Back in May I was at a school board meeting. Part of the discussion between the board members and an HR presenter was that the district has a hiring and retention problem. The numbers say we’re not as bad as the state average, but still it’s not good. (The video starts at the discussion; the numbers are shown a few minutes before.) They had the data on pay comparisons with other districts, so they ruled that out. And they just couldn’t imagine what was the cause. "Just personal reasons" was all they’d gotten from exit interviews.
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| board members ask question of the HR presenter at the CFISD board meeting in May 2023 screenshots from here |
It brought to mind conversations I’d had with teachers. One
in particular had mentioned multiple times to me about the huge burdens being
placed on teachers. I have recently followed up with her, and another teacher,
about their experiences.
I waited until after the school year ended and things calmed
down, and then made contact with Debbie (not her real name). By the time we
conversed, she had actually quit her teaching job and will be looking for “a
career in anything but teaching.”
She wasn’t alone. Her entire grade quit; the school will
need five or six new 2nd grade teachers by fall. And she said other
grade levels are similar. She added that the “administration is completely
ignoring the teachers, if they are unaware of why teachers are leaving.” They
had lost a 2nd grade teacher the year before. Without replacing that
teacher, they spread the burden—the students—among the remaining teachers,
supposedly temporarily, but it lasted the full year. And the teachers got no
compensation for their extra work. Debbie pointed out to me that it was a way
of saving money, just burden the remaining teachers, and they don’t even have
to pay for the additional teacher.
Debbie was triggered just by my questions. It was traumatic
for her. I first knew her when her children were babies; they’re all grown and
graduated now. She taught piano lessons when they were younger, but as they got
well into school, she began teaching in 2012. She’s a good, kind person, and
wants to be a good teacher. But she said the stress was overwhelming—with even
more new policies being added next year.
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| from the HR presentation at the May Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District board meeting screenshot from here |
This is 2nd grade. It’s not rocket science.
Really, what is it a school district needs from a 2nd grade teacher
beyond teaching the kids how to read and write and do basic math? Anything
beyond that should be a bonus. But teachers report that they aren’t even
allowed to effectively teach the basics.
About pay, she said,
The school board took away our stipend and gave us a 3%
raise, which makes our pay the same as the past two years. Our health insurance
is going up, so we will make less money than last year. Inflation has gone up
10%. Our days are 1 hour and 15 minutes longer than when I started in 2012,
with no compensation for the added hours.
It doesn’t really matter how you compare to nearby districts; if you’re compensating teachers less than you used to—or failing to keep up with the rising cost of living—you’re expecting them to sacrifice to keep a job. And it’s a job you’re making harder.
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| from the HR presentation at the CFISD board meeting in May 2023 screenshot from here |
I was unable to get from her all the details about the credit system for teachers. They need to earn a certain number of credits every two years—on their own time and budget. This could include taking college courses, taking state-provided courses. It could include participating in the superintendent’s book club—which happens to include mainly books pushing the LGBTQ and racist CRT agendas. (Good riddance to this superintendent.) I’m going by memory, and I’m sure I’m missing details. But Debbie had a colleague who had taken a required course, and they were approaching the end—and they placed the final exam on top of her daughter’s wedding. If she didn’t complete the credits, she would lose her teaching job. She asked to be able to take the test another day. They refused. And they suggested that, if she really cared about her job, she would prioritize that test over her daughter’s wedding.
One issue Debbie had relates to a policy issue. Parents have
been appropriately concerned about content being taught in schools. Of highest
concerns have been CRT (essentially teaching racism, and distorting the history
of the country, which was outlawed in Texas two years ago), and, even worse,
sexualizing materials, including pushing the LGBTQ agenda. The attack has been
on multiple fronts: libraries, curriculum, and classroom materials. The
libraries and curriculum can be attacked at higher levels. But teachers have been basically allowed to provide their own libraries in class.
Teachers generally provide these classroom libraries at
their own expense—often including the shelving. I would note that classroom
libraries were not a thing when I was in school; we had the school library for
that. We checked out books at the library weekly, which we could keep in our
desks and pull out to read when we had free time. That seemed adequate. But all
of my children’s classrooms had class libraries, and they’re a nice luxury. The
books are known by the teacher and are aimed at the right grade level.
But if a teacher is one of those who push a “woke” agenda, there’s
no accountability unless a parent goes into the classroom and goes through all
the books to monitor them, and then goes through a difficult bureaucracy to get
harmful materials removed. I remember this coming up in discussions during
platform work in 2022. I said the way it was being asked, it was going to be
onerous for teachers. And apparently it is. It may be part of the READER Act, passed this legislative session, going into effect this fall. But Debbie was dealing with something that was
already policy, so I’m not sure if that came from the legislature or the
district (which doesn’t have a problem with the materials per se; read here).
Debbie said they were going to force her—and all other
teachers—to spend their summer cataloguing every book or any other material
she had brought for classroom use. It would be on her own time, uncompensated, of
course. She had, she said, over a thousand books and items. The result was that
she and all the other teachers she knows removed their class libraries, which
she felt like was a real loss to her students.
That kind of oversight seems above and beyond what a teacher
should be expected to endure. On the other hand, that’s only true if we have
teachers we can trust. We learned during COVID not to trust, when parents could
actually observe. This means, not just the untrustworthy teachers are affected,
but the good ones as well, unfortunately.
I could say here, as I often do, that if you have teachers
you can’t trust, you shouldn’t be sending your children to them. Pull them out.
