We all know the kids love a snow day, but I suspect this winter of delays, early dismissals and closings is putting a strain on the grown-ups. I've been hearing that teachers, assistants and others are struggling with how this affects their leave time, and I'm sure working parents are in a continual quest for emergency child care.
I'm also interested in tracking down more information about the blizzard of problems related to the state's PowerSchool data system (I know, lame transition). I keep hearing about things in bits and pieces, and some of you have voiced frustration that I haven't pulled back to do a big-picture look at what problems remain and how we got into this mess.
Let me know your thoughts, experiences and questions on either topic or both. Anonymous comments can be helpful in shaping queries, but I'd especially appreciate anyone willing to talk for a story. Email me at ahelms@charlotteobserver.com or call 704-358-5033. If you get voice mail, leave a message. Once the flakes start falling, I may go outside and play.
Posts
78 comments:
As a parent, I find the navigation to be clunky; the computation of averages doesn't seem to be any less confusing than the old Parent Assistant, either. My high schoolers aren't huge fans, either, though the online class registration process appeared to go smoothly last night (guess we'll find out, won't we?). I'll be interested to see the thoughts of CMS employees; transcript acquisition for seniors was headache-inducing, I hear.
I'm not terribly happy about the possibility of losing Spring Break (and as I watch the snow pile up outside, it's looking like a distinct one). I'm also concerned, for my son's sake, about the stop-and-go of his English class. He's a junior, meaning it's Graduation Project time.
I do NOT see any one losing spring break because of long planned non-refundable vacations. There are other ways to make up snow days, but tomorrow's snow day will most likely lose the Memorial day holiday. When I was teaching in VaBch, we did have half day Saturdays that counted as a full day OR ten minutes a day was added to a school day..OR the governor can just say we don't have to make the missed days up.
The only thing I don't like about Power Portal is that I can't see the class avg. for tests. If my junior got a 75% on a test, but the class avg. was 67%, I know that she did all she could do and hoped there was a grading curve. other than that,it's ok..still don't know why Parent Assist had to be changed to begin with though.
11:12, Memorial Day isn't on the makeup list. The next day up is April 14, the Monday of spring break. Every day after that is also spring break. Pray for a mild winter from here out:
http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/calendars/Documents/2013-2014%20Calendar%20Final%20(Updated%20Aug.%206,%202013).pdf
There's a workday at the end of March and Memorial Day that are eaten before Spring Break. The CMS calendar clearly delineates the order of make-up days.
Yes the CMS calendar - see the link Ann posted - clearly delineates the order of make up days. Memorial Day is not listed...don't try to create an issue where there is none.
If you want to fuss about make up days, talk to the NC General Assembly. Because of the constraints it placed a few years ago onthe start and end dates, plus number of workdays allowed, the only make up options have to include breaks. (But, again, NOT Memorial Day at CMS)..
The continual dependency on Pearson and other vendors who snap up smaller software, curriculum, and testing products then discontinue them in order to provide alternatives at a higher price should be a huge warning to the schools. What's even more discouraging is the cozy relationships that have evolved with with former educrats and NCDPI rolling out not for primetime products with little to no preparation for the end users. This has always been a hallmark of CMS trickle down professional development, teach one person and hope that a few absorb enough to utilize a program.
No matter what the "official" make up day calendar shows, they won't use spring break because there would be very few teachers/administrators or students in town! And once again, let me state that the governor can make an executive decision to use half Saturdays or to add a few minutes to each school day OR to say, "we don't have to make up these two days"..
11:57 keep in mind that CMS and other districts were adding many days to the beginning of the calendar as teacher work days that teachers were required to attend, but for which they were not compensated. The calendar law addressed that by reining in those days and adding in protected teacher work days (that have subsequently been removed by the General ASSembly).
Ok anonymous person who does not seem to understand school calendars.......that calendar was voted on and passed a year or two ago with public input......when they announce we are out of school tomorrow watch April 14 be the designated make up day. They will only use a Saturday or not make students make it up IF and only IF we run out of designated school days.....please take a course in Public School Law before you make an attempt to tell people about something.....
