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Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IBrakeforTailgaters
A coworker of mine used to teach in NYC and educated us a little on the unions up there. She was very surprised when she came down and realized that teachers have duties they are assigned to that may require them to come in earlier or leave at a certain time after school. She said at her old job, they pretty much only taught and that was their contribution. You didn't do anything that wasn't in your job description. So that union must be pretty strong! Here, they're nonexistant.
What state are you in?
What you describe sounds a lot like the Clark county SD in Las Vegas--where my fiance and I were looking to move. We decided against it, mainly because the "association" is very weak and the salaries are so low.
What you describe sounds a lot like the Clark county SD in Las Vegas--where my fiance and I were looking to move. We decided against it, mainly because the "association" is very weak and the salaries are so low.
I'm in North Carolina. We don't really have any unions. I suppose the NEA is one, and while most teachers join it, you don't hear much talk of it when issues come up. I guess people have concluded that it's ineffective for the issues in their lives and at their schools.
Before this colleague mentioned what she did, I was under the impression that everyone everywhere had before-school or after-school duties. It doesn't really bother me to have to work at athletic or fine arts events, or even before or after school for a few minutes, but I just figured it was naturally a job duty that everyone shared across the country.
What you describe sounds a lot like the Clark county SD in Las Vegas--where my fiance and I were looking to move. We decided against it, mainly because the "association" is very weak and the salaries are so low.
How does that sound like CCSD. I think the problem with the "associations" there are that they are all in bed together so to speak. They don't do anything to help there members. One of the leaders of the administrator association told me that he told his own daughter not to teach in CCSD. I'm so glad I got out!
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
8,900 posts, read 15,939,050 times
Reputation: 1819
Quote:
Originally Posted by photobuff42
How does that sound like CCSD. I think the problem with the "associations" there are that they are all in bed together so to speak. They don't do anything to help there members. One of the leaders of the administrator association told me that he told his own daughter not to teach in CCSD. I'm so glad I got out!
I don't know what you mean by it doesn't sound like CCSD. I just hear it's pretty corrupt, more or less.
She said at her old job, they pretty much only taught and that was their contribution. In CCSD, lots of teachers get extra duty pay for things, but lots don't. Most I know put in more than their 7 hours 11 minutes.
You didn't do anything that wasn't in your job description. The good teachers in CCSD often go over and above. They are also the same ones that get stuck in their positions, get passed over for promotions and have efforts that go unrecognized.
So that union must be pretty strong! They have a certain amount of strengths for their leadership. The don't do anything of significance for their members. Neither does their administrator's union.
I was an administrator there and left for a better place. I worry about lots of the folks I left.
Many school districts pay for all benefits desired, some have an ala carte list you can choose from, some school districts pay a certain amount towards an ala carte list, others offer full coverage for employee and co-pays for insuring spouse and or family. There is no hard/fast/standard. It continues to be a negotiating point in all district. In our district we have a choice of a standard plan+dental or a PPO+dental. The district requires us to pay 10% of the premium (I pay about $100/mo. for husband and myself). If you can get insurance through your spouses employer, or if you both work for the district and only 1 gets the insurance, the other gets $2500 extra in salary (taxed of course). That's just one district in 1 county, as I said they are all different. Some offer HMO's, others just one plan.
Salaries starting in this area are low 40's. A 30+ year teacher, with a Masters and an extra 60 credits can earn close to $90K. Many districts offer incentives for teachers that stay with the district (service increments) and we are well compensated for clubs, department head duties, advisor positions and for coaching. Many of my co-workers (all 25-30 year teachers) have salaries close to six figures when they total their earnings, and some even continue to work during the summer months; teaching summer school, running clinics, or doing repair and painting, landscaping or running pools.
Those of us that toughed it out with the lean years (do I buy a TV, go on vacation or pay for a grad class) are finally feeling the relief and the ability to live comfortably, but it has been a long struggle.
I will have to get back to you with details, but I worked in LA, CA for 16 years and then we moved to NC.....I want to move back to CA to finish out my school counseling career. NC really stinks. No union, low pay, no health benefits for family, longer hours, more work days, and much lower retirement benefits.
Dawn
The economy in CA is so bad that they keep laying off teachers and class sizes are increasing, even special education case load(I am a special educator). I moved out here from the east coast and have had nothing but difficult time with such high numbers of students in special ed. One of the areas they have cut the most are areas such as counselors. Rethink about coming to CA!
Maryland:
Starting $37K-44K for a B.S., pay will vary by County.
Tops out at $68K-high $80's/low $90's with time and M.A. and varies by County.
Some systems top at 30 years, others at 20. Step size varies by County, from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand.
Most systems have a sliding scale for medical, the newer you are the more you pay.
Pensions are through the State Pension System and are OK (roughly 60% after 30 years), the Legislature routinely messes with the teacher pensions every few years. I'm in my 26th year and am on the 3rd change of schedule of benefits. It is a teacher contributory system/fixed benefit.
Many Counties have an active non-traditional career to teacher program.
Cost of living in the state is high, taxes are also.
The school systems are organized by county and run the gamut from highly urbanized to suburban to very rural and from very wealthy to very poor. The school systems that are considered the wealthiest are Montgomery, Howard, Calvert, Prince George's, and Anne Arundel. The poorest systems are Garrett, Washington, Allegheny, Somerset, Baltimore City, and Prince George's (that's not a typo-the system is the wealthiest and best educated majority Black sub-division in the US, it also has some of the state's poorest residents).
Last edited by North Beach Person; 03-21-2009 at 03:47 PM..
Reason: added
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not wise
