At the 10am Board Meeting this morning, the DeKalb Schools administration will request that the Board of Education approve the following 2020-2021 calendar.
As a Strategic Waiver School System, the DeKalb County School District has flexibility from identified state statutes and associated rules. The District may depart from the strict interpretations of the definition of school year, school month, and school day; therefore, the Calendar Committee reconvened to consider the following calendar attributes:
• 179 days of instruction for the year – 91 number of instructional days in first semester and 88 second semester
• 185 contract days for teachers – 88 number of instructional days in first semester and 97 second semester
• First day of school for students – Monday, August 17, 2020
• All teacher pre planning and learning institute / professional development days will be virtual
• Last day of school for students – Friday, May 28, 2021
• Adjustment to the school calendar of 5 days for 10-month employees that includes one evening workday comprised of four conference nights during the year (This is an official work schedule reduction in contracted days.)
• 4-Day Professional Development Institute (August 5-7, 2020 and January 15, 2021)
Notes
1. The school district will pay for 185 work days. The Learning Institute is paying for 4 days. That makes for 1 furlough day and a total of 189 teacher work days.
Learning Institute
Teachers will get paid a stipend on the 4 learning institute professional development days. The stipend amount hasn’t been determined, but the administration hopes it will be equivalent to their regular salary day. This learning institute professional development will be virtual. The district has been putting this together since April. It will be funded with Title I, Title II, CARES, unused travel/pro development and various other reclaimed budget line items.
Calendars
2019-2020 Calendar
2018-2019 Calendar
2017-2018 Calendar
2016-2017 Calendar
2015-2016 Calendar
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
“The administration said they DO NOT KNOW how much teachers would get paid for the learning institute yet. They are GOING TO TRY to make it equivalent to a day’s salary (which is now lower than the daily rate since these days are not contracted days). I GUESS it’s like a stipend on a non paid day.” Stan Jester
And yet he and 5 others voted for this without any further questioning and then applauded at the end. Teachers are still on the losing end. Dekalb saves money by reducing our salaries and the closing of schools, while we incur additional household expenses by teaching from home while bringing in less money. Speechless!
Thank you for the info…I would not have posted my information If I did not make a point to contact TRS. My information is based on my interaction with TRS. I will not get a cost of living after retirement nor can I get a step raise while working.
Just call it for what it is. 5 furlough days.
11Alive stated at 7:09 PM on 24 July 2020 that ” The board approved the 2021 fiscal year budget with a 6-1 vote, reducing a proposed nine “calendar reduction days,” a different term the county uses for legal purpose but that is similar to furloughs, to one.”
Why is DCSD using the term “calendar reduction days” instead of “furlough days”?
What is the employment law difference between a furlough day and a calendar reduction day?
Is it because under the furlough term some benefits such as leave, service credit, and retirement credits are accounted for and paid on behalf of the employee? Under the “calendar reduction days” label, are some or all these benefits lost?
With regards to the paid Professional Development Institute, will attendance be voluntary or compulsory?
For those who elect to attend the Professional Development Institute, will the stipend per-day-value–if the intent is to approximate a teacher’s daily rate of salary–be graduated to reflect each participant’s daily rate of salary?
While the local media is presently reporting DCSD’s budget miracle, are not the Board members and Superintendent at all concerned about potential media backlash and mistrust if the employee September, October, November paychecks does not match the July promises?
I am looking at the nitty-gritty of the budget and I am disgusted as to what I see. Regional Superintendents pay increasing steadily! Look at the numbers! Principals pay increasing. Again, look at the numbers. Teachers getting a 5 day cut. The Learning Institute is not guaranteed to be a full pay day much less with benefits but they are touting around to the media that we went from 9 to 1 furlough day. We have 5 furlough days. Cut increases of 5-10 thousand dollars for administrators and the money will be there!
Thank-you! My team came up with the same numbers!! Why The Dekalb BOE be costing teachers their livelihood…I don’t know! Teachers are the ones that make the county look good but whenever there’s any Accolades teachers are NOT recognized!! This is sad! I used to defend Dekalb but now all I can do is pray for them!
When will we see the daily schedule for students?
Mr. Jester,
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I understand that schools are facing financial difficulties. I’m a Central Office employee and we are facing 5 furlough days as opposed to the 1 day that teachers will be facing.
Many central office employees earn less than $60,000 a year. Before the decision was made about Central Office employees, were salaries taken into consideration? There are several central office employees who earn more than $60,000 and probably won’t see a big difference in their pay.
For employees making less than $60,000 a year, losing one week of pay will definitely impact their families.
Would it have been possible to reduce the number of furlough days for employees making less than $60,000 and increasing the number of furlough days for employees making more than $60,000. This would even out the impact of furlough days.
Dear Young Teach, (July 25, 2020 at 5:05 PM)
I truly admire your attitude and your readiness to start working NOW without yet knowing your salary and benefits. I long for the times when salary and benefits mattered little to me.
Eleven (11) years ago, DCSD suspended its payment to an employee-benefit plan (TSA) established by DCSD as an alternative to the Federal Social Security System.
In January 2020, the Social Security Administration showed me on paper the amount of Social Security monthly retirement benefit 29 years of employment with DCSD had cost me: about $500.00 for every month I live in retirement. Had DCSD kept its word in 2009 to resume contributions to TSA, I would have about $120 000 in my TSA account to make-up for the Social Security Administration loss of $500 every month for the rest of my life.