Not only is making up holidays no fun, it removes the periodic breaks that help keep everyone going. It would be great if this legislature would correct the mistake made by the past (Democrat-controlled) legislature by giving schools calendar flexibility. That would be a genuine improvement in state educational policy that they could credibly celebrate.
However, as snow days on holidays may continue to be necessary, one way to deal with it would be to devote a portion of those days to discussions/lessons about the holidays in question.
When my son was in second grade, Memorial Day was a snow makeup day. His marvelous teacher, Sarah Shields, taught the students about World War I and had them make red paper poppies. They learned a lot more about the meaning of the holiday than many would have learned if they had had the day off.
The time we had a snow day on Martin Luther King day, I think much of the outcry could have been avoided if CMS had encouraged schools to make that day into a day of study and celebration of King and the civil rights movement. Again, many students would have gotten more out of that day than out of another day off.
For clarity: I meant the state should give school districts, not schools themselves, calendar flexibility.
So, PowerSchool...
A. I don't know why it matters if anyone (other than a teacher...which even teachers can't) can see the class average.
B. WHY should there be a "curve" if a kid gets a 75. The kid earned a 75. Period. Even i the entire class did "poorly" maybe they didn't study and put in effort and are relying too much on the expectation of curves, etc. and they should actually apply themselves and study and prepare.
C. Pearson lobbied in DC to be a part of the Race to the Top "strings"...it's why all Juniors take the ACT as part of the RTT monies NC received. And with that, you need Pearson scoring machines, and with that you need the program to load into the transcripts that the requirement has been met = PowerSchool. You can go down that conspiracy theory rabbit hole on your own time, but Pearson also has their fingers in the two major testing consortiums that States are required to use for common core testing in the coming year or so.
D. Make-up days are on the calendar. Read the calendar. If the Gov. or whomever decides to change something, then that will happen. It is what it is...unless one of you can actually control the weather...and some of you who reguarly post on this blog probably think you can...
@the charming person who said I don't understand school law..are you a teacher or administrator? I taught on Memorial day twice during the yrs I taught, even though it hadn't been on a designated school calendar as a make up day BECAUSE our school supt. and governor were intelligent enough to know that students, teachers and administrators would be going on non-refundable vacations! What don't you understand about that? prob. 90% of the students wouldn't show up on April 14th if they did use it as a make up day..we will be in Florida no matter what!
1:34 - I've been on the CMS calendar committee before (have you?), so I DO understand school calendars, probably better than you.
When the previous poster referenced the NC General Assembly, I pointed out WHY the calendar law was written in the first place (and NO the tourism industry did not write the law, they jumped on the bandwagon later). How do I know this? I know one of the people who WROTE the law.
Pamela, I am sorry but I do not share your desire to have CMS get more control of their calendar. What is CMS's history would lead you to believe they would use that power correctly?? Having to write the calendar law in the first place was a response to CMS adding in uncompensated days to teachers schedules. Work within the law.
I would look at how many seat-hours we lose to this storm. If I am right I think CMS requires more seat-hours than the state...
I agree with Pamela on the issue of makeup days on holidays. When my two older children were in elementary school in a district in Tennessee Veteran's Day was never a holiday. Instead the schools honored veterans, having the students create displays and inviting veterans to speak to classes. It was a wonderful experience for all. For a long time the district also had school on Memorial Day (am I right in thinking it really wasn't celebrated much in the south even in the 80's and 90's?). At least at our school the music department always put on a patriotic program, with Boy Scout and Girl Scout color guards and the awarding of good citizenship medals as well. As for the NAACP flap over school on MLK Day, yes CMS probably should have encouraged that makeup day to be used in study of Civil Rights, but couldn't the NAACP have calmly suggested the study alternative, perhaps offering to help with its implementation, rather than creating a high profile uproar. Reaching out works both ways.
Have fun in Florida....CMS will be having classes......remember you taught in VA Beach......different state different ways of doing business
Snow make up days - A few years ago, after many snow storms the district decided to add a few minutes to each day to make up the time instead of taking away spring break. I think 8 minutes were added. Since, all elementary students already go an extra 45 minutes a day, their time is already made up!! So, if the district would like to add a few minutes to the secondary schools, then so be it - otherwise I would hope that the governor would declare "free days" because he has declared a state of emergency.
