Rep. Says Teachers Absent Too Often

The Journal reports; (link, sub req)

APS teachers are taking too many days off; according to an audit by the state's Legislative Finance Committee. APS teachers take off more sick days than the national average among teachers and instructional support staff.

The numbers are provided by APS. In the APS, the absence rate is 8.7%. The national average is 5.2%. Therefore, according the leadership of the APS, and the Journal; APS teachers have 3.5% more absences.

3.5% more, so what? you might wonder.

While their math is technically correct; the real math is that APS teachers have an absence rate that is 67% higher than the national average.

67% higher; and now the problem is more apparent.


The reason the leadership of the APS and Journal, chose to spin the truth, rather than tell the truth, is; absenteeism and employee morale are directly and inversely correlated. And, the leadership of the APS owns the issue of employee morale.

The truth is that, teacher morale in the APS is 67% worse than teacher morale nationally; not 3.5%.

The leadership of the APS is doing a 67% worse job of maintaining and bolstering employee morale;
not 3.5%.

The failure of the leadership of the APS to inspire and motivate teachers is the fallout from their policy of tolerating and enabling administrative incompetence and corruption.

Morale plummets when administrators decide to spend millions of dollars fixing up their digs on Uptown Blvd, at the expense of teachers and kids in substandard classrooms and schools.

Teachers do not own the absenteeism issue
except on an individual basis. District wide
the leadership of the APS owns the absenteeism issue.

They do not want to be held accountable;
so they have spun the truth;

with the aid and abet of the Journal.