You are invited to attend the Region I-VII Town Hall Meetings for Parents. The purpose of each regional meeting is to provide detailed information about the reopening plan and answer questions.
The administration didn’t provide a link for questions, so perhaps questions will be live. The notice didn’t say exactly who from the school district would answer questions. I guess we’ll see.
| Region | Date | Time | Link |
| I | Wednesday, December 2nd | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/3ll2mHn |
| II | Wednesday, December 9th | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/2JtHb8O |
| III | Wednesday, December 9th | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/39sXI7P |
| IV | Thursday, December 3rd | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/regionivparenttownhall |
| V | Thursday, December 10th | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/regionvparenttownhall |
| VI | Thursday, December 10th | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/regionviparenttownhall |
| VII | Thursday, December 10th | 5:00pm | https://bit.ly/33td48C |
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Thank you for sharing this information.
Thank you for sharing, hopefully the regions will share too so parents can actually attend…. low expectations for the actual content to be more than DCSD asking parents to fill out a return survey and reiterating their tired and out of date return plan
I cannot believe Nancy lost her election. We had two of her sign, two for Trump, one for Kelly and David Purdue. My hubby coached and taught David in high school.I am hoping for a miracle and they will give it to Trump. I feel he honestly won.happy late Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas. Is there another political office Nancy can run for until commission race comes again? We need her in the county administration, she is the only one who works I think.
If they don’t change the reopening criteria, they aren’t going to reopen for months. What is the point of discussing a reopening plan until there is some visibility toward a potential path to possibly maybe reopen?
Barbara Fountain
I am so happy for your loss and all Republican losses for that matter. Keep your Trump signs up because he is running again in 2024 if he is not in prison. Dems will take both Senate seats in Jan because Georgia, unlike you, is blue now.
Dunwoody Dad
I bet you don’t wear a mask, voted for Trump. and thinks the election was stolen. I think you could care less for the health of anyone who works in a school. I wish you could be first in the door for Covid-lead lessons.
Mr. Jester, you do a lovely job. Thank you. But we need a community initiative regarding “illiteracy”. Our students are proving to be “functionally” illiterate. I’ll leave it at that as my “soap box” on this issue is nation side huge.
@ “Soul Mates” You don’t know anything about me, and you are incorrect on multiple assumptions. Please re-read my post. I did not suggest that we should swing open the doors to the schools and whatever happens happens. I’m simply saying it seems like the DCSD administration has the cart before the horse. They have been unwavering in the criteria they put forth to return to the buildings. Without some announcement that they have changed the criteria, it seems like a poor use of time, money, and energy to have a series of town halls on any specific steps.
Barbara, the election was rigged so there’s no point voting in the runoff. Or if you do, write in Trump for both ballots. That way your vote will send a message that you’re onto this Soros sponsored conspiracy and won’t stand for it. It’s all rigged by Chavez from beyond the grave anyway. America will be descending into fascist, socialist, globalist anarchy.
Hello Sookie Paige. Illiteracy has been a big issue for a long time. The state has identified 20(ish) schools in DeKalb that are consistently failing. The last 10 years have been an experiment to see if we can buy academic improvement. The school district has dumped all kinds of money into academic programs and wrap around services into those communities to no avail. A conversation I had with the chair of the school council at one of the failing high schools stuck with me. He said they were really trying to clean the school up, but it’s challenging when 25% of the incoming freshman every year are illiterate. There are a number of school districts across the state with the same demographics who spend less money per student and get better academic results. I’m confident that it’s not about the money.
Think; Think; how can the election be rigged when the republicans are in total charge? Let’s get over it and start working together. That’s the only way.
Call for Independent Audit
Below is the link for an article that was on AJC.Com
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/advocacy-group-calls-for-independent-financial-audit-on-dekalb-schools/LDR7QIJT7NHQTM7BHOGHOYKF5I/
I know that there are many factors that go into running a school system. I understand that difficult decisions will have to be made. But, I hope that during the town hall something will be said about the steps that will be taken to monitor and improve the financial health of the school system. Money is needed to run the schools and open the schools. Teachers are going to need to be able to have the proper supplies for their students. If we are opening school, will there be funding for additional staff to clean and take care of the buildings? Will there be more busses? If DeKalb is going to gain the confidence of its parents, students and teachers, we need to feel that the district is taking care of the finances.