That is a cumulative loss of $66 000 if I live to my father’s age at death and $156 000 if I live to my mother’s age at death. What an irony, the shorter I live after retirement the less money I lose because of DCSD.
Enough about death and losses, let us talk about our present situation.
DCSD has agreed to pay out a TSA settlement of $ 117 000 000 for a lawsuit first filed in 2011 against DCSD. How many millions of dollars did DCSD squander in its 9 years defending against this lawsuit is still a Star Chamber secret.
The TSA settlement payments are spread over the next five years (20-21, 21-22, 22-23, 23-24, and 24-25) to covered DCSD employees and retirees—in truth, covered DCSD employees and retirees will receive collectively no more than $80 000 000 of the $117 000 000 because of lawyer and legal costs. Employees, like you, hired after 2009 are NOT included in and will NOT receive any money from the settlement because you were not (yet) harmed since you did not have a TSA in 2009.
The 2020-2021 DCSD budget is using a combination of 5 “furlough” and “calendar reduction” days to pay about $25 000 000 for the 1st of 5 annual installments of the TSA settlement. For the lowest DCSD teacher, the 5 “furlough” and “calendar reduction” days amount to a reduction of $111.00 in each month’s salary for this school year. For me, they amount to a reduction is $181.00 in each month’s salary for this school year.
While your monthly $111 reduction in pay is helping the beneficiaries of the TSA settlement—it is not helping you one bit. You are helping me with your $111 per month. At least a small portion of my monthly $181 reduction in pay will trickle back to me as TSA settlement checks are issued.
But nobody should get jealous: my personal share of contribution for just school year 20-21 is about $2180, but I am told– by a Chicago attorney who took a cursory look at the TSA case and settlement–not to expect any more than 5 annual payments of $1200 each—for a 5 year total of no more than $6000— from the TSA settlement. The attorney also suggested if I left DCSD before August 10, 2020 through resignation, transfer to another school system, or retirement I would save myself $2180 of salary reduction in 20-21. The attorney concluded with another irony “you stay and enjoy teaching in DCSD for 5 more years and you might surrender $10 860 in salary in return for $ 6 000 in TSA settlement coming to you anyway”.
So Young Teacher, DCSD having approved the 2020-2021 budget, by a 6 to 1 Board of Education vote on July 24, 2020, effectively validating the funding mechanism of the TSA settlement to 2009-era employees by current employees, will your attitude survive the next four years (21-22, 22-23, 23-24, and 24-25) of a combination of “furlough” and “calendar reduction” days to pay for the rest of the $117 000 000 settlement?
“No, DCSD would not fund future budgets that way” you say? In 2009, we said “No, DCSD will return the 3 years of TSA contribution and resume funding within 3 years as promised by the 2009 Board of Education” did it?
Considering that DCSD is predicting economic doom and gloom over the next several years as justification for funding the TSA lawsuit payment via the mechanism of “furlough” and “calendar day” reductions, is anyone anticipating a budget much differently funded in the 4 years to come? How is DCSD going to fund each of the 4 subsequent annual TSA settlements of $25 000 000 if not in the same successful manner?
Finally, for the sake of the wonderful students and the caring citizens of Dekalb County, this old man hopes DCSD becomes again attractive to the new generation of prospective young and great teachers despite its compensation schedule and its failure to keep its promises. For that, much work is needed.
“Nearly 1.5 Million Teachers (One in Four) are at Greater Risk of Serious Illness if Infected with Coronavirus” according to this study from the Kaiser Family Foundation:
https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/how-many-teachers-are-at-risk-of-serious-illness-if-infected-with-coronavirus/
Henri,
Thank you for sharing that.
Hard to see why anyone was praising Friday’s decisions after reading this information.
@concerned Central Office employee–
You must have been educated in Dekalb– your math does not work. If I make more than $60,000– those days will cost me $234.00 a day– that is using a $61,000.00 annual salary. Do you think because I am finally making over $60,000 that life is large? What about the 10 years of NO STEPS-what about NO TSA for 9 years- what about a VERY expensive salary comparison that finally remedied most of my pay today– but NOTHING for the 10+ years of NO STEPS– MORE furlough days than the teachers- MORE years of furlough days. Believe me– there is no living large for the WORKERS making over $60,000.00. Now the bloated management is another story–Why anyone would think that this board would be any different than it has been over the last 10+ years is beyond me. The good news– many districts will be hurting for teachers in January– have your resume ready and legal counsel ready as well to exit your contract.
@Henri
This will be my fourth year teaching, all having been in Dekalb plus my student teaching. I knew what a disaster Dekalb was before I began here but have stayed. Every single year I have considered and even applied to other districts but have chosen to stay for personal reasons. I don’t have kids, and while I currently live in Dekalb, would not send my kids to the”best” (I’ll let the reader determine what those are) schools here because the whole district is fundamentally broken.
I’m fully aware Dekalb is taking my pay for their lawsuit and for some reason won’t spend 4% of $100,000,000 to make up for the single day we have left unpaid. My salary and benefits do matter to me but regardless of the outcome I will still be teaching in Dekalb for this school year and I am happy to work outside of my contract hours in this unprecedented time to ensure my students are receiving the best education I can provide.
Will I still be teaching in Dekalb in a few more years? Absolutely not. Is the grass greener on the other side? Can’t be sure of that but it’s pretty dead on this side so it can’t be too hard to beat.
APS announces back to school virtual meetings for parents.