Powerschool - A much better product than the bad piece of software used in the past. Yes, it still has some bugs - and the teachers are still on the learning curve - I know how to do what I need to do and any bells and whistles will come later.
Ann Clark says they'll look at alternatives, including Saturday school. Updating story. Y'all are sharp.
PowerSchool-as a parent I miss average of quiz/test/final.
If my child scores below average maybe she didn't understand the concept( or maybe didn't study hard enough)
If he gets a 75 and the average is 75, sorry but maybe the teacher didn't teach it well-
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THE PROBLEM IS HOME BASE.
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There isn't just one problem, PowerSchool. There is a second, Home Base.
NDCPI describes Home Base as…"Home Base is a statewide, instructional improvement system and student information system for teachers, students, parents and administrators. Teachers will be able to use Home Base to access student data and to access teaching and learning resources to help improve educational outcomes for students." Source: NCDPI.
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There was no doubt that Home Base was a complete surprise to the Board and many in the room when it was part of another wonderful PowerPoint presentation that evening. The emphasis was on the cradle to grave aspect of keeping all the records and portfolios of all the children. There was even the possibility of following students on through college if they went a state campus.
While no one was there from NCDPI, the technology people talked about the need for massive amounts of storage, bandwidth…and patience. I believe I'm correct in saying that none of that existed then or now.
At the end of the Board meeting where Home Base was announced, I went to several Board members and staff to get their impressions. NO ONE knew anything. Some couldn't even recall the correct name calling it PowerBase and Home School.
Keep in mind, Home Base was sprung on CMS and all the state's districts with but one year to prepare. It takes CMS at least five months to create effective policy. Maybe three months if a life is at stake.
What's got me fooled is how the NCDPI came up with all the server capacity. This leads me to believe Home Base as a new service is a fabrication. NCDPI just rolled up existing services and repackaged a very old system in a new vocabulary.
The proof is in that the Home Base system has two points. The storage end in Raleigh and the collection/user ends of the 115 districts, all the 80,000 teacher laptops and probably another hundreds of thousand home parent PCs. The user end is nothing better than the fleet of rowboats sent to rescue solders at Dunkirk.
If you take CMS as a typical example for all the districts, Raleigh contributed little money to make this work on the local ends.
While Ann has asked for teacher, parent and staff input on PowerSchool, I think the real story is Home Base. Let's have some technical people come forward.
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Bolyn McClung
Pineville
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@2:42 ... of course it MUST be the teacher...it could never be the students not doing their part. And why should they? NCDPI gives them a HUMONGOUS curve when they don't score well on the state exams...WHY on earth would a student ever expect their grade is their grade? Their parents tell them it isn't it's the teacher not teaching, the State says "bless your heart" have a curve...where did personal responsibility go to die and can we please resurrect it? I read an article today about that VERY issue with students in high schools...no drive, no grit, no personal responsibility = the problem.
Ann,
Where is the demographic and school lunch data for CMS?
Wasn't PowerSchool to blame or was it another program due to CMS not releasing it?
As I pointed out in your last blog, Wake County sure seems to be able to post current data on their website.
http://www.wcpss.net/about-us/our-students/demographics/quick-facts.html
Regarding makeup days, here we go again.
Like bell the schedule and testing, it isn't rocket science.
Parents, students and teachers know that if there is inclement weather and school is closed, there must be makeup days, which are already built into the calendar.
Make the days up on Saturdays and move on.
As far as the "woe is me I'm a teacher and don't make any money so I have to work two jobs and will lose money if I have to teach on Saturday", too bad. Your primary job is a teacher and if you don't like it, find another job.
Again, this isn't rocket science folks.
CMS more than meets state requirements for seat hours. According to the CMS website, secondary students have 1080 hours per year, while elementary students have 1125. The state require 185 days OR 1025 hours. It appears that CMS would not have to make up these snow days. Perhaps Ann could ask Ms. Clark about this.
Dear Wiley,
Do you ever say anything that isn't rude, spiteful, or condescending toward teachers? Would you please just stop?
Thanks.
Susan,
You are much too logical!! Yes, it makes sense for CMS to not make up the days, but then the district could never tell the public that we do it better, and longer than any other district in the state. I wish that the district would use logic. I guess we need a letter writing campaign from the public, because the district may listen to the public. So, everyone start educating the school board members - let them know how you feel!!!