Region 1 Town Hall Meeting is Going On. They are doing a little more in depth presentation on preparations for transitioning to the Hybrid model.
https://bit.ly/3ll2mHn
Looks like a majority of people want to know why we are using the metrics from 6 months ago.
The section on substitutes was the same old horse manure they have been shoveling for years. No details. No accountability. No specifics. They know they don’t have subs willing to take over for a teacher who was exposed, or is infected. They just won’t say it.
How many times has the administration said, “everything is under control” only to have the reality be completely different. We only have to look back to the last BOE meeting when the audits were “clean” and showed “progress.” Then, when the new CFO talked about them, they were horrible with lots of work to do to get to normal.
It is the same with substitutes. The current administration isn’t even tracking sub usage or teacher absences. At least they aren’t sharing that data.
The Region 1 Town Hall was full of smiling, positive people. Some good info was presented but it is beyond frustrating that the Administration is so proud of all their plans to reopen schools!
It’s December, folks! Why should you be proud that you took a whole day of high-buck employee time to play “A Day in the Life of a Student?”
Each school should have a school-specific plan for how to move students into the building, through their classes and lunch, and get them safely out of the building. Having high-buck grown-ups pretend to be kindergarten students makes very little sense.
Also, why are you still just talking about increasing instructional time? It’s December!
There are only about 3 weeks of instructional time left in the semester. There is no way to make up for lost time at this late date.
I’m not adamant that F2F learning should be happening. But I think that the District has wasted time and resources, and doesn’t have a strong virtual program nor has it figured out how to do F2F successfully.
Totally irresponsible to be even talking about hybrid classes. State had over 4,000 cases yesterday, and we haven’t even started seeing Thanksgiving spike reflected in numbers. Combine that with Xmas coming up, we will be looking at 8000 cases in Ga by mid winter. Did I mention that we had 200k cases nationally yesterday?
Also, sadly recently, a nurse from Cobb County schools died from Covid and another teacher from Cobb is fighting for his life. Table face-to-face teaching until next school year. Let’s wait until we can get vaccinated first.
Joy–
I think this should be its own thread title– why would any single person think that things at DCSS are in financial order? They just lost a lawsuit to pay some of their employees back stolen retirement funds? That alone should call for financial oversight until they figure out how to balance a checkbook. Why do other counties seem to be prospering financially- while Dekalb is not?
DeKalb just doesn’t get it. Got an email from our principal stating that there will be more class time. But not more teaching. Just more time for a teacher to hand out an assignment, then let the kid do it on their own, then spend the “last 10 min” discussing.
Classes? Still only twice per week.
Wednesdays? Still off days.
Ridiculous.
Georgia college students are filing lawsuits. When can DeKalb students do the same???
It seems like each school have a different type of virtual learning schedule. I’m teaching 90 minutes for ELA/Reading, 70 minutes for math, and 45 minutes for science and social studies 4 times per week. Wednesdays I have small groups instruction, grade level meetings, RTI, and a million other things that I need to get done such as grading and making phone calls to parents to get students to login and complete assignments.
APS announces opening plan, in today’s AJC.
DeKalb?
And yet….most other districts successfully opened months ago with minimal issues with Covid. When is DeKalb going to re-open? APS reopening in January. DeKalb is just incompetent. Our kids are suffering under this failed virtual model, it’s time to get back to in person. It can be done safely if DeKalb has the vision and leadership to do it.
I attended the D1 meeting.
Minutes 0-16 were spent thanking staff, patting everyone on the back and going over the org chart.
It wasn’t until minute 36 when they started discussing back to school criteria which has not changed and they simply regurgitated the same old criteria and approach.
I lasted a few more minutes before dropping off.
I don’t see the point of the meetings, the DCSD website has all this information.
Slightly off topic so hope Stan doesn’t mind.. quick straw poll of DCSD parents, how many kids has your child’s class lost to private school or relocation to another county that has F2F attendance?
All 3 of my kids classes have gone down by 25-30% in size.