Hello? DeKalb? HELLO?
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/aps-announces-back-to-school-virtual-meetings-for-parents/3PTDA5B4A5EJRIV367CAALGEZU/
Soooo, when will we find out:
1. How to register for the PL that starts on the 5th
2. How much is the compensation
3. Where do we report for the PL, or is it virtual
4. How do we pick up our chrome books
just wondering if anyone else is wondering
Stan,
I’m echoing the same questions “Curious” asked. Will there be enough funds for every teacher to register for the PLs if they want to attend? The PLs for the summer were a joke because, by the time the email came out from the county, most of the slots were already filled. If there aren’t enough funds for all teachers to attend all the days, then we’re really looking at 5 furlough days. If that’s the case, I wish someone from the board would just come out and say that. This is going to impact our livelihoods, and we should at least be given enough advance notice to prepare.
The institute days are not on The calendar that was sent. Check your emails from last night. I don’t know how this is supposed to work.
At least one principal has sent out an email saying the Learning Institute days are ‘mandatory’. How can that be so if they are not contracted days and the official teacher report date is 8/10? I understand that if one doesn’t attend, he/she will receive no pay (i.e. furlough days). Without info regarding whether the instruction is for all staff vs teachers only, not to mention the questionable amount of stipend pay, maybe some folks would prefer not to participate. All so frustrating…
Hmmmmm…. So most teachers are to report back to work in 13 days and students are to begin school in 20 days and nobody knows what to expect from Dekalb other than it will be all VL. When does the county plan to let teachers and families know what to expect in regards to VL? They have had all summer to come up with a VL strategy and expectations for learning digitally. I am sure other parents, like myself, would like to know how the VL day will be structured, what the expectations will be, how grading and attendance will be counted, what platforms will be used, how many hours will be spent with our kids facing a computer screen, how much autonomy principals will have at specific schools, how will special services be provided… If teachers don’t even know at this point, how will they be expected to adequately plan their classes for VL? A calendar and budget have been set, so what is the hold up here? If parents pull their kids to homeschool or learn in private pods and withdraw from the local Dekalb schools, won’t that hurt the budget based on FTE headcount? Dekalb needs to come up with an overall VL plan and objectives and make it clear to teachers and parents STAT so that everyone can plan accordingly and not pull their kids due to lack of information.
Mr. Jester.
I thought I had already written my last entry to your blog. Apparently, I have not. Some thoughts on the upcoming instructional year – from a forty year teacher.
Focus on outcomes and not time spent online.
Trust your teachers.
Empower your teachers; and, back them up.
Establish plans with a reasonable and realistic set of expectations (including time) for all involved – teachers, students, and parents.
Platforms and technology for instruction should be available, accessible, and easy to use for all.
Evaluation and grading categories should be reevaluated, streamlined, and limited in number.
On-line instruction does not match up well with in-person instruction. Direct human-to-human teaching-and-learning is better, much better. Teaching by video does not do justice to the large-scale interactions, nor the subtle interactions that occur in the classroom. Therefore, we (teachers, students, parents, and administrators) must take care in what we teach (importance of a topic, idea, etc.).
Evaluation of on-line instruction by administrators should be done with a gentle, guiding, and aiding hand. This is new to all of us.
A carefully thought through return to in-person instruction plan (for some of our students and/or all of our students) must be developed.
Thank you.
Mike Pastirik; Lakeside High School
Any word on when we will know what our virtual schedule will look like?
Michael Pastirik makes a good point – “A carefully thought through return to in-person” must be developed.
Yet here we are two weeks out and there’s no plan for online, much less any steps or guidance towards going back to school in person.
Other metro school districts are starting online next week and have a plan in place. Their teachers and communities are on board. Why again do we live in this county? Sure as hell isn’t for the schools.
But I’ve seen on Facebook – so it must be true! – that some schools have already communicated a daily schedule for teachers and parents, selected a platform, and have scheduled virtual meetings with parents to discuss.
Is DCSD leaving this up to the principal at each school?
That makes sense on one hand, as each school’s population of teachers and students is unique, but at the minimum there should be posted deadlines for when daily schedules and other details will be posted. I think we could all settle down a bit if we knew that by August 7, for instance, that this information would be posted.
It seems like DCSD uses local control for the convenience of the Central Office. If there’s a critical decision to be made, let’s throw the responsibility for that onto principals so they can be blamed if things don’t go perfectly.
It is July 29th; teachers are to “report” on August 10. As an ISS, I still don’t know what I will be doing this year or from which school. I have emailed all board members as well as the superintendent. I’ve received responses from one board member which, unfortunately, have not really addressed my concerns or my request to be treated as any other teacher would be. In any other situation where a teacher needs to be displaced, the option would be offered up to the entire staff. If no one “volunteers” to leave, then the last hire would be moved to the new location. Isn’t this how the ISS “reallocation” should be handled? We are teachers, not administrators. Some of us have been in our schools for many years, with new teachers who are just beginning at our school. Isn’t it only fair to move the newest staff member in this case?
Decaturish is saying that our new superintendent is discussing virtual learning at 1pm today.
Someone in communications should get a handle on all these school-level messages with differing dates and expectations and acknowledgements of what the school house doesn’t know if there is to be some attempt at communicating a district-wide plan.
