Chris in Florida is a regular reader of the blog who teaches in that state. Florida is now experiencing a serious loss of teachers, as experienced teachers leave and the number of new ones are not enough to take their place. Is this what the reformers want? Did they plan to destroy the teaching profession or did they forget to consider the consequences of their actions?
Chris writes:
“My teaching friends, most of whom are retiring early thanks to having a spouse with a great pension plan or a high-paying job, have been urging me to apply for a coaching job in my district because they say I need to share my knowledge and experience with more than just my own class.
“I wouldn’t even consider it because A. it requires a master’s degree just to apply yet B. if you are hired as a coach you lose the paltry $1,800/year increase that a master’s degree brings you. Got that? Moving ‘up’ and taking on more responsibility actually nets you LESS pay.
“I have 2 master’s degrees but only get the one measly $1,800 bump (divide that by 26 yearly paychecks and I get a whopping $69.23/paycheck for completing an MA at a prestigious university with a 4.0 GPA.
“The step system is now outlawed; districts can’t use seniority or degrees in determining salary, though most still have the vestiges of one in place until the merit pay law goes into full effect next year.
“The union’s playbook on this was to negotiate a Memo of Understanding with the Superintendent that held teachers harmless until the law must be put in place permanently.
“The hope was that lawsuits, public outcry, and lobbying would get the law repealed or replaced. It didn’t happen during this year’s legislative session and so next year things are going to get REALLY dangerous and ugly for any teacher who doesn’t teach upper middle class white kids in our district, about 5 or 6 schools out of nearly 40.
“Public shaming and lobbying is less than worthless. The leaders of the Florida legislative bodies and their spouse/families all profit handsomely from charter school and voucher-related businesses and they pass multiple laws every year that further enrich themselves and their cronies.
“When multiple newspapers from around the state called them out for double-dipping and conflict of interest they told the voters to buzz off. They will all move into very lucrative consulting and lobbying positions after the mandatory retirement after 2 terms in the legislature so they don’t care what voters think or say at all.
“No other salary increases are possible unless you give up your seniority and due process rights and going the ‘bonus’ program, which to no one’s surprise, went only to teachers at upper middle class white schools. No one at a Title I schools qualified for that ‘bonus’ or the SAT/ACT ‘bonus’ because of their students’ test scores.
“I am less than a decade away from retirement and I realize that, because I dedicated my life to teaching poor children of color, I will never own my own home, appliances like a washer and dryer or refrigerator, have a new car, or be able to afford much more than beans and rice until I die.
“This is the reward Florida gives a National Board Certified teacher with 2 master’s degrees and over 20 years experience.
“I’m glad for the teachers who are able to leave and build a new life. I waited too long, I guess, and now will have to look at ways to continue working until I die once the DROP program forces me out.
“I never cared about money throughout my career or my life; I just wanted to teach kids to love learning like I did. Now, I guess, I am paying the price for my naiveté but I don’t regret a moment.
“I just wish we could jail all the reformers, starting with JEB! Bush, and take back our beloved profession and save our public schools before I’m gone.
“I’ll keep praying!”
Diane this might interest you and your readers. A broad coalition including teacher union activists, classroom teachers, business and community groups convinced this year’s Mn legislature to approve $500,000 to help district public school teachers start new, district public schools run by teachers. We have been working on this for a number of years. The legislature finally agreed.
We believe that this is an important step toward empowering district public school teachers to create and run public schools as they think should be done. Here’s a newspaper column that desribes what we hope will happen.
http://bit.ly/1ONQ3gd
Nathan… this sounds promising! In Boston, MA there are a few schools referred to as “pilot schools” that are run by teachers who cycle in and out of leadership positions. I think there is a successful k-8 school in West Roxbury, MA like this. Keep readers like myself posted. I am curious how this will play out in MN!
Agreed Art, what’s happened in Boston with Pilot Schools is exciting and a model for many other places. As you probably know, Deborah Meier helped create one of the Boston Pilot Schools.