@LaptopBoy, Those numbers should be easy to ascertain by comparing this year’s and last year’s enrollment
http://factchecker.stanjester.com/enrollment-and-capacity/
Seems like the affluent schools are losing over 20% of their kids to private schools.
Thanks Stan. Isnt’t it amazing how all that bickering over re-zoning MES etc earlier in the year is now really a moot point due to the pandemic. No more overcrowding for a while I think. I wonder how many kids will “come back” to DCSD.
One of our kids’ classes has gone from 20 kids to 14. I expect more attrition as we approach 2nd semester and apparently no change from leadership, esp as other districts have remained opened successfully and others are reopening. Utter failure by DCSD – virtual instruction stinks and standards are so low for minutes of instructional time. Can the bar be any lower, esp with no Wednesday instruction?
The other class I have no idea as we left for private F2F early in fall. I expect similar attrition- 30% – based on word of mouth based on people that I know that chose private F2F or homeschool.
I expect that the October #’s don’t reflect how many people left in last 2 months, after ‘leadership’ decided at best we are opening 1 day/week.
DCSD needs to at minimum start getting elementary kids back in school. If they aren’t reading on grade level by 3rd grade, research shows they are more likely to drop out or remain behind. Many students weren’t on grade level when the pandemic started and have lost what they knew – think summer slide times 3. Let’s get staff that are willing to be F2F and families that are willing to be F2F in the buildings. DCSD has had plenty of time to procure needed supplies, create a plan for each school to operate safely, install partitions, clean the buildings, etc. If it goes well, others may get onboard. Allow those staff with risk factors to remain virtual and teach the students whose families want to remain virtual. It may mean our children will get different teachers but it moves the dial forward.
AB
How many foolish teachers do you think would opt for inclass teaching? Maybe 20%. The rest, wisely, would not go back in the worst phase of the pandemic. I think those unfortunate students who cant read by third grade, would be unable to read either if they are taught virtually, or they are taught in person . And, going back to school is not dependent on how well prepared the schools are, as your comment erroneously points out, it is the rather, the state of the pandemic , which currently, is out of control. Do you honestly think a cursory cleaning of the school will stop this spread?
What schools are only teaching 2 days/week? My wife is teaching 4 days a week with small group instruction all day Wednesday. My child has that same schedule at her school.
Numbers Don’t Lie,
How have many private and public schools stayed open some since August in GA and around the world for even longer without any cases? Don’t try using one off instances, just like voting fraud there’s no wide spread evidence cases are caused by being in school. Unfortunately most teachers have bought into this clearly political battle and it’s absurd.
evidence
What dont you go teach in person somewhere, get infected, and then come back and continue to advocate for in person classes.
@numbers: I absolutely don’t think cleaning the building will stop the spread. As a matter of fact, I have never understood DCSD talking about massive cleaning and keeping buildings closed. The virus actually dies without a host in less than a week so there is no living virus on any surfaces in spaces that have been vacant since March. Will a swab of surfaces result in the presence of virus: yes…but it is the remnants of the cell structure and is dead.
Based on my experience, I respectfully disagree with you about whether a student can close the gap in reading proficiency better in person. Students living in homes where the parents are illiterate (English and non-English speaking) and those whose parents speak no English are only exposed to written and spoken English when in school. Your comment: “I think those unfortunate students who cant read by third grade, would be unable to read either if they are taught virtually, or they are taught in person” – wow…I sure hope you don’t share such pessimism with young learners who work hard to succeed despite all odds or with teachers/reading specialists/tutors who bring their all to make sure students can be successful and close the gap.
I don’t think “how well prepared schools are” is the only factor in controlling spread of the virus but it certainly is one of the factors. I don’t know how many teachers will come to school or how many parents will send children but just about everywhere else has some level of F2F and doing it pretty well. Those that are willing should be given the option, IMO.
@ evidence Go Teach:
Before you make such ridiculous comments, show me one case where a teacher got covid in the classroom. Most studies coming out now say classrooms are not causing the spread. So STOP promoting your fear-based agenda.
@Bewildered
You truly must be bewildered to write what you wrote. Here are the facts. In HS in DeKalb, kids get their classes twice a week (remember that in person, it was five days a week). Now, they get AT MOST 30 minutes a day (before with in person – approx 50 minutes).