DCSD has had ample time to prepare for this upcoming school year. It is time for school districts to begin to restructure like corporate and get the job done for students and not for keeping adult friends employed (and re-employed when they go away to MRESA and other school districts only to find that the grass is not greener). The time that the students and teachers were home was the perfect time to pull together all those highly-paid IT guys, project managers, instructional specialists, etc. into one setting and develop an effective online virtual program. DCSD has had a FLEX Academy for years…where are those administrators? What input and processes have they been paid big bucks to oversee for all these years? Stop wasting money on programs and hire some people to develop processes that can support our students in the 21st century…and not adult pockets. Do you know how many IT people DCSD employs???? Every Deputy Supt.; Every Executive Director should be forced to take project management courses as a pre-requisite. They just keep recycling the same old thing…They don’t know what they’re doing!!!!
I saw a photo today of the new superintendent wearing a DeKalb face mask with system logo imprinted.
Will these be furnished to all employees?
Still no update on a schedule or a clear plan about how virtual learning will occur when school starts. The calendar still says teachers return August 10, no mention of training next week. Please give an update, Dekalb County. It’s hard to work with last minute information.
We need an update,
Good luck!
Yesterday the superintendent acknowledged that next week’s institute is optional.
Can’t imagine how the district is now determining what information and training is necessary for students, parents, and teachers for virtual learning if it hasn’t even announced the schedules to anyone. Then there’s figuring out how to make sure necessary training ins’t offered during optional development days. Of course there’s also the choice to squeeze into five days what other districts are doing in ten.
If you want to prepare, look at other districts’ websites. They’ve begun announcing their schedules and resources.
Now, dekalbteacher, you know full well that we won’t find out anything until the last minute, so that we can once again be blamed when it is a disaster.
I see it already. Sounds like some schools/principals are making their own schedules and plans (like in the Spring) and then the county will come down with mandates (like in the Spring) and everything will be changing and “unfair” and “unequal” and parents (even those who complained that their children didn’t do anything) will complain that their kids are getting too much work and it will be changed AGAIN and we teachers will get the blame AGAIN (like in the Spring).
Who was it who said something about the definition of insanity being that you do the same things over and over and expect different results? DeKalb has reached insanity level.
When will we hear about the learning institute slated to start next week?
Should hear by the end of day today about the learning institute. The superintendent and Stepney told me yesterday they were putting the communication together.
Stan,
Thank you for that update. What about the schedule for virtual learning? Teachers are eager to make this a succesful year. Many are planning and preparing as much as they can. But, without any guidance, we are wasting our time. Please let your teachers know expectations and the schedule for virtual learning.
@What About Virtual Learning, I imagine that the school district has a plan for next week at best. Hopefully by the end of next week, you’ll have an idea of what the plan and schedule is for virtual learning.
So what time is exactly end of day? Once again we are to start this “academy” for a “stipend” and we know nothing. We don’t know what it includes. We don’t know how much the stipend for taking the classes will be. Starts on Wednesday and teachers know nothing.
The email send regarding the PL did not address how much we will be paid. Way to treat your employees DCSD.
@done
Yes! I need to know what the stipend is to decide if the cost of child care is worth it.
Wow, Stan, here we go. The DCSD just shared its Professional Learning Institute schedule. It was sent out today, Friday, 7/31/20 at 4:29pm. Here are a few concerns and questions:
(1) How can teachers be mandated to attend certain sessions when these days are not contracted calendar days? In the email, it says that teachers are “strongly encouraged” to attend; however, in the attached FAQ document, all morning sessions are labeled as mandatory. For the afternoon sessions, it states that some sessions are choice and some are mandatory. And it looks like local schools have the option to require its teachers to attend “mandatory” sessions. Please note, you can only receive the stipend if you attend sessions for the “full day”, that means no stipends for partial days. The “full day” hours are 8am-12 and 1-5pm, lunch time not included.
(2) Why is this schedule different than any other regular in-service day? Teachers/staff will be required to dedicate 9 hours of their day to attend. Lunch is on their own and not included in the day. All sessions are at pre-designated times, so teachers don’t have the option to have a working lunch. Typically they are scheduled for an 8-hour day, which includes lunch and planning time. With these sessions they’re required to work past their normally scheduled work day hours until 5pm or after, 4 hours in the morning and another 4 hours after a pre-determined lunch time (12:30-1:30 on Wednesday and 12:00-1:00 on Thursday and Friday).
(3) How are teachers with children supposed to find childcare at this point? Looks like some will be working to barely pay for childcare on these days. Also, these “institute/in-service days” are for a stipend, which means teachers won’t be paid their hourly rates and these days won’t count towards TRS. Additionally, waiting until the last minute to let teachers know exactly how much this stipend will be makes it difficult (if not impossible) for teachers to determine whether or not it would make sense to attend and seek out childcare.
Teachers should be given the option to attend these days. If they don’t, they just don’t get paid a stipend. If they do attend, their time dedicated outside of the contracted work days should be respected. Also, they should also be able to earn a stipend for the hours they do attend. This whole thing is a slap in the faces of DCSD teachers/staff. Seriously, it’s as if the teachers don’t have enough to worry about with COVID-19, the unknowns of the school year, and now, a potential hurricane. Let’s just add more frustration with the Professional Learning Institute. Good grief!
As others have said, the communication sent out by the district today was very careful to outline the many specifics that could keep you from earning stipend pay for those days AND simultaneously very careful to avoid any specifics regarding the stipend pay amount. I laughed so hard that I cried.
