By Cathy Loew
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | Let me agree wholeheartedly with Jack Bernard’s Today’s Focus. Our Gwinnett Schools are a mess and not many people are paying attention. Perhaps people will notice when we lose a bond rating, employers choose not to move to Gwinnett or Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) students can’t get into the University of Georgia. But for now, people have their heads in the sand.
Loew
Below are my thoughts from a recent school board meeting.
On December 2, a total of 268 teacher vacancies were listed on the GCPS website. February 21, there were 493 teacher vacancies and the contract cycle hasn’t even begun.
I have been a parent in GCPS for 20 years and I can assure you the teachers are what make GCPS successful. My kids have been exposed to over 200 teachers in the Norcross Cluster and all have all exceeded expectations.
Teachers are afraid of retribution for speaking out. I was asked to read the following anonymously, from a teacher.
Have you ever considered investing time and money into those who are ALREADY employed? A sign-on bonus just gets people in the door, it doesn’t mean they will stay. You are offering sign-on bones up to $6,000. What are you offering your current teachers? Research proves, employers SAVE money by investing in current employees. Turnover is costly.
Sign-on bonuses encourage a “quick money fix.” I don’t know of one teacher motivated to TEACH for the money. People are encouraged to apply without teacher certification. That’s a frightening thought.
Show your current teachers GCPS VALUES their experienced teachers by providing bonuses for longevity. Do not end the STEP increases at 28 years.
GCPS MUST remain competitive with surrounding counties. For example, Cobb is currently paying their teachers $10,000 dollars more than Gwinnett. Cobb has recently launched an incredible incentive for earning advanced degrees at no cost to the teachers. They offer Masters, Specialists and Doctorate Degrees through a partnership with the University of West Georgia.
Board members have been invited several times to teach in a classroom. Have any of you accepted the invitation? You claim to “stop by” and walk the halls of a school. But really you are just visiting select schools and not all the schools you serve. Stay with a teacher in their classrooms, meetings, and parent interactions.
Please host town hall meetings with teachers and staff by clusters or districts. But do not meet just with members picked by their principals, because they know they won’t rock the boat. We are talking about meetings where we can ask questions and bring to light problems without fear of reprimand. From those town hall meetings, use committees to create and implement action plans to address the needs of our schools from the inside out. Lastly, are exit interviews provided to the teachers leaving?
I will close with my personal comments. I sincerely thank the wonderful teachers that have impacted my kids. Whenever a young family would ask me about GCPS, I would share my personal experiences and advise them to save their money for college. After two years of chaos, I give different advice. I encourage them to enroll in private school because of the loss of valuable teachers and the changes in discipline policy creating an unsafe learning environment. I received the very best GCPS had to offer. Those days are gone.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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