Students are really getting just over ONE DAY PER WEEK of instruction time with virtual. One hour per week versus 5 fifty minute classes before. Just think how far behind these kids are in normal classes, not to mention AP or advanced level classes.
And so far, there’s been no activity at all on Wednesdays. So I’m not sure what’s going on (meetings, small classes, sitting at home eating bonbons), but it’s not going on with the high school.
It’s past time for a return to five day a week classes with the option of going in person.
Does DCSD know their websites are down? DeKalbschoolsga.org & DCSDTV are inaccessible right now.
DHS is teaching classes 4 days a week… where do your kids go ??
From information from different schools, I think that all schools are not actually providing instruction to students in the same way. I spoke with a principal. He said that his teachers provie live instruction for 10 minutes per period. I was surprised. It could take 10 minutes to just explain the directions of an assignment. What happens during the rest of the period? Where are the examples and questions and answers? What about discussion or group work?
I don’t think that in all schools instruction is being monitored. So it could be possible that in certain schools, students could be actually getting more instruction from the teachers.
DeKalb’s BOE is still meeting in a virtual format.
How can it be safe for the teachers and students to meet in person, but not the BOE?
DeKalb Schools Website Down – Apparently our hosting vendor is having issues and is currently working to address the issue.
DEkalb Must Go
You are a moron
DeKalb must go in person | December 7, 2020 at 8:03 AM |
@ evidence Go Teach:
Before you make such ridiculous comments, show me one case where a teacher got covid in the classroom. Most studies coming out now say classrooms are not causing the spread. So STOP promoting your fear-based agenda.
A nurse from Cobb County died .
A school nurse at a Paulding County elementary school died on Thanksgiving Day while hospitalized with COVID-19.
Wilma Gail Bowen, 70, died hours after her husband, who also was ill with the virus, their daughter Karen Bowen Kirby said. Willard Daniel Bowen was 73.
try reading the newpapers
Dekalb Must Go In Person
Here’s another Covid story you missed. You were probably attending a Trump rally when it was in the paper.
Cobb County teacher fighting for his life against COVID-19www.fox5atlanta.com › news › cobb-county-teacher-fight…
Nov 28, 2020 — Henricks Elementary School art teacher Patrick Key has been in the ICU on a ventilator for the past few weeks.
There is a horrible echo in the meeting presentation
Listening to a lot of these teachers/administrators above I’m surprised Dekalb ever had school after Columbine….Sandy Hook….Stoneman Douglas…
Its impossible to eliminate all risk but in the aftermath of school shootings; but resource officers were increased and school systems tried to foster a safe environment for teachers, staff, and students.
Its impossible to eliminate all risk from Covid; but school systems around the metro, state, and country have done their best to to implement policies to foster a safe environment for teachers, staff, and students.
Didn’t hear about the Trump rally you referred to above, was too busy getting lit with Weezy and Reginae at the Republic Lounge.
Stan, thanks for your service. You will be missed.
I wish all these parents and others who are actively fighting against and denying our kids AN OPTION of in-person schooling here in DeKalb County could be held accountable for what is surely to be a total sh*tshow in coming years – in terms of their learning, their chances of Hope and Zell, their future path and future earnings…not to mention the societal damage that this has and will continue to cause. As we see the catastrophic fall out, because we absolutely will, I would like to come to each of you and and ask if it was all worth it. But I can’t do that, of course, so instead, I cry for these DeKalb kids and pray that somehow we will all wake up from this nightmare and save them from the hell some of them are living. And now, off to look to move to a county that actually cares about children because thankfully we are fortunate enough to do so.
@Stan where is the k-2 MAP data ?
Is anyone going to address the hours of instruction that were missed because of taking the MAP tests?
Peachtree Charter Middle School spent 5 WEEKS giving the MAP test! Instruction went from 40% virtual instruction to 25% to 30% for 5 weeks. Chamblee Middle School did all of the testing on Wednesdays and didn’t lose instruction on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday.