How can we plan to keep ourselves afloat and be prepared for any of this without basic information about our pay? I had to upgrade my internet and am having to purchase a new laptop in order to support all of the video chatting / live instruction being required with no concern at all from the District. The District is paying us less while we are spending even more! And don’t you worry, when we return in person, we will spend even MORE of our smaller salaries to make our students’ educational experience better. Why isn’t the Board advocating for the same? Approving this sham was a bad move.
The divide between the schoolhouse employees and the District is ever widening because no one has an educator’s perspective. Fluff floats right on by undetected.
I will be happy to gain information on virtual learning, I hope. If this is comparable to other modules we’ve done, well you’ve all done them…..ugh… It is very discouraging to be told these are mandatory, yet not paid as a contract day. Stipend pay keeps being mentioned, but no one has been informed of exactly how much of a stipend. The powers that be are touting to the media that we are only having 1 furlough day. That is just plain ole lying….
So many problems and so much of the same.
This was clearly a rush job, which is probably why it contains errors like the “4:30 AM-5:30 PM slot for self-reflection” and confusing wording like “mandatory” for an institute for which school-based employees are “strongly encouraged” to attend.
More concerning is the fact that principals will be hosting meetings that seem to be of importance for the school, so how has the district planned to get this information to teachers and staff not attending this “un”professional development, at least in the way it’s been organized and announced? Good thing we’re virtual and all teams meetings are recorded. No way to get around what is and isn’t shared and what is and isn’t stated. I’m sure the district has vetted all this through the legal department, as it did with TSA, to make sure it’s not paying people stipends for things that will then be required during salaried days.
Of course there’s also the fact that the district has gone out of its way to avoid telling people the stipend amount. There’s only one reason for that.
^^^ @Pulling My Hair Out – “Wow, Stan, here we go. The DCSD just shared its Professional Learning Institute schedule. It was sent out today, Friday, 7/31/20 at 4:29pm. ”
Pulling – Those are great questions and I wish I knew if the answers but I don’t. I’m just going to add that the BOE did not authorize doing the PLI until 10 AM on Friday July 24, so the Palace had just a week to pull it all together.
Stan, are these really the schedules for virtual learning? https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/virtual-learning-schedules/
If you look at the time spent in each class per week (at least middle and high school), there is not enough time to teach the curriculum!
I hate Dekalb and can’t wait to leave! That is all.
Stan,
I need to know what the stipend is going to be. Will it be my regular daily rate? Teachers need to know. I feel as though I’m being ripped off and lied to.
Am I losing it or did I.T. recall the Professional Development email and resend it out later in the evening?
On that note, can someone update the broken links on the district website/sharepoint? For example, I was trying to contact Human Resources yesterday. I couldn’t find an email or phone number on the HCM portion of Sharepoint which should have been updated to Human Resources by now.
When you do click a link, it forwards to a broken HCM link on the main Dekalb page. Finally, I clicked sitemap and I was able to find Human Resources link. Even so, no informational page is posted to contact HR by email or phone besides the 3 people listed in the Staff Directory.
P.S. It is 2020, why are 2018 links still listed under our benefits information?
It’s difficult for anything DeKalb does to leave me speechless. But seeing this sample schedule? I’m at a loss. Taking away 60% of educational time from kids in AP classes? Are you kidding me? What the hell are they thinking? Stan, have you even contacted the admin to let them know how unbelievably stupid this is or are you doing your usual sit back and let the parents vent? Every Wednesday off? Just unbelievable.
I have sent this link to the state school super and Kemp’s office. I know there’s nothing they can do, but what other choices do I have? We certainly don’t have an admin or board who cares about education.
Just unbelievable.
@PK
I thought I was losing my mind! I knew I had seen the email come in but didn’t read it since I was out. Then, when I got home, it wasn’t there! I asked a friend to send it to me and shortly after she did, it came in again. I tried to look for any changes but didn’t see anything jump out at me. I wonder why the recall and resend.
Good luck with the HCM/HR links and information!
Once again, good ol’ Dekalb can’t figure it out. Want teachers to work for free, sit back and constantly take BS from all sides. Everyone in the palace is getting two direct deposits/checks as well as the school admin staff that has been very quiet and non-vocal about standing up for what is right for teachers, yet they spoke up quickly for those ISS positions because honestly they do their work. Everyone just sits back and watch teachers get ripped apart and carry the load. Shame shame Dekalb County and you wonder why teachers are leaving left and right.
@are you kidding
I am an AP teacher and I plan on taking some of their extended learning time in the mornings. Also, as AP students, the work load can be much more independent. Lastly, if you are looking to fight it further, I would check to see what the College Board has for minimum requirements for seat time on their Course Audits. My initial guess is that we are still in an acceptable window since the CB has schools that start in September and test in May.
@AP Teacher in Trenches
I also plan to use the extended learning time for my AP class. I agree that they can work more independently. I highly doubt there are seat time requirements because some schools offer it as a semester and some offer it as year.
WHAT IS THE COMPENSATION FOR THE PL?
WHEN CAN WE PICK UP OUR CHROMEBOOKS?
Why is the compensation for the PL such a secret? How pathetic. The sup surely knew her salary before signing on the dotted line. Give the same respect to teachers and let them know what they will be paid so they can make a choice and align their schedules for their families if necessary.