We’re trying to encourage states & the federal government – to help support similar efforts.
Yes… Meier’s school is now located in Jamaica Plain (I think) and there should be a lot more schools around this nation like them. Oh I forgot … there are… they are private schools like the Obama’s kids went to!
I think the despotic, lying, fraudulent, autocratic, for profit, worshiping at the alter of avarice corporate public education demolition team wants to destroy the teaching profession because they represent too many highly educated, independent, critical thinking and problem solving difficult to fool people. Professional teachers have a target on their backs and the psychopathic, billionaire oligarchs funding this war against community based, transparent, non-profit, democratic public education wants all professional teachers silenced and crushed.
JEB ! and his crony-capitalist family and friends got what they deserved (political oblivion), but the plight of many teachers — in and out of Florida — is the result of the billionaire take-over of the election cycles in 2010, 2012, & 2014. So, now that those poor kids in Title I schools will be the victims as the ills of poverty and the self-absorbed attitudes of “I’ve got mine; screw you, Jack” will play out until the electoral process turns again. For too many good teachers, the choices seem to be, move or stagnate. I wish the three remaining candidates for President would address these issues (and I include Obama as well), but “reform” for too many means enclave mentality via charters. They all seem to be “building a wall” around the problem and making the poor pay for it. JVK
Florida has elected manipulative con men to run the state. That is why there is little to no regulation of charters and extreme test and punish policies in public schools. The attitude toward teachers is paternalistic and designed to keep teachers in their place. That is one reason why the policies are wholly subtractive to professional teachers like Chris. His superior credentials are not valued by policymakers that have made careers by making Florida an open door charter state. It is time to clear the legislature of all the “dead wood.”
Florida’s reputation in education has been poor for a very long time. I am sorry Chris elected to teach in this state. And I am lucky to have entered the profession in the 60’s and fortunate to retire in the 00’s, a period in which becoming truly educated was a goal in some states.
With the help of Democrats in Congress, Obama did more damage to the teaching profession than Jeb Bush (or Mitt Romney) could have imagined doing in his wildest dreams.
“The More Effective Evil”
The Evil more effective
Is greater than the lesser
If evil’s your objective
Then vote for wolf sheep-dresser
SomeDAM Poet: I agree.
😎
I personally know someone that started teaching in Florida. Starting pay was decent especially for stem teachers but it maxed out quickly. Because of no hope for future pay increases they move North and is now a superintendent of schools.
One of my former colleagues taught in Florida for two years, but left and went back to the northeast for a thirty year career. He now has retired comfortably in Florida. Florida does not value its teachers.
Retired teacher – interesting that one of your colleagues taught briefly in Florida, moved to the NE for 30 years career and now “has retired comfortably in Florida. ”
Sadly Florida values its low taxes along with its climate. Those low taxes are great for retired people but not great for schools.
Joe
I agree Joe. And since the Florida legislature is shifting all the money to your charter schools we are starving for money to build schools, repair schools, and upgrade technology. But only your charters can access that money. Very sad indeed.
I think we are going to have to open our own charters as you suggest to keep our profession alive. Somehow I’m sure that the ALEC legislation will find a way to make teacher-run charters meet impossible goals or otherwise treat us differently. They loathe us.
I do thank you for your empathy and suggestions though I still oppose charters.
Chris, over the last 40 years some of us have worked hard to empower district educators and help more students succeed. For those interested in the teacher led school effort, there’s more info here:
http://www.teacherpowered.org.
Chris,
Charters have become the sophisticated way to bust unions. More than 90% are non-union.
The technocrats behind the death of community based, transparent, democratic public education hate professional teachers but hate is a two way street, and I know I despise them way more than simple hate. Hate doesn’t even come close to what I think about them.
I don’t see them as humans. They are lice, leaches, vampire bats, mosquitoes, rats, cockroaches, termites. Do you know what we do with vermin when we know there is an infestation?