Wiley, still waiting on enrollment/demographics/poverty. Just talked with Heath Morrison about that Monday and he says yes, it is a PowerSchool issue. I'm not sure how Wake did theirs. I asked him if CMS doesn't have its own way of counting all this and he said yes, but if CMS releases and then state/PowerSchool numbers are slightly different it looks like CMS goofed, so they're waiting.
5:55...
It is the fact(s) of the matter.
Sometime the truth hurts and we can no longer afford to play nice when it comes to educating children.
We've spent decades doing it. That time has come to an end (way past time).
We need people in positions who can make the tough decisions that will force paents to do the same.
Either fish or cut bait.
Ann,
Thanks for reproting the continued mess CMS has in producing any valid data.
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MRS PLAZA'S ANSWER
Sometimes a story is more complicated than it seems. Sometimes the answers are just the same. Take the answer, "CMS more than meets state requirements for seat hours."
Good answer, particularly if another goal is to remove the 45 minutes that has been added to the day at some schools. Wouldn't that show some if not all of the 45 minutes could be removed?
But wait. What a fortunate unintended consequence of the additional 45 minutes. No need for make-up days.
I look forward to hearing that added to the discussion in the School Time Committee.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
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Im a teaching in CMS at a High School. My daughter attends Cox Mill in Cabarrus County and they do not have to make Thursday. Why does CMS. When will we know what the Governor Decides. Have school on the first day of Spring Break will not be a instructional day, everyone will be absent and subs will be present in classes because all teachers will be on vacation. Are time off is very important to us. I think time could be added to the day or Saturday school. So if we have enough seat hours, why are we making the time up??
Im a teacher in CMS at a High School. My daughter attends Cox Mill in Cabarrus County and they do not have to make Thursday. Why does CMS. When will we know what the Governor Decides. Having school on the first day of Spring Break will not be a instructional day, everyone will be absent and subs will be present in classes. All teachers will be on vacation. Our time off is very important to us. I think time could be added to the day or Saturday school. So if we have enough seat hours, why are we making the time up??
I also know one of the teachers who worked on the calendar bill. The bottom line was she had been teaching for 30 years and hated having work days; she believed we had too many. And ten years ago, we didn't have as much administrative/ paper work as we do today. I don't mind work days. I use them to review data and plan instruction.
I would love it if we were actually able to work in our classrooms for the five workdays at the beginning of the school year. If you want me to be excited, let me prepare for my students instead of having to sit through HOURS (I'm not kidding!)of meetings or attend a Pep Rally. It's nice that the community wanted to support teachers, but the timing was not helpful.
I would love to know the last time we were out of school because of weather before January. Probably 1989 when Hugo hit. If I were asked to give input into the calendar, I would suggest putting a workday in the middle of first quarter, when we could actually use it, with fewer days at the end of the year. They let us vote on a calendar choice, but I don't recall anyone ever asking for our input before calendars were created.
8:41 Here's a link to the CMS employee calendar with the make-up days listed.
http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/calendars/Documents/2013-2014%20Employee%20Calendar.pdf
This explains how the calendar was developed and the approval process.
http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/calendars/Pages/CalendarDevelopmentProcess.aspx
It's amazing what you can find when you use the search feature on the CMS site.
This blog could use more overeducated soccer moms.
Power School seems to be more user-friendly than our previous system. I heard horror stories about the old system crashing computers when teachers tried to enter grades at home, so I was afraid to try it. Power School works fine at home, and I can enter grades at night or on weekends when I finish correcting papers.
Power school also gives more information on the attendance portal, or at least I can locate the information I'm looking for more easily without having to haul a big manual off a bookshelf.
Wiley, here are the salary schedules for teachers with a bachelor's degree from 2008 and 2013. Compare the numbers. Do the math.
http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/calendars/Pages/CalendarDevelopmentProcess.aspx (page 2)
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/fbs/finance/salary/schedules/2012-13schedules.pdf (page 2)
I chose this profession because I am passionate about it and I can do it well. It's not about "woe is me, I'm a teacher..." It's about the fact that legislators have CUT our salaries in addition to RAISING the cost of our insurance while continually expanding our job responsibilities and berating us.