———
Also will the stipend be in ADDITION to the salary already paid or if you don’t attend, the current salary is “furloughed”, or is it just the regular salary being “labeled” stipend if you attend? Give all of the details instead of leaving teachers to figure out yet another “fluffy and confusing” email from the “hardworking” people at the AIC. Utterly ridiculous…
Teachers matter,
We have been furloughed or given five unpaid days this year. That’s a fact. No salary, no accrual of sick days, and no contributions to TRS for next week’s three days of yet to be seen sessions.
As long as teachers and parents don’t demand better, we won’t be treated better and the school district won’t get better.
I want to give the new superintendent the benefit of the doubt, but the district is doing what it always does. Did anything stop the district from refusing to honor its TSA obligation? Did anything stop the district from giving its teachers less in benefits than other metro districts? Did anything stop the district from giving only some people salary increases last year? Did anything stop the district from devising a TSA settlement plan that has some teachers reimbursing themselves and other teachers carrying a load they shouldn’t? Did anything stop the district from telling people that teachers are being furloughed only one day when that’s just not true? Has anything stopped the district from keeping us in the dark about how the virtual learning that we’ll be responsible for is taking place?
The district is taking a gamble that people will sign up anyway. Why wouldn’t it?
DCSD staff have gotten two emails regarding the start of school and the institute days. It lists a stipend, since these are optional to offset the five furlough days. Do you know what the stipend will be?
On another topic, if we are doing video or live lessons that will be saved, what measures are being put in place to protect the privacy of staff and students. I certainly don’t want to show up somewhere on the internet.
@dekalbteacher non-participation in the PLI will result in no pay. Salaries will be less due to the 5 furlough days. That’s why the email only stated all the excuses for why they won’t really pay us for the PL.
I just saw an email to parents from a principal with a daily teaching and learning schedule. I haven’t been given that learning schedule. I don’t even know how much I’m getting paid for 27 hours of non-contract somehow mandatory work.
The Board doesn’t have these answers because they just let the district bigwigs make the decisions while they just approve them when they’re told.
@dekalbteacherfornow check the bottom of the superintendents newsletter newsflash for the schedules
Dekalbteachernow,
That’s what the district is banking on. People will work for some money, no matter how little and with no knowledge of when and how this stipend would be given.
Ironic that the TSA settlement information is sent the same weekend as the institute information, even if the district announcement about the institute has a lot of words to say you need to know what you must commit to do even if we can’t give you any details you might need. Or maybe it’s foreshadowing?
I don’t like that we, as teachers, didn’t get any information first about possible schedules before it was sent out to the public. I’d wager that no teachers were asked about these schedules, so no time to weigh in or offer alternatives or provide any feedback. Just sending it out to parents makes me feel blindsided (as with everything else). So, no, I’m not confident that this new superintendent is going to change the status quo.
I still have not received my stipends for PL I took in June…so surely these stipends won’t be paid out anytime soon…
Never Fails—
Most of the 12 month staff will receive the full 5 day furlough, and most likely will receive it after your do not, just like before. I cannot speak for the upper management, but for the everyday workers, this is the truth.
@Stan – when will we receive our actual contracts with the amount we will be paid this year?? The one with last year’s pay rate is the only one we’ve received. It’s concerning to start work not knowing how much compensation we will earn.
Dekalb teacher,
We received our contracts in mid June. The amount cited on your contract won’t change. It’s the number of days you’re working that changes.
Typically we receive some type of compensation schedule early in the school year that includes the number of working days, the dates on which you’ll be paid,the amount you’ll be paid, and in the case of this school year, the calendar reduction days.
People will have to do their own math to see how much less they’ll be receiving each paycheck. The district knows that most people won’t understand just how much less they’ll see on paychecks and without a specified stipend amount, you can’t be bothered by what you don’t know.
@nostipend…how much were you promised as a stipend?
From what I’m hearing from teacher friends, the Institute is a Mandatory optional training.
Mandatory to participate in the morning sessions, optional for afternoon sessions. But if you don’t attend all day , you won’t receive any stipend. True?
@dekalbteacher
The amount on our contract has to change if our days worked is reduced. I was told $X for 190 days, not a per day breakdown. If the terms of the contract have changed, and they have, it should be updated.
I’ve done the math and know what I should be paid with 9 reduction days, I just want it in writing.
Dekalb teacher,
I don’t recall ever seeing a new contract when we’ve been furloughed or had days reduced.
The contract specifies that the salary is subject to an adjustment on a pro rata basis. I think this means you won’t be seeing a new contract.
Athletes at Dunwoody and Lakeside HS have tested positive for Covid-19:
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/dekalb-high-school-athletes-tests-positive-for-covid-19/FIV6WVYKBBAKJOB7O6G5HBXOTQ/
I am very thankful that our buildings are not opening up (and also very worried about the many GA districts that are.)
@Vanessa Thompson
My understanding of the Professional Development institute is this:
1.) It is not mandatory that you attend (but strongly encouraged)
2.) If you choose to attend, you must attend all day (i.e. morning and afternoon sessions) to receive the stipend
3.) You will be instructed which specific AM session you must attend (assigned by the Principal or someone else). In the afternoon, you will have multiple sessions to choose from and you will have to pick 3 (based on their sample schedule). Some teachers may not have a choice of PM sessions. For example, maybe all of the county Social Studies teachers have to do a specific training, or all of the ESOL teachers have to do a specific training. Think of it as the AM session is whole group and the PM sessions are small group where you get to choose what you are interested in. The county has done this before at various “conferences” they’ve held in person in the past.
Again, this is just my interpretation of the Institute.