Destroying the teaching profession is an integral part of the reform agenda. It is not an accidental by-product.
You’re right.
All the policies (charters, testing, VAMs, attacks on tenure, etc) are actually geared toward either booting teachers out or driving them out by making conditions unbearable.
The goal is to replace them with teachbots who work 24/7 for nothing, don’t join unions (at least not yet), don’t complain about too much testing (or anything else) and make billions of dollars for the technology companies.
“Teachbots”
The teachbots work the schools
Like robots work the mills
They’re twenty-four seven tools
Which work for Sams and Bills
“I never cared about money throughout my career or my life; I just wanted to teach kids to love learning like I did. Now, I guess, I am paying the price for my naiveté but I don’t regret a moment.”
My thoughts exactly!
Reblogged this on Dern's Discourse and commented:
Duval keeps taking about retaining highly trained teachers, we need to make teaching in Duval a desirable job.
Chris in Florida,
I have been following your comments on this blog for months now, and have been a fan of yours. I admire how you work every day, yet keep up to speed on the larger organizational and political happenings. I also admire your compassion for kids and dedication to teaching.
I am so sorry that you and your colleagues are undervalued and unappreciated, and that others are getting rich unfairly. My only idea (other than prayer) is to try to capture the attention of some of the big civil rights or minority rights groups. Why aren’t they filing lawsuits? The ACLU? the NAACP? We need a Southern Poverty Law Center for educational inequality.
In support,
Your friend in Montana
Thank you so much! It means a lot.
Chris,
I personally know people who hold residency in Florida for at least 6 months a year (they have two homes, each in a different state) just to avoid paying income taxes. The other residence they have that is not in Florida is in a state that taxes your income no matter what the genesis or category of the income is.
The state with higher taxes has superior public schools while Florida, between its low property taxes and its no income tax policy, is defunding its public schools and privatizing them one at a time, now with vermin like Pitbull owning and operating a charter school.
At this rate, the starvation of public schools in Florida will become a Disney World ride, known as “the Land of No-More Tomorrow”.
Goofy, Pluto, and the even dwarves could so a bette job propping up the public schools system of Florida.
Shame on the Tallahassee legislature, one that is as corrupt as that of Georgia’s. I will NEVER visit Florida or patronize it for any vacation purposes. I won’t set foot there for any reason. And shame on all the retirees who live there (or who claim they do) at least 6 months a year (to “establish” residency) who live comfortably and well but could care less about younger generations in need of education.
Of course, if far more public education funding dollars were federalized combined with local control, than very little of the scenario portrayed above would be an issue. None of us should have to rely so heavily upon real property taxes to fund public schools. Our Federal taxes do not flow BACK to us nearly as much as they do in other countries within their citizens’ federal tax base and infrastructure . . .
And then when we DO spend major tax dollars on public infrastructure, it ends up getting wasted on the far too many expensive tests.
We will all continue to fight this . . . .
Reblogged this on karenw95 and commented:
Sad but true
Come to Las Vegas teachers grt out of classroom amd make 75,000 dollars using title one funds. Not all of them but many make more not being in classroom. I am seeing such a flawed sytem in Clark County. I now know why we are 50th in education and a constant teacher shortage. I came out here to make a difference but now K may have to seriously reconsider my options here.
you should contact this Miami group –
http://www.educatorseducatingeducators.com
Teachers say Miami-Dade has stiffed them $30 million in pay
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article77466692.htm
https://www.gofundme.com/HelpTeachSalaries
I feel your pain. I have given 21 years to Florida public schools and have a masters degree as well. No raises. No step increases. Struggle to pay student loans and simply live as I am single. Sad. I think of leaving teaching daily. What else can I do?
Good afternoon Diane,
You have a GREAT blog and do important work. This post is just sad but eye opening and hopefully not just eye opening for teachers that already know this.
Thanks for being a voice on a topic that keeps getting left behind.