Johnston County Schools question

I was speaking to another mom recently and she brought to my attention that Polenta Elementary has lost a lot of teachers mid-year this year. My daughters teacher is leaving in a few weeks. We did get a new principal this year so I don't know if she is the problem or if it's something else. Does anyone know anything about what is happening? Is it just this school? Is there a way to address this situation and make things change? Thanks.

 

PM'd

Hi, please see the PM I sent.

 

pm me

Background.

 

Saw a piece on the news last night that over 600 teachers in the state have quit this year and the major turnover season hasn't even arrived yet. That's what happens when you don't pay a fair wage to one of the most necessary occupations there is IMO. Let's see. We have car salespeople easily making over $50K a year and our teachers are making in the $30's creating our future leaders! Something is seriously wrong with that scenario.

 

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/09/3607144/troubling-indications-that-theres.html

GOP policies could create a teacher shortage in NC


As a report from The News & Observer’s Jane Stancill and Lynn Bonner showed, North Carolina may be living on borrowed time when it comes to getting the best and the brightest into the teaching profession. It should come as no surprise.

Teacher turnover last year was the second highest in a decade. There are more early retirements. Teacher training enrollments in the state’s university system are down 7 percent.

No surprise. After all, legislators killed a program to recruit top students for teacher jobs through scholarships. A modest form of tenure is being phased out. A master’s degree no longer will be rewarded with higher pay.

And there’s North Carolina’s disgraceful 46th-place ranking in average teacher pay. That’s lower than the neighboring states of Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina.


Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/09/3607144/troubling-indications-that-theres.html#storylink=cpy

 

One of the best school systems in the state is raising an alarm over the issue.


http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9506078

School leaders in Wake County say they're seeing a disturbing trend among teachers.


It's a dramatic increase in the number of educators resigning and a dwindling supply of qualified teachers to fill empty positions.

For example, at Raleigh's Underwood Elementary, two teachers have already left this year and two more plan to leave before the end of the school year. That's 25 percent of the school's teachers lost.

The school district says it's a growing trend at schools across Wake County. More and more teachers are quitting and finding qualified teachers to take their place is becoming extremely difficult.

The news comes as the debate escalates over teacher pay in North Carolina. Teachers have seen just one salary increase since 2008 and now rank among the lowest paid in the country.

Republicans have proposed raising starting salaries for new talent - but offer no boost for veteran educators.

Frustrated and fed up, teachers have resorted to leaving the state or getting out of the profession all together.

 

Were you born this stupid or do you have to work at it?

 

If they don't want to teach for the salary offered then them them go. Good luck finding another job in this economy. I know of several recent education grads that could not find a job. I think it might be a good thing to clean house at the schools. Not that I am a fan of the common core, but that is what they are supposed to teach. It seems like the "experienced" teachers don't ant to learn or teach something new, so let's get some new ones in--who will actually be excited to teach and have a paycheck. I am so sick of hearing how bad teachers have it. It is not like NC has cut teacher pay like in other states. We are not cramming 45 kids in a classroom like other states. They know what the job is and the pay is posted for anyone to see so they should not be surprised if it is not what they want. There are a lot of people with degrees who don't have the benefits or make what teachers make. At this time people need to be thankful for a job at all.

 

He can politicize anything. Teachers have been paid poorly in this state for a long time and has nothing to do with Rep or Dem.

 

Umm you do realize he wasn't the one that fired that up.. his was a response to the one that went and politicized it.. you saw that didn't you?

 

So a BS editorial from some random newspaper that few read anymore.. lol

 

How is the Raleigh News & Observer a "some random newspaper that few read anymore"

 

Oh I don't know but it sounded good.. we know how Wayne feels about editorials anyway.

 

I will say that I knew that I wasn't going top get rich as a teacher. I see so many teachers who have families that have taken on 1-2 additional jobs in order to support them. My MAEd pays what my husband's GED pays....

 

The new policies are from the GOP administration not just the lack of pay increases for established teachers and the editorial was supported by a news article and it does address the OP's question.

 

Sorry that you have a problem understanding written English, but the new policies being introduced are by the GOP and those policies are part of the reason the teachers are leaving, not just because of the pay.

New is by definition not old.

 

In case the reference was too complicated, here are three of the new policies which are helping to create the problem.


legislators killed a program to recruit top students for teacher jobs through scholarships.

A modest form of tenure is being phased out.

A master’s degree no longer will be rewarded with higher pay

An employee's children are in school and they have lost two teachers and a principal to schools in VA just this school year and at least two more teachers are considering offers which have already been made to them.

 

There is so much misinformation and ignorance, not to mention arrogance, in this post that it would take pages to correct it all with factual information. I am sure any attempt to explain how wrong you are with your understanding of the situation would be a total waste of time. But go ahead, sit up there in your high and mighty chair and play armchair quarterback to this important topic while school leaders search across the country for brand new teacher replacements who got hired on a phone interview to replace veteran teachers who have lost the desire to be loyal to a profession where people like you exist only to criticize and judge and think you know the situation. It will only get worse from here, but I am sure when it does, you will just find a way to blame it on the teachers.

 

Or maybe insurance?? 8)

 

That explains a lot.