Best line from the note sent to teachers by the District regarding the Gold case “Both sides believe this settlement turns the page on this longstanding dispute, ending almost a decade of litigation and further demonstrating the District’s commitment to its most valued resource: its classroom educators and employees. The parties hope this resolution allows for our collective focus to be on the critical mission of educating the wonderful children of DeKalb County Schools.”
If the county was committed to its most valued resource this case would have settled a decade ago. Now the cost of this settlement will be borne on the backs of DeKalb’s current employees. The decision was needed, correct, and deserved, but it is going to turn out to be a bit of a pyrrhic victory
Edugator & Henri and others
DeKalb spent time and money fighting this suit. I wonder how much this is going to decrease the payment to the people that are eligible to be paid? Many people that have worked in DeKalb for their entire careers will not qualify for any social security. The outcome of this TSA suit is very important.
Can anyone answer this?
The email sent out about the TSA suit mentioned information would be sent to former employees, if the DCSS had a current email address. How does a former employee update their email address?
@vanessa
PL for summer learning was $35 per hour not sure about the PL coming up
Oh, another good one from TOD blog for you whiny teachers.
https://theotherdunwoody.blogspot.com/2020/07/bursting-bubbles.html?m=1
Bursting Bubbles
One really shouldn’t rubberneck. Everyone knows it. And whenever there is a fiery wreck everyone does it anyway. So it is with Stan The Man’s Actual Factual blog which covers a wreck that is never-ending and yet so compelling. It is the crack cocaine of stupidity. The irony is the greatest stupidity is concentrated in the teaching corps, or at least those willing to put it on public display. Perhaps that is a harsh assessment. Maybe these folks live in a bubble and have lived there so long they have lost any clue they may have ever had regarding How Things Work in The Real World. So. Let’s clue up.
Let’s wrestle the 800 pound gorilla: compensation. Tenure may not have an identified cost but it certainly impacts compensation. From a practical point of view any teacher that clings to the job for three years cannot be removed. You’d have better luck trying to scrape a barnacle off a battleship with a salad fork. Guaranteed job…guaranteed pay. Then, and this is really hard to believe, teachers not only enjoy a guaranteed paycheck, they expect and demand a yearly raise. Yep, they expect a raise for simply staying in a job from which they cannot even be fired! Needless to say this is not How Things Work in The Real World. OK. Fine. Let’s say it anyway. In The Real World folks don’t get tenure, they don’t even get furloughs, they get laid off. In at-will states your boss can, on any given day, let you know that YESTERDAY was your last day on the job. COLAs disappeared decades ago so in the absence of a merit raise, which means you, your work and your contribution are measured and evaluated, you get an annual pay decrease equal to that year’s rate of inflation.
Tenure and guaranteed raises have negative operational impact. If you cannot fire a lemon what’s the point in even looking for them? Perhaps that is why there are no meaningful mechanisms in place to evaluate teachers other than longevity or degrees, often from very questionable diploma mills. Tenure makes these schools veritable lemon orchards and guaranteed raises are potent fertilizer.
Then there is the incessant chant of “we’re professionals–pay us like professionals!” Well, you are certified. Fair enough. But just not enough. In The Real World professional are responsible and accountable. A doctor screws up and faces malpractice charges. An engineer signs off on a hotel walkway that collapses and we’re talking civil and criminal charges. What are the consequences when a rising junior cannot read at the seventh grade level? Nothing. If this happened in The Real World every teacher that child ever had would be run out of the “profession” if not indicted on criminal charges. But the “teaching profession” doesn’t work that way. So is anyone surprised there are no consequences when a teacher sets a student on fire?
And what other “profession” excuses incompetence? Deflective references to the 20-60-20 rule are just that: deflective. This rule was derived from The Real World when employees were evaluated and either earned raises or their walking papers. Under this constant grooming of the workforce there may be “only” twenty percent deadwood. If you do not clean out the deadwood, and schools do not because they cannot, then you will accumulate deadwood. And in The Real World the 20-60-20 rule has been superseded, at least anecdotally, by “the dumbbell” curve which acknowledges the mythical mean. Under the influence of tenure that dumbbell curve is heavily weighted toward the low end. In The Real World employees are often stack ranked with the lowest performers kicked off the island resulting in a dumbbell curve that tends to be more skewed towards the top end. Maybe that is why those who can, do and those who can’t, well…
Teachers incessantly threaten to quit as if that is a legitimate threat. In The Real World you will threaten to quit exactly once because Real World employers will take you up on the offer and use the opportunity to improve their team. Malcontents are not welcome and not tolerated for long. Maybe teachers can get greased by being squeaky wheels but in The Real World these wheels get replaced.
And this constant complaining is quite odd as it seems one of the key characteristic of a teaching schedule is the frequent breaks. In fact, should the administration present a calendar that removes a break, as has happened recently, teachers will squeal like a three year old who had their crayons taken away. Real World jobs most often come with something called PTO: Personal Time Off, which you accrue by working and which has replaced both vacation and sick leave. And while teachers may be able to accumulate a dozen weeks of sick leave, many Real World employers have a use it or lose it policy limiting PTO to as little as four weeks. Let’s not even go into the “teachers get summers off” rat hole.
Perhaps more baffling to folks in The Real World is this odd notion of “professional development” as Real World professionals enter the profession capable (giggle “Disgrace of the GACE”) and are expected to maintain their knowledge and skills at a professional level. Often on their own time and dime and no matter what they will not get a pass on their work commitments. And if they don’t maintain their skills they will be replaced with someone who has those skills. If they don’t maintain their marketability they remain unemployed.