Please stop insulting those of us who actually care about our students by implying we should not expected to be compensated fairly.
9:17...
You obviously don't read this blocg very often or you would have read where I have said the legislature could have found money to restore what teachers have lost in the past.
I have also stated numerous times that the sorry state of public education is not the fault of teachers, but inept educrats and politicians pushing a failed liberal diversity at all cost mantra for decades.
I have also stated that the other equally contributing factor to the dismal state of public education lies with parents.
Having restated my positions, I will also say again that I have no use for those incessantly whining teachers who are the same ones who whined about pay and other benefits before they were ever cut one penny. This has gone on for years and years.
I was married to a teacher for nearly 12 years and heard all this before. That was back in the late 70's and 80's.
Teachers aren't the only ones who have had their salaries and benefits cut or costs increased, get treated like crap and bereated by their superiors.
As with anyone who works for the public and is paid by tax dollars, I appreciate your service and the fact you CHOSE this profession.
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CALENDAR COMMITTEE PROCESS
If you really want to see how dreadfully CMS is caught-up in diversity, you need to go to a Board meeting where the Calendar Committee's recommended options are presented.
First they talk about how difficult it is to schedule Christmas( oops Winter Holiday) with the Constitution permitting so many religions.
Then they mumble some words about how it is no longer necessary to honor Memorial Day. Then they stutter about how MLKjr Day is more significant than Lincoln's or Washington's. Nobody is going to do anything that threatens the MLKjr parade.
And last, somebody always tell the Board that if they really want to look stupid, then schedule a make-up day in Spring Break.
I can remember the meeting where they tried to explain how the first snow day would be in September. Very logical when you just call it the Hurricane Hugo day.
The District 5 member always drags out his annual speech on Calendar flexibility. While another reminds us that the Sea Food Lobby in Myrtle Beach has paid-off the NC General Assembly so that 1,000,000 NC children can play putt-putt at the sea side.
However the highlight of the night is when the chief spokesperson tells everyone they figured out how to get 180 days of school in 180 days. Amazing. Except for the year they had to redo the calendar because of a clerical error.
Now there is a better way to do the Calendar. Let the teachers have unions. Then they just tell NCDPI when they'll work and when they won't.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
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Congratulations again, Bolyn. You have lost most of your political correctness and are telling us what's really going on (CMS "dreadfully caught up in diversity"; MLK Day is "more significant" than Washington or Lincoln's birthday, etc. Your observations are on the money!
Pamela Grundy,
It was this past years Republican controlled assembly that in fact put this calendar law in place. They had a chance to change it this year, and the year before that but made the choice not to.
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/accounting/calendar/
Bolyn,
We work a lot more than people give us credit for. I brought home materials for grading and for writing lesson plans on these days that we will have to make up later.
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TO: Anon 11:51p
I don't believe anyone who participates in these blogs thinks that teachers wouldn't kill for just one extra second in the middle of their school day or more "free" time at home in the evening.
So, this is a good time to talk about the value of that off-the-books time in the evening.
An average teacher makes $46K. Her workday is likely to be as long as an administrator who gets paid twice as much. When I hear on the radio that only essential CMS employees will report to work I have to laugh. Essential has nothing do to with whether you report to an office or sit on the sofa grading papers while the snow is on the roads.
Maybe others get the impression from those alerts on the radio that CMS executives aren't letting us down while teachers have it easy. Would not surprise me if all 8,000 CMS teachers worked in one way or another on Wednesday.
If I may add one more note.
For some months I've been trying to get the message out that on a historical basis the General Assembly would be within range if it gave all teachers an 8% raise and state employees 2.5%. Four times since 1972 that is just what has happened and in two of those cases more. So I was disappointed that the Governor proposed half a loaf.
However, my disappoint spreads to every local school board. They were unable to band together to threaten the Governor and General Assembly on the pay issue. What that tells me is local school boards are not respected in Raleigh.
No, I don't think you took the day off.
Thanks for working.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
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Bolyn,
Local school boards need to earn the respect of the people who they serve before whining about getting no respect from Raleigh.
All they do is rubber stamp the same status quo BS year after year....