9 students per session 3 sessions per day + re- takes + test prep = 3 weeks, MAP testing, all instruction stoped.
aids, coaches, ESOL, ISS specials teachers … could all admin the MAP test,
Class teachers do not stop instruction, students rotate in and out of class as test compleation
let me edit…
9 students per session 3 sessions per day + re- takes + test prep = 3 weeks, MAP testing, all instruction stopped.
If aids, coaches, ESOL, ISS specials teachers … could all admin the MAP test, and Class teachers would not stop instruction, students rotate in and out of class as test compleation.
Harris skipped right over that to talk about the important data, no mention of testing irregularities…19% not test? Your on to it Stan..
To keep perspective, NYT reported nationwide 25% fewer students took MAP testing this year, compared to last. THIS is not a Dekalb issue.
Although scores didn’t decline as much as anticipated, the results include a huge asterisk. The organization compared the scores of students in schools that gave the tests in both fall 2019 and fall 2020. But 25% of those students, predominately low-income Black and Hispanic students, didn’t take the tests this fall. Since these also are the students most disadvantaged by remote learning, NWEA called the results “incomplete” and probably underestimated how much students nationwide were set back last spring.
https://edsource.org/2020/early-data-on-learning-loss-show-big-drop-in-math-but-not-reading-skills/644416
THIS is a Dekalb issue, a NATIONAL issue
Could you link the NYT article? can’t find it.
NYT December 2nd
https://nyti.ms/3qoqWe7
I hope everyone is as good as can be expected during these times. For those with evictions pending or hospital/funeral expenses and/or have lost of loved ones, I hope you are finding strength.
It seems that Fall MAP testing, like daily schedules, varied from school to school. Some used more class time/days than others for MAP while others were able to find ways to streamline the process a bit more. I hope that Principals (and their Regional Superintendents) are discussing “grows & glows” about the MAP testing process and virtual daily schedules for/by next semester and some sort of combined document is created for each region so people can stop operating in silos, but I hope a lot.
For anyone curious (*K-2 MAP*), whenever scores have not been officially released, you can always check your child(ren)’s scores online a little earlier by going to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. From there, click the 3 horizontal lines to bring up the menu and click More. At the bottom of that page, there are Quick Links. Choose the one that says SLDS Portal. It will open the Georgia DoE SLDS webpage for your child(ren) where you can see Performance. Scroll to see the tests/years you wish. Use the dropdown menu to switch between children, if necessary.
As to the current School Board meeting and questions asked by Mr. Jester, I can speak from personal experience that there are class periods with 31-35 students (who show up) in the class. I have no idea how that will look when we begin a hybrid model. In low-income schools, students are disappearing because they do not have internet, Chromebooks are broken, family is in the hospital, they’ve switch foster homes, or a number of reasons. I don’t know how many are because they are fleeing to private school.
Another concern for low-achieving (and low-income) schools is that some schools that should qualify for more classes coded Remedial (class size cap of 24) do not have enough of those small classes, by far. If a school has the majority of its students testing in levels 1 and/or 2, the majority of the classes should be coded Remedial in that school. But, schools have to work within their “points” to make them stretch the best they can in hopes that Title I funds will help equalize the disparities. So much hoping.
As to teacher planning periods (brought up during the School Board meeting) during the virtual class day, again, from personal experience, that time is spent either in IEP/RTI/504 meetings, small group sessions with students, in grade-level meetings to discuss student concerns, in team content planning, or contacting parents in individual and/or team meetings. Does every single teacher spend his/her time this way? I am not omniscient.
I look forward to a time when there is less derision and more empathetic communication on all sides. But, as I already stated, I hope a lot.
@unspoken. That question was asked on behalf of me because I know several teachers who have lost their planning periods to cover other classes for teachers who have either retired or quit and have not been replaced. Nor has their job been advertised on PATS.
I did not want that to be a mark on the teachers it was sent to ask for help for teachers.
I stand by what I said. My child is getting one day of instruction as compared to what he got in person. Teachers may be “teaching” four days per week, but my child is getting one day of instruction (30 minutes twice a week).
Study after study shows people aren’t getting COVID in a school setting. When you can show me an example of a teacher or administrator who religiously stayed home except to go only to school and got COVID there, I’ll be the first to step down. But you can’t.