Homeschooling is an option—and I think it’s a better option than private
school—for parents who care and are committed to doing whatever it takes. But I
understand that not every family can do that—or at least they can't see how they
could.
Another teacher I talked with—who quit a year ago (I hadn’t
been aware until we talked)—added more information. She had been an elementary
art teacher. While she had taught art at all levels, and in multiple districts,
this is where she was for the final two years. She isn’t likely to go back to
public school teaching. Again, her issues were frustrating and systemic. And
they bring up so much negative that we limited it to one long session, and then
she promised me she was going to put it out of her mind and go back to not
thinking about it again. Ever!
In our district they call art, music, and PE “large group”
classes. She felt belittled by that, as though they don’t matter except to
babysit larger numbers at a time. She persuaded the staff at her school to call
them “specials.” They have real skills that not every teacher can offer. They
deserve respect.
They have a rotation that handles several classes. Not every
class is overwhelming in size, but every day there is one such class. Her
biggest had 53 students. She didn’t have an aide. This was hands on and active,
with kids moving around and doing things, often with messy materials, and with
her going from student to student. 53 is a ridiculous number of students for
such a class. When she asked for help, the administration would refer her to
resources about classroom management—as if it was her personal lack of skill
that made handling 53 elementary kids a difficult task. They were blaming her.
They told her there wasn’t money for aides, even though other teachers could
get aides when they needed them. If they didn’t have enough aides, maybe it was
because they didn’t pay enough for them. That’s what some former aides had told
her.
I’ve noted this before, but the priorities of this district seem warped to me. We have 41% of 3rd graders (the year they’re tested) who cannot read at grade level. The school has one purpose: teach kids to read, write, and do basic math. They fail at this. But they have a brand new administration building, named for the retiring superintendent who has been a blight on the district—at the highest superintendent pay in the state at over half a million a year. This building can house more employees—all of whom work outside of the schools—than any district should have. All administration professionals. Not teachers, bus drivers, or anyone else that interacts with children. But they can’t afford aides in a classroom of 53 students. Hmm.
I'm not questioning the intentions or abilities of all of these employees; I'm just wondering what they've been hired for when we have so much need in the classrooms—which we are told we can't afford.
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| The newly opened Mark Henry Administration Building for CFISD; there's an additional building on the left, not pictured. There's a big marquee you can see from the freeway. How many admin workers can this place hold? And why? |
While “specials” aren’t the basics, they are some of what
makes for a well-rounded person. And they’re considered the fun classes. But
this school, Susan said (not her real name), sucked all the fun out.
The overburdened teachers asked if they could add other “specials”
classes, like computers, for example. That would lower the class size for all
the specials. But they were told no. No money. No room for that.
Susan suffered the worst experience of
her life in this teaching stint. A student accused her of hitting him. It
didn’t happen. The mom went directly to HR, who went to the principal, who
eventually talked with Susan. The administration appeared to believe the
student and disbelieve her. They did a thorough investigation, interviewing
her, the student, the parent, and multiple students who were there when the
supposed incident took place. Fortunately, the students verified her claim that
no such incident happened. She was cleared. But that had not been a sure thing,
because you don’t know whether kids will lie for one another for some reason
you don’t perceive—especially for a teacher who sees them weekly in a large
group, rather than daily in a smaller classroom. Eventually the mom admitted
that her child was known to lie. You’d think she might have considered that
before putting the teacher through this ordeal. Not at any time did this
teacher feel support from the school administration or the district.
When I’ve talked with other people (including school board
candidates) about challenges for teachers, the first thing they mention is
class discipline. They can’t really discipline. When the teacher calls a parent
about their disruptive child, often they tell the teacher to handle it. Or they blame
the teacher.
Susan says what it comes down to is too many homes where kids aren’t taught basic polite behavior. If the child is allowed to bad mouth a parent without repercussions, they’ll do it to a teacher or any other authority figure. What we have are kids who don’t get the parenting they need at home.
But teachers are not parents. We need to expect more from students—they tend
to rise to expectations. But we also need to expect more from parents. And we
need administrators who deal with problems that are getting in the way of
learning for all the rest of the kids.
While Susan’s and Debbie’s experiences aren’t unusual, and
probably all teachers feel overburdened, not all teachers are ready to give up
teaching. They put up with whatever is required—for a couple of reasons. They
feel called to teach; it’s their life’s work. And/or they need this job and don’t
see any other path but to suffer whatever it takes. Fortunately, Susan and Debbie
had alternatives.
Debbie says the district knows the problems they’re causing
teachers; they just don’t care. Or they don’t believe them. I wonder about all
those hundreds of employees sitting in plush new offices in the administration
building, out of sight of actual school life. Are they just out of touch?
The “woke” agenda people talk about how much they care about
the kids. Don’t let that fool you. They also say they care about teachers—but they
really mean they care about teacher unions (read here), and that’s pretty much the opposite
of caring about teachers or students.
We’re in school board season. For some reason (probably
purposely to have low turnout) school board elections are in odd years. This
weekend begins candidate signups. I’ve been in a group of precinct chairs
vetting candidates—since January. We think we have some that will prioritize
the will of parents and community—and our values. We hope that electing good
people will make a difference. We got three good board members elected two
years ago. The other four positions are on this year's ballot, with just one incumbent. We think we have a good chance. It will be satisfying to see what a conservative, parent-focused board can do as a majority.
One thing is certain: you don’t get the schooling you want
for your kids without a whole lot of your personal involvement.