Then there is the whole management-mismanagement trope where teachers complain that they suffer at the hands of incompetent administrations. Perhaps. So what? Do you really think employees in The Real World don’t suffer when managers, executives and boards make bad decisions? Or is it that you just don’t care? Seems as if you only care about yourself, often not even fellow educators and certainly not the public or their children. You complain that teachers’ opinions aren’t solicited by management. Do you really think Real World managers let the inmates run the asylum?
Hopefully this has burst your little bubble. Maybe you now have a bit of a clue why you’re not getting an outpouring of support from a public suffering layoffs, salary compression and who work 250 days a year to your 189. Maybe if we didn’t have a BOE member who correctly identified your enterprise as a “jobs program” and if you actually enjoyed the same employment conditions as the rest of us you might get a little more sympathy. But that’s never going to happen, is it?
Does anyone know what the duties of school nurses will be during virtual learning? Is there any way they can help with support services?
Another take:
“It is extremely difficult to find any instance anywhere in the world…of a child [under 15] transmitting to a teacher in school,” observes Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh. The experience of school reopenings has been positive in countries that started with the youngest children, like the Netherlands, and those that started with the oldest children, like Germany. It has been positive in countries that mandated strict physical distancing in schools, like Denmark, and also in countries that did not, like Sweden. And it has been positive in countries where the pandemic has been as deadly as in the U.S. and also in countries where it has not.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-its-mostly-safe-to-reopen-the-schools-11596812466?mod=hp_listb_pos3
Extremely difficult to find ANY instance of a child transmitting to a teacher…
Here’s the problem. In those countries, people weren’t selfish and actually followed shelter-in-place, distancing, mask wearing, etc. mandates/recommendations. While transmission didn’t occur, they didn’t open schools with the same number of active cases as we are seeing in the US, and specifically in our area.
Young Teach!
I totally agree with you! Here in our area people are still thinking that COVID-19 is just another thing and don’t want to believe that it’s a serious problem. We need to follow the guidelines from the medical data that’s been set for us. Hopeful more people will truly take this disease seriously.
@Deborah Wise – there are a couple comments about Chromebooks under the PLI topic.
The scuttlebutt I’ve heard is that the Chromebooks could not even be ordered until after the budget was approved and the BOE did not get around to doing that until July 24, just two weeks ago. It’ll take time before the order comes in because supply is so tight and the Palace cannot just walk into a Best Buy and walk out with 10,000 Chromebooks! Then, once the Chromebooks do arrive, barcodes and software have to be loaded on them before they can be issued to students.
You need to check your research again because you are so, so incorrect with your findings.
Seems like the demand for new laptops would be way up since March. For example, Clayton County Schools just ordered 30,000 laptops last month. I’m concerned with the ability of these laptop makers to keep up with demand.
I thought that all elementary students would get chrome books. At my school our 1st and 2nd grade team was told that our 1st & 2nd graders are not getting chrome books. So, how are we to teach virtual when some parents have no computers?
Question about the calendar. Teachers are being required to host meetings for curriculum night. Usually there is one work day not on the calendar to make up for the curriculum and conference nights. By my count there are 185 work days on the calendar. So am I working curriculum night for free? Are some of the half days half days for teachers? Because it seems like the calendar states that the second half of those days are teacher work days.
@working for free?
We are never paid for curriculum nights. The usual calendar contains 189 work days and 1 day for conference nights (2 hours for 4 days = 1 workday). Curriculum night, open house, PTSA meetings, ect., have always been part of a teacher’s duties and responsibilities. So, yes, you work for free on curriculum night. But I’ve been working for free all year (12 hours a day M-F and at least 15 or 16 hours on the weekend). Online work requires a lot more planning time and grading time than being in the classroom.
@curious
I was 99% sure it was 1 curriculum night and 3 conference nights to add up to the 8 hours but maybe I’m mistaken. And yes, I DEFINITELY put in more than my 8 hours a day, but it’s different when you are mandating that’s I work and miss out on my own child’s bed time but I’m not being compensated. Not just not being compensated but technically a “calendar reduction day” ie furloughed.
My school has for years done two “meet your teacher” nights and 2 parent teacher conference nights to add up to those 8 hours. Frankly, we can’t pretend we’re in a normal situation and trying (at the middle and high school level) to get parents through 4-7 meetings with teachers via Zoom or whatever is laughable.
Stan – word is we now need to learn Microsoft Teams on top of all the other crap being thrown at us for MAP testing.
Would the BOARD please step up and demand that MAP testing be done in all of these empty schools!!! Millions of dollars are likely at stake based on results – doesn’t it make sense to limit external variables that will likely disrupt students abilities to test? And please stop having all of these platforms thrown at us.
Have 1 landing page.
Have Outlook Meeting planners emailed to us with links parents or students can click on.
Lets make this easy on parents and also “standardize” the testing by doing it in empty and sanitized schools!
Thank you
I was under the impression that one of the furlough days was the 4 evenings teachers usually work that add up to 8 hours. However, my school is still having us do curriculum night and 4 parent teacher conference nights. Stan, could you please provide clarification on this?
Mr. Stan Jester,
When a colleague spoke about the calendar reduction days, just how many reduction days did the board agree to take from the teachers? (Calendar and Payroll days are not synonymous) Please explain how many day are we being furloughed and when will each day reflected upon out paychecks?