@become more obtuse: And while you continue to think only Trumpies support F2F, I voted a straight Dem ticket (except for the Madame Jester who I thought did a great job). See, I’m a democrat who can actually think on their feet, not just go along with what idiots like you say. You people who equate this with politics ought to try that.
“We’re not trying to pretend that we know what’s going on.”
Joyce Morley
Dekalb Must GO and become More Obtuse & DEklab Must go..why don’t you? .
Those individuals only went to school and came home, they didn’t attend a sporting event, eat at a restaurant, visit with family outside of their homes, go to the doctors, etc? You don’t know do you? Schools all over the world have proven that schools are not the transmission point for Covid. Keep trying to battle science with anecdotes, you’ll just keep failing. Also, why are we acting as if schools are the end all be all of death threats from Covid? Those working in grocery stores, warehouses, hospitals are at a much greater risk and yet teachers are acting like they’re martyrs, I wonder if that’s due to the bubble they’ve lived in for far too long with powerful unions, absurd vacation and pensions.
Stan,
Do we know where the gift cards Kroger donated in October went? It says Dekalb was one of thirteen metro Atlanta school districts receiving these and the gift cards were distributed directly to the school districts in lieu of the usual in-person event. I figured the district would need time to figure out how they’d be distributed among schools/teachers, but I haven’t heard any chatter about this.
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/kroger-gives-out-95000-gift-cards-help-metro-atlanta-teachers/B44XR4A2QNGKVCRVWWJI4S2KPA/
And another area to be investigated:
While schools are closed, testing for gifted placement continues…..in the building!
Buses are used to transport potential gifted students to the building for staff to test in person. Even lunches are provided.
Contrast that with potential special education students who were vetted for testing in the spring, PCE’s signed, but still no testing to get these kids the help they need.
APS has a firm plan to return to schools. Decatur has proposed going back in person in mid-January.
DeKalb sticks to unattainable numbers.
Does every other school in the known universe have to open before DeKalb gets a clue?
F2F – NOW |
APS won’t be opening face to face in January….Make book on it.
State set record with over 6100 cases today.. I bet we see close to 8k by January…Sure APS will be holding in person classes///
What a quote to sum up DCSD leadership. Wow, will they ever get their act together? This supt must go. So Clayton and DeKalb are the last ones swirling the drain. Not surprising, but really disappointing. You would think with a full 9 MONTHS so far to prepare for F2F or hybrid that they would have confidence to reopen safely.The really sad part is DeKalb will never have the budget to truly catch kids up with daily tutoring or FT summer school for all. Not with the downward pressure on budget with people leaving the district.
Checks are in the mail
I know that this is not the correct place to post this, but I thought it was important.
https://www.goldshayeclassaction.com/
The first payments from the TSA Settlement are being mailed. I know one person who has already received a check. Taxes have been deducted from the amount. The letter will come from Jacksonville , Florida.
I am a Substitute Teacher (middle school), and have been out of work since “Virtual School” began 8/17. The County decided that Subs would not be helpful, even though in order to be a Sub, you must have a Bachelor’s Degree in any field. Mine is in Psychology, not Education. I would have to go back to college for 2 more years and pass multiple GACE tests to be considered for any of the multitude of teacher vacancies. Nobody at a high level will think outside the “traditional” box, and let great Substitutes be of service. It is such a shame in Many ways. A Principal told me yesterday that there is a hiring freeze in place. The vacant positions on PATS will not be filled….indefinitely.
I sure do miss my kids.
Received mine. Don’t mind the federal and state taxes being deducted. Please explain why we had to pay social security on this check. I have never paid into it. Doesn’t make sense.
Allison
Have you tried checking into private schools or other school systems? A teacher that I used to work with now works in Cobb. When she had to be out, there was a sub for her. According to what she said, it was very hard to find a sub. This teacher tested positive for Covid, but thank God she did recovery.
Many of the regular subs are not working this year.
You sound very dedicated. Is there anyone in HR in DeKalb that you could contact for help?
Veteran Teacher, I have no idea why social security is being taken out of the check.
Unrelated, but any word on whether teachers will be getting their steps from 2020 and return to our normal salaries in January?
Teachers now what a salary increase? GTFO. Very few industries are getting increases from 2019 let alone 2020. The entitlement continues! LMAO.