I find it interesting that the very first poster is concerned about the Grad Project paper and class being stop and go. That paper is meant to be more of an outside of class responsibility, but I guess that also depends on the school. There are schools in CMS who treat it as it should be treated...the students' responsibility...and then there are schools that hand-hold and spoon-feed. Either way...no matter, the kid can be working on the paper WITHOUT going to class, though knowing some parents they will whine and complain for extra time because of the weather...probably the same parents whose kids have procrastinated and will try to use the weather as an excuse themselves. It's a vicious circle...parents who don't teach their kids responsibility and kids who won't take it.
10:40 p.m.
The problematic calendar restrictions have been in place for years, and were originally enacted by a Democrat-controlled legislature. As I noted earlier, this is one place where Republicans have the chance to actually correct an educationally damaging policy made by their predecessors, as opposed to pushing the even more educationally damaging dictates of the ALEC education blueprint. I personally doubt that they will do it, but would applaud them if they did.
180 days is 180 days, no matter where you throw the 180 darts at the yearly calendar.
Like the bell schedule, put a calendar in place with enough makeup days for the year; Saturdays, holidays or spring break, whatever the most rationally thought out, optimum plan is and implement it.
As shown in comments here, you will not please everyone.
There are greater tragedies in life.
I'm so sick of you people saying Dems did this Repubs did that and back and forth. Ultimately, it doesn't matter in this moment who did what when. What matters is NOW and moving FORWARD. I now need more than my fingers and toes to count the number of colleagues I have had who have left teaching in NC or left teaching period since the start of the school year. Several were in the middle or close to the end of their Masters programs and knew they wouldn't get paid for them in NC. More than one had a baby and decided that it wasn't economically in the best interest of their families to continue teaching as really...teachers can't have a family without significant financial struggle (unless they are married to someone who isn't a teacher) and even then, the cost of childcare would almost be a wash with the stagnant salaries. Several who have retired mid-year, who may have stayed until the end of the year under regular circumstances. Several who have gone to charter/private schools to escape the testing mayhem and administrative pressures associated with the testing (very poorly constructed crap-tacular tests, btw). If you want to point at a "party", then look to the current administration who removed tenure, instituted this testing, invited in more rent-a-teachers through TFA, and shat on Master's pay. And be that as it may, today is a new day and TODAY the Governor and those with the power to do something about all of it COULD if they wanted to. But they don't. So, DEMS or REPUBS, who started what, when: it's a wash. Who's going to do something NOW is the question.
See? You can't even please a weatheman... Gotta love it.
Al Roker and Mayor de Blasio Face Off on New York School Closures
Today Show weatherman Al Roker got into an animated discussion Thursday via Twitter with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio about the city's decision to keep schools open amid a major snowstorm.
http://www.nbcnews.com/#/storyline/deep-freeze/al-roker-mayor-de-blasio-face-new-york-school-closures-n29721
I think he is funny, my parents are older and watch Fox news all day. Bless his heart:)
Thanks
7:42....
Al Roker is on NBC.
8:30, you are not going to get any relief from the group in Raleigh. The pay increase for starting teachers was out of necessity. NC university's do not create enough teachers to fill our states needs. Enrollment in education programs have fallen as of late. Making the shortage worse. Something had to be done. Paying young inexperienced teachers is relatively cheap. NC can now recruit young teachers from up north. They can earn their 2 years of experience. This will then make them eligible for jobs back home (up north). As long as the doors are open, they are happy. If you want more money, move. NC is a place to cut your teeth and move on. It is not a place for career teachers. I hate the turn over in my sons school. After talking with his teachers. My attitude towards teachers had changed. I have started paying more attention to local politics and who I vote for. Pat Mcory and Tillis have disappointed me to say the least. The new pay plan will do nothing to stop teacher turn over. As for the snow days, who cares.
Ya, but fox reported about it Wiley.. Lol
So, only new teachers are getting a raise?
8:47...
It's all over the net. Everybody reported on it but if you look at the link I posted, it came straight from the source - NBC.
Here, right after the "www".
http://www.nbcnews.com/#/storyline/deep-freeze/al-roker-mayor-de-blasio-face-new-york-school-closures-n29721
Don't let your liberal bias blurr your vision.
