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If anyone is a teacher in Wake County, a parent of children who go to Wake County schools or has any information that would be valuable please respond!!
I am looking to relocate to NC - and Wake County schools has been at the top of my list. What are some schools (elementary) with a good reputation? Friendly staff? Good benefits and incentives? Also, any schools that you have had problems with?
ANY information is appreciated! Thank YOU
If anyone is a teacher in Wake County, a parent of children who go to Wake County schools or has any information that would be valuable please respond!!
I am looking to relocate to NC - and Wake County schools has been at the top of my list. What are some schools (elementary) with a good reputation? Friendly staff? Good benefits and incentives? Also, any schools that you have had problems with?
ANY information is appreciated! Thank YOU
I can't answer all of your questions but the benfits are the same in all public schools in NC. A good friend of mine has taught in both Wake county schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and, according to her, Cha-Meck is a better place to work by far. FWIW she taught in an elementary school in Cary.
Hmm... well good to know benefits are the same everywhere. I had considered Cha-Meck schools, however this county is a primarily urban county - and I know some of the schools are not what I would be looking for.
Do you know any of the reasoning for your friends preference towards Cha-Meck- and how was the elem. school in Cary?
Excuse me, I mean to type "Char-Meck." If you go around calling it "Cha-Meck" people will laugh at you.
I don't know the specifics but my friend is a special ed teacher and apparently the philosophy toward special ed in Char-Meck is different than in Wake.
There are no unions here in wake county. I taught in NJ for almost 30 years took an early retirement and have been substitute teaching for the past 3 months and deciding if I want to be abused next year by taking a full time job here in wake county. I sub at 5 different high schools and 4 different middle schools in the southern part of wake county. The salaryguides are all the same in NC with each county throwing in a supplement. wake county has a good extra benefit. However you are going to be worked over. You do not get any extra pay to cover classes during your prep periods and you have to cover if told. Heck if you teach Phys Ed and coach you also have to DRIVE THE DARN BUS when you go to games or meets!! the extra money to coach stinks!
My pension from NJ and sub teaching about 150 days during the school years is as much as a teacher who is on step 26 of teaching!!!
Well no unions - that is definelty a downside. I would actually be working in an elementary school so I am not sure if I would be asked to cover classes or not. I am sure there are other ways I would be overworked however.
Is there any positive things you can tell me about working in Wake County - or if there are other counties that may be better - worse.
Other things that i should know - negatives?
Does anyone know the philosophy of Wake County when dealing with special education - because I have my degree in both childhood education and special education
I worked in Wake County for twenty years as a special education teacher and all I can say is things have gone from bad to worse. Not all NC school systems have the same benefits. As state employees, they have the same medical, leave and retirement benefits. However counties offer supplements that range from 5 to 18 percent depending on longevity. Certain counties, like Wake, provide dental insurance. Charlotte offers the highest supplement, with Wake a close second. There is a lack of consideration for teachers by administrators that is appalling. They will hire seasoned teachers and not offer a contract renewal. There is definitely an age bias in Wake County. Next year the plan is to eliminate most separate special eduacation classes and serve students in a regular ed setting. The county has an emphasis on data collection and test results that make teaching drudgery .The paper work is overwhelming and confusing. I would recommend a smaller county even though you might get a smaller supplement.
I worked in Wake County for twenty years as a special education teacher and all I can say is things have gone from bad to worse. There is a lack of consideration for teachers by administrators that is appalling. They will hire seasoned teachers and not offer a contract renewal. There is definitely an age bias in Wake County. Next year the plan is to eliminate most separate special eduacation classes and serve students in a regular ed setting. The county has an emphasis on data collection and test results that make teaching drudgery .The paper work is overwhelming and confusing. I would recommend a smaller county even though you might get a smaller supplement.
All I hear from every teacher anywhere is that the situation for teachers has only gotten worse over the last twenty years. If anyone works for a system where it just keeps getting better, please let me know. NCLB and related legislation have made all schools data-driven and compliance driven.
As a teacher I will say it is VERY DIFFERENT working in a non-union state. If you like to vent in the staff room BEWARE. People will report you to the principal and some principals won't hesitate to write you up. You have to walk on your tip toes and give a great big Southern smile or you will be shown the door.
My advice to you would be the same anywhere -- find a school with solid parent support, good test scores and minimal problems. If you have those things, something is going right at the school. You can measure the parent support by the size of the PTA as evidenced by the school's web site. A big PTA means a ton of parent support and vice versa.
One consideration -- you might want to think about whether you want to work at "the best" school -- those schools often have requirements that take more of the teacher's personal time than others. For example, the law says you can leave the school once you have completed your professional responsiblities at the end of the day. For some principals this may mean any time after the bell rings, for others it can mean one hour after the bell rings.
One advantage Wake County schools have is the lack of a union. If you end up working for most Wake County schools, you will find teachers will be more driven to do the right thing. In some of the union controlled schools, you will find many teachers are slacking, knowing they cannot be fired. It all depends on what you are looking for. Are you looking for absolute job security, maybe Wake County is not for you. Are you looking for an environment where the kids are the most important thing and you will be working with other teachers that are driven towards that goal, then Wake County schools may just be what you are looking for.
I worked in Wake County for twenty years as a special education teacher and all I can say is things have gone from bad to worse. Not all NC school systems have the same benefits. As state employees, they have the same medical, leave and retirement benefits. However counties offer supplements that range from 5 to 18 percent depending on longevity. Certain counties, like Wake, provide dental insurance. Charlotte offers the highest supplement, with Wake a close second. There is a lack of consideration for teachers by administrators that is appalling. They will hire seasoned teachers and not offer a contract renewal. There is definitely an age bias in Wake County. Next year the plan is to eliminate most separate special eduacation classes and serve students in a regular ed setting. The county has an emphasis on data collection and test results that make teaching drudgery .The paper work is overwhelming and confusing. I would recommend a smaller county even though you might get a smaller supplement.
Mainstreaming would be awful.
Years ago, my daughter attended PS 40 NYC. Mentally ill students were mainstreamed into regular classes.
These children were sometimes violent attacking the lower grade students. Upper grade kids had to beat these crazies into submission so they'd stop preying on the lower classes. Administration would not expel them.
Special ed students should not be violently ill, but that's what tends to happen these days.
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Avoid Wake County