@ Entitled Teachers on Line 1
No other school board in metro Atlanta cut teacher’s salaries this year. DeKalb furloughed teachers for 5 days (I’m sorry, these are calendar reduction days–same result) and denied teachers a salary step (totaling a 3% – 5% pay CUT from last year). Not only did Atlanta and Gwinnett NOT cut teacher’s salaries, they gave them a bonus (and before you say anything, APS has been virtual all year). Many teachers had to buy new computers, new accessories, and upgrade their internet service just to teach online. So when teachers want to know if they will receive what was promised by the board in July, don’t call them entitled. They are simply asking if they will be given what was promised to them.
https://patch.com/georgia/alpharetta/substitute-pay-incentive-approved-fulton-schools
They got their way. Scientific data is no match for their tears. Please be safe and lean on science to get us safely through the return to business as usual during the biggest world event of modern times. A pandemic. . God bless.
@Entitled Teachers – Please make your grievances heard at the next town hall! Teachers would love some formative feedback. Better yet- if you’re not satisfied with how teachers are doing this semester, get YOUR child the F out of the school system! We would all love smaller class sizes.
Wow some of these comments are ridiculous. Entitled????? We educate your children so that they grow to be better than you. I mean that is what good parents want die their children right???? People managing Walmart get paid more and live better. Most of our salaries go to the obtaining supplies for our students aka your children and we do it out of live. All the while working paycheck to paycheck to care for our own families. How dare you called us entitled????
Watch teachers entitled attitudes pop off as they are forced to go to work. Lol
Stan,
Any word on when reopening dates will be released now that the district has decided to send us back to school in the heat of the pandemic?
@EntitledTeacher, I’m finding out with everyone else as we go. I talked to the superintendent last night for a few minutes. They should be releasing some potential dates today. I’ll get my hands on as much information as possible and do an analysis on the change of direction here.
6th Grade Teacher – “Most of our salaries go to the obtaining supplies for our students”. Do you know what the word “most” means? You should reread your comment. It’s not a good look for you, even ignoring the offensive comment made about Walmart managers.
Dekalb school district has thousands of teachers. Some of them are entitled and some of them are not.
Stan,
It’s my understanding that the district is announcing revising the reopening metrics currently used. It appears that this is being done because the current metrics haven’t been met. Is it because they are unattainable, or are they unattainable because it is not yet safe to put hundreds of young people with poor impulse control re:masks and distance, and older people with health concerns in a building during a global pandemic?
@Data Minded, From what I gather, the CDC and DOE have changed their guidance and the school district is adjusting their metrics accordingly. Roughly half the parents and students want to go back. I suspect the administration is anxious to get students back in school for many academic and social reasons.
Crazy. We will shut down schools for snowflakes but not for a global pandemic. Sad thing is if I die, my admin team will send an email to the staff in my memory and post my job vacancy the same day. DeKalb, once again you’re a let down. So sad that you let a handful of idiots make you fold. I’ll most likely lose my job with DeKalb while I fight not to lose my life while teaching!
No one cares about the teachers’ lives. We don’t matter. That’s just fine because I’m over the whole thing anyway. Goodbye teaching profession, it was nice knowing you. I have some really great memories with the children, but as a whole, this profession has been nothing short of a nightmare. All the newish teachers out there, you think it will get better, but it will not. It gets worse and worse every year as they make new, stupider decisions than the ones before. It’s never-ending. You think THIS decision is stupid, well I can tell you many, many other stupid decisions from years past. It’s endless really. Get out while you are young enough to change your career.
C’mon DEKALB ,so what if we infect teachers and staff. Let’s reopen when cases per 100,000 approach 500. Dekalb’s logic is we won’t re-open till the pandemic is at its peak.
I have answers, first of all, you are a pathological liar. You value yourself and no one else. Second, what I do is absolutely none of your business. You are a nobody to me, just a complainer/troll. Your opinion matters a lot to yourself and that’s fine, but nada to me. Like I said, stupid decisions from the school system happens all the time and will keep happening. Time to jump ship teachers! This is the Titanic and it’s going down! Not a pretty sight at all.
