitting than usual, driven by stress, politics, data shows (usatoday.com)

For example, at the post-funeral reception at the retirement community in Rockville, authorities determined that only people who had physical contact with the infected person are likely to be at risk.

There are several factors behind a directive to self-quarantine, said Montgomery County health officer Travis Gayles. They include the type and duration of the interaction with the infected person and that person’s condition at the time of the interaction...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-virus-christ-church-quarantine/2020/03/09/17567796-61fa-11ea-845d-e35b0234b136_story.html  

Should MCPS buy teachers or electronic toys and artificial grass?

The following letter was published today in the Washington Post and also Facebook by a Florida parent:

Dear Rick Scott, Governor of Florida

Please buy my child a teacher.

I pay taxes and send my children to public school.

Please buy my child a teacher. A child whisperer. A trained, energetic, enthusiastic, loving, educated, invested adult to grow a relationship with my child in the pursuit of learning.

Please buy my child a teacher who can see, hear and understand my child in a small group of special, targeted relationships. My child loves learning when learning comes with love.

Buying my child a new curriculum will not improve her relationship with learning.

Buying my child a new test will not improve his relationship with learning.

Buying my child a new computer program will not improve her relationship with learning.

Buying my child all these things reduces funding for what my child really needs: a relationship.

My child needs a person. A crowd.

Please invest my tax dollars in the people surrounding my child.

Buy my child a teacher who is paid so well that he would choose a career in education.

Buy my child a teacher who is trained so well that she can beautifully engage my child’s developing mind.

Buy my upset or disruptive child a teacher with time and expertise available for his needs.

Buy my child more teachers’ assistants for gentle encouragement and better classroom dynamics.

Buy my child enough support staff to improve communication with parents, to make use of the learning garden each morning and to run the clubs that spark my child’s interest.

Please transfer my taxes from the purchase of things to the purchase of people.

Spend less on assessment and more on relationships.

Spend less on hardware and more on hearts.

Spend less on worksheets and more on wisdom.

Spend less on standards and more on students.

Buy my child a person.

Buy my child a teacher.

Best Regards,

Are you a Montgomery County Public Schools parent or taxpayer with similar feelings?

I know I am.  I would add artificial turf to the list of items I'd be willing to sacrifice for a few good teachers.

If you agree, send your letters to MCPS and let them know!

Patricia O'Neill, President, MCPS BOE
850 Hungerford Lane
Rockville, MD 20850 
boe_account@mcpsmd.org

Teachers Union passes a Resolution against PARCC testing in Massachusetts

Among the reasons for opposing PARCC are: 

- the public and teachers are not allowed to see and discuss PARCC exams;

- there is no way to verify the validity and appropriateness of PARCC exams, yet they may influence students’ academic transcripts and impact their futures; 

- the exams take away from teaching time. 

http://aftma.net/2015/05/parcc-resolution/

Starr: "...teacher education programs...are not providing districts with the workforce they need..."

The following question and answer are from Superintendent Starr's presentation at the American Youth Policy Forum in February of 2013.

How are SDUSD and MCPS using research to provide teachers with increased information and professional development?...Starr related that teacher education programs, while working very hard, are not providing districts with the workforce they need. MCPS spends a lot on professional development for new teachers and the union is very involved in the development of teachers.

MCPS will hire contractors if it can’t find teachers

Gazette:  3 days to fill 50 positions in Montgomery schools