In a letter sent on September 30, 2010, Dr. Jenney made a very clear connection between employee absences, the loss of dollars, and recent lay offs in the district.
Teachers are allotted a certain number of days for sick leave from the state and the district every year. Absences that are not used can be accumulated throughout subsequent years. Teachers have a right to take days off when they are sick. Being around hundreds if not thousands of students a day tends to challenge a person's immune system.
Now, as if there wasn't enough pressure, job insecurity and job dissatisfaction because of forced transfers, FBISD is being told not to take absences or risk getting laid off. The disclaimer at the bottom does NOT make up for the clear message that this letter sends.
Fair enough, Dr. Jenney. It is the duty of all teachers to be on time and show up to class for the sake of everyone involved. But teacher effectiveness is also a key factor in the success of classrooms and on exams. Teachers cannot be effective when they are given reprimands for taking state given sick days. They cannot be effective when they constantly have their planning periods jolted out of their schedules or when they have no duty-free lunch periods. They cannot be effective when their salaries get cut or they are in constant fear of losing their jobs. And a school is never effective when morale is low. In fact, low morale is down right detrimental to everything the district is trying to achieve.
Teachers may not have much in the way of collective bargaining rights in Texas, but the consequences of not working with teachers, listening to their needs or making compromises will directly effect the quality of education in all districts across Texas.
Resources:
2008 Liberty University Study, "The relationship of Principal leadership and Teacher Morale".
2002 Sam Houston State University Study "The Effects of Teacher Morale on Teacher Turnover Rates"
Teachers are allotted a certain number of days for sick leave from the state and the district every year. Absences that are not used can be accumulated throughout subsequent years. Teachers have a right to take days off when they are sick. Being around hundreds if not thousands of students a day tends to challenge a person's immune system.
Now, as if there wasn't enough pressure, job insecurity and job dissatisfaction because of forced transfers, FBISD is being told not to take absences or risk getting laid off. The disclaimer at the bottom does NOT make up for the clear message that this letter sends.
"...I want to remind everyone that equally important to having new and effective tools to help us improve our work—is being at work. In recent years, the district has collected data on employee absenteeism to help us identify trends, and hopefully ways to improve attendance, especially teacher attendance. While good attendance is important in all work groups, it is most critical for our teachers since they, of course, have the most direct impact on students and learning...
In addition to a loss of quality instruction, teacher absenteeism and the use of substitutes take away valuable dollars that could be spent in the classroom. For example, teacher absences cost FBISD approximately $4.3 million this past school year in substitutes, which equates to approximately 40 teaching positions or 80 paraprofessional positions. Our absenteeism rate has been above the national average and seems to be following that trend again this year. Last Friday, September 24, in just that one day, we spent $20,400 on substitute teachers. The following chart demonstrates the progressive activity of teacher absences and district expenses on teacher substitutes thus far this school year."
Fair enough, Dr. Jenney. It is the duty of all teachers to be on time and show up to class for the sake of everyone involved. But teacher effectiveness is also a key factor in the success of classrooms and on exams. Teachers cannot be effective when they are given reprimands for taking state given sick days. They cannot be effective when they constantly have their planning periods jolted out of their schedules or when they have no duty-free lunch periods. They cannot be effective when their salaries get cut or they are in constant fear of losing their jobs. And a school is never effective when morale is low. In fact, low morale is down right detrimental to everything the district is trying to achieve.
Teachers may not have much in the way of collective bargaining rights in Texas, but the consequences of not working with teachers, listening to their needs or making compromises will directly effect the quality of education in all districts across Texas.
Resources:
2008 Liberty University Study, "The relationship of Principal leadership and Teacher Morale".
2002 Sam Houston State University Study "The Effects of Teacher Morale on Teacher Turnover Rates"
How do you lay off an experienced teacher? Easy! Transfer them in the middle of the year to another school in the district. Say it's because of student-teacher ratio imbalances. Then, at the end of the year you can lay them off (RIFF) them because now they are the "last one in" and will soon be the first one out. It's so sad that this has happened and is still happening. So many good, experienced teachers are being forced out and it's the students that will ultimately suffer.
ReplyDelete"our teachers have the most direct impact on students and learning..."
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that Dr. Jenney feels that way when it comes to absences. What about when it comes to teacher job satisfaction or job security? He likes to use phrases like that when it comes to losing money, what about when it comes to spending it?