LAST ONE TO LEAVE THE TEACHING PROFESSION: TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! LOLZ
@WhoCares: “Crazy. We will shut down schools for snowflakes but not for a global pandemic.”
Hi, I’m 2020, have we met? Not sure if you’re new here, but physical schools in Dekalb have been “shut down” since Mid-March. Now I realize 9 months might not seem like a long time to some, so what’s another 6 months?
Well since the client of this thing known as education is children, a year and a half is a MASSIVE amount of time to a 5, 6, 9, or 12 year old.
Children are the clients here. Their education (not to mention their future) is the product. Let’s not forget that. I think the administration realizes that any further delays in giving the children of Dekalb county the best possible delivery model of education is going to result in a whole helluva lot less clients.
I think educators are essential. The state and country feel the same way. Maybe some of you don’t feel that way, but since the state does, you’ll be in Phase 1B to receive the vaccine. Children and the majority of the taxpayers to this county will be Phase 3 or beyond.
Hey … Whooaaaaa … Don’t be publishing with my email address!! Consider your IP address blocked. You know exactly who you are. Feel free to contact me and let me know how that happened. –Stan
Stan,
I am glad to know that DCSD is telling teachers to put in requests for ADA accommodations if there is medical reason that they are more at risk of complications and/or dying. I appreciate this. I know of some districts that are being responsible, and some that have ignored or denied requests (Teachers stated this at a Gwinnett Board meeting months ago). Do you know if they have extra staffing in that office to handle the number of requests they are getting, and if teachers who have had their request in for weeks or months will get an answer before the return?
Also, will there be a system in place so that teachers who cover another teacher’s class are logged in order for effective contact tracing to happen? I fear that a teacher subbing in for another teacher might not be recorded as a close contact, because they are not the teacher on record for a student who later tests positive.
Thank you for caring for all of us.
@childern are the clients
Sorry but my life matters. I love children, and education, as I wouldn’t have entered this field and earned numerous degrees in which I can barely afford to pay in this field. Again. MY LIFE is important. I’m providing the best educational experience for MY STUDENTS as I possibly can while being safe. My life deserves an option just like these “clients”. What good will my students be if I lose my life?
I don’t know how many requests DeKalb Schools is getting … Hopefully it will be a moot point. I talked to the Dunwoody City Council last night. I’d like to find a way to get teachers moved up on the vaccination priority list. I’m also concerned that these vaccines are not approved for children.
WhoCares
You know people in lots of industries are being required to come back to work right?
If we are going to ask teachers to come back to work, it’s imperative that we do it safely. I’m guessing all of these other industries are doing their best to bring back their employees safely.
@Children are the clients: Teachers are the bread and butter of the school system. It’s the TEACHERS the school system should be pleasing. I and MANY other teachers are pissed right now. Teaching virtually AND in person: AT THE SAME TIME and during the worst part of the pandemic. The line has been crossed. These boots were made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do. Please join me in leaving! The grass is greener on the other side. Teacher job satisfaction is low, low, low: “66% of teachers want to leave their job and 41.3% of new teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years. Teachers also suffer from higher than average rates of drug and alcohol use. At any given point in time, 36.4% are likely to quit.”
The nurse at my school quit awhile ago. She has not been replaced. There’s a school nurse shortage from what I’ve heard. Anyone else have this issue at their school? I’m just going to sit back and watch this disaster unfold. I know my school is not the only disaster waiting to happen. *eats popcorn*
Stan,
When it comes to our districts “Safe School’s Plan” how are required emergency drills such as Intruder Alert, Tornado and Fire to be conducted while employing safe social distancing. With most drills students and staff are required to get as closes as possible. Are we to abandon these such drills? Ask this of the Superintendent and office of Safe Schools please.
@anonymous
Yes, I’m aware. Duh! However, how many of those are coming into contact with more than 100 kids a day in a limited space. If I wanted to go outside just to gain my sanity, I couldn’t. It’s just a cluster. I understand some people don’t care, but again, why can I not have a choice to continue teaching virtually. Unfortunately the teaching strategies that are implemented currently will not be changed because we still cannot do the activities that we would traditionally do. Essentially we will be babysitters. Mumble on folks, MUMBLE ON.