Why does the teacher pay charts show increases if the pay is frozen? How can that be?
8:53 PM
Lol. Pamela Grundy - a.k.a., licensed "soccer mom".
Alicia
Wiley, The first person I voted for was Pat Buchanan. I am not a liberal. I have only voted for one Democratic in my whole life. I like many conservatives am tired of the war on teachers. NC Republicans have always worked with teachers (not lately). This is not Chicago or New York. Teachers do not make 6 figures. There pay in this state had always been low but steady. Now it is just ridiculous. I am tired of our teachers leaving. My daughters school has lost 3 teachers this year. Private school is not an option. When I voted for Mcory, I expected reasonable solutions. Paying new teachers is not going to stop teachers from leaving. It may help the state recruit. It will not stop teachers from leaving. I like fox to. The five is my favorite news show.
9:12 look at last year's pay scale next to this year's. Every year they shift the same pay up to the next year of experience, so last year's level 9 is this year's level 10. You gain a year of experience but are paid the same.
9:32 you may need to vote for your second democratic this November,,,
That's crap.. If you are coming from out of state, you will think there's a normal pay scale with yearly increases. That will help us keep teachers. What a joke!!!
I don't know if conservatives will but independents are.
It's DISGUSTING that CMS has already made out of state recruiting trips. How much are those costing? How many go back after 2-3 years? SMH.
To the CMS Administrators and the Bell schedule task force:
A step in the right direction by one of the country's largest school districts.
Dallas Texas parents, your mornings may look a little different next fall. Dallas ISD is changing start times at all schools. Full day Pre-K, elementary, Vanguard, and Montessori schools will now start at 7:55 a.m.
Classes at middle schools and academies will begin at 8:35 a.m.
At high schools, magnets and early college classes, the bell will ring at 9:15 a.m.
Wiley,
Don't forget the #1 concern on snow days...
Who's feeding the children?
Seriously. Ask Al Roker.
He was sensitive to that, too.
To keep a balance to the one hand clapping later bell schedule crowd. It is a step in the wrong direction. Control your children's environment. They will go to sleep on time, awake refreshed and ready for the day.
11:52 apparently you do not have children in high school that participate in Honors/AP classes and competitive sports. Otherwise you would think differently.
We "control" our environment and there are not enough hours in the day. They are up doing homework until 11pm or later most nights, and up by 5:30am. It is not a healthy, smart or academically beneficial time to start high schools. I completely agree with the people posting about later high school times. That would make the most sense.
Anon 1:23.
So, does starting school an hour later mean your kids will stay up an hour later?
Will being up until midnight and waking at 6:30 be any better?
You won't gain an hour in the evening by starting an hour later.
3:34 It means my kids will get an extra hour of sleep, get to eat a decent breakfast too. They go to sleep the same time every night, and that would continue.
I never thought I would miss NC Wise but...after PowerSchool, I MISS NC Wise. I feel like they judt didn't ask for the input of stakeholders. They didn't think about how teachers/administrators would actually use it :( For instance, there are A LOT less reports on PowerSchool than NC Wise offered. Our school admin is concerned because GPA in PowerSchool is wrong which is a HUGE deal. The interface is more visually pleasant, NCWise seemed to be only a step above MS DOS. However, to launch the gradebook in PowerSchool takes extra steps and a few minutes with a fast Internet connection. Perhaps the greatest problem is that we do not "own" PowerSchool. We have to ask Pearson to make changes for us. NC needs more ownership of the system in exchange foe the enormous price tag I'm sure we're paying.
Thank you for recognizing the difference. I came into the profession 9 years ago, under the impression that I would actually make what the salary schedule promised. For the past 6byesrs, my salary has been frozen. Ok - I get it...recession. But when the NCGA cut taxes for wealthy in NC? I'm not going to play nice anymore. 9 years into the job + a MA degree = $30K? Pathetic.
I would be ecstatic if the state would just pay teachers what they advertised in the 2008-2009 salary schedule.
Amen!
Anne, i'm late to this thread but i wanted to log my biggest complaint with PowerSchool. there is no way to see cumulative absences. we personally liked Parent Assist way better.
thanks
Thanks! You may be late but last week's snow disrupted all other reporting plans, so I'm still working on this.
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