The Journal reports upon teacher absenteeism today. (link sub req)
There are two kinds of absences. The first kind,
you minimize by scheduling legitimate absences
around the needs of students.
(Not exactly rocket science.)
The other kind, is a manifestation of teacher morale.
Illegitimate absenteeism varies inversely with morale;
as morale goes down, these absences go up.
As a matter of fact, so do legitimate absences.
The same stressors that lower morale,
add to stress related illness.
Those who are individually responsible for employee morale in the APS, do not want to talk about morale.
The union doesn't want to admit that there are teachers who take mental health days.
So they will focus together on,
finding answers to pointless questions.
According to the Journal;
"Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein said the joint district/union committee is looking for more information to put the numbers into context:
- How do they compare to previous years?
- How does APS compare to other New Mexico districts?
- How do public schools compare to the rest of the public sector?"
Comparison to "similar situations" is the work of administrators who have a need to appear busy.
The educational interface, where the student and the system interact, is as individual as the teachers, and the students, and the community members that work there.
At the classroom level, the two most "similar" school districts in the country, are as dissimilar as an apple and an orange.
There is an elephant in the room;
teacher "mental health days".
Ellen Berntein doesn't want to talk about them, apparently.
Beth Everitt flatly refuses to talk about them,
or about teacher morale.
Because she owns it;
and because it sucks.
2 comments:
Pay, support, and appreciation.
If you pay teachers well, give them a real break to recharge their battery between school years, support them with teacher specialists who provide therapy and gifted services and fill in when they are sick, and ensure an ethical framework for employment and supervision, then students will reap the real reward downstream.
Maybe APS is too big to change. Learning communities are the rage. If breaking things up helps student performance, why not eliminate the excess fat of administration in the same way?
Some services may be best left to a collective, such as risk managemement, law enforcement, security, maintenance, etc. One such organization and structure exist for the rest of the state besides APS. APS is exempt by law, but laws can be changed.
APS is self insured, while all other public schools are part of the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority.
Let teachers teach. Let cops save kids who are being held hostage. Have one group make decisions about non-education concerns for all the schools in the state in an equitable way, thus emiminating dual layers of government.
Break APS up into as many mini-districts as there are traditional high schools. Have an alternative school and charter district. Have them use collective services as appropriate, when it is cheaper and more effective for education, not where it creates positions that are duplicates of others at the state level.
J. Lopez
You know what ... Moral sucks in any job within Albuquerque.
Damn! If I had a 2 wk Xmas break, a week of spring break and an average of a month &1/2 off in the summer to look forward to - I'd love my job!!!
No one gets paid enough in Alb.
No one loves their job.
But teaching is sounding more & more attractive to me because I KNOW I will be getting a "breather" to refresh - mental health days.
Try working 40-50 hrs. a week ... a sick day here and there and the only extended time off is whhen you accumulate 2 weeks vacation. Hmmm, should I take it all at once or spread it out?
That's what I have to look forward to. Teachers enjoy your thanksgiving holiday - and your 2 week winter break. I'll be busting my butt and thinking of you and your mental health.
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