The Wayne County Association of Educators is calling on its members to stand firm in the wake of an announcement released Monday by Wayne County Public Schools that teachers are being asked to return to the classroom, a member of the organization told the New Old North.
An email from WCAE President Tiffany Kilgore was obtained by the New Old North and stated that the “bomb shell of an announcement” was not in the “best interest of us or our families.”
She asked teachers’ union members to flood the North Carolina Association of Educators advocacy center with written concerns and calls.
“I am going to be on the phone with them, and I need them to see you are mad as hell, and it’s not just me,” she wrote.
A member of WCAE told the New Old North Monday evening that the email was sent in response to the district notifying teachers that they were required to finish out the year in their classrooms — and that the first day of work is set for Wednesday morning.
The educator, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said he contacted a member of the Wayne County Board of Education, who could give no reason for the abrupt decision.
And they are angry about what? They are being paid. This is why teachers get a bad name with the public.
Teachers get a bad name because people like you make ignorant comments like this.
Teachers do not get a bad name for being concerned about their safety. Yes, they are getting paid and have been working hard remotely. Have the buildings been properly sterilized? Have rules for social distancing been established? Were they allowed enough time to make arrangements for child care & other matters? Thankfully teachers are being paid but please remember money is not everything!
Teachers were not given sufficient notice to find childcare. Yes, this may be similar to all parents at the beginning of this pandemic. However, WCPS has taken “flying by the seat of your pants” to new levels. Teachers have cleared out rooms and told to finish all work inside their schools by a certain date. Those dates were spread out to prevent anyone from being around others. Last week, we needed to have a graduation at the mall because we shouldn’t expose one another to COVID. This week, just go back to work like normal, like nothing ever happened. Teachers are getting paid but they have been forced to play WCPS’ ever-changing games all along the way. Why the sudden change in philosophy?
Perhaps it has to do with the $5 million deficit in the budget? It seems odd that we now have less money than before when we haven’t had so many of the costs associated with running school traditionally. Here’s an idea: Let’s give teachers no notice and require them to come in and work. They have taken their kids out of daycare for the summer. Their spouses lost wages from this, it seems like a reasonable way to save money, right? Maybe those teachers will be forced to take time off to stay home. Those young mothers don’t have enough leave to cover the days. Hmm, maybe we won’t have to pay them. You can only take so many sick days before you need a Dr note. What about those designated workdays? Those you will have to take without pay… And what about those on medical leave who were able to conduct meetings, lessons and do paperwork from home and still receive pay? Those teachers receiving chemo or on maternity leave will just have to take leave or go without pay now. Let’s see how much we can save that way.
Sounds similar to the old money-saving scam of requiring salary employees to clock in. Work all day, forget to sign in? Sorry, no pay.
I don’t mind doing work; I really don’t. But this is just ridiculous. We’re now required to go expose ourselves during a pandemic so we can do the all-important work of… sitting in our rooms being bored all day? I might have one day’s worth of work to do if I take my time. It’s just utterly pointless for me to be there the rest of the time. Oh well, guess I’ll bring a book.
I am a WCPS teacher and honestly I do not understand the outrage. Is this inconvenient? Absolutely. But are my fellow teachers really complaining about having to GO to work?
Some are complaining about the short notice. Let’s remember that we teachers were designated as being “on call” in regards to reporting to our physical work locations during the pandemic closures. Well, we have been called on. The definition for “on Call” is: able to be contacted in order to provide a professional service if necessary, but not formally on duty. Being on call means that you are supposed to be ready to be call on – child care is part of that and it is your responsibility.
Others are “worried” about social distancing. Seriously? One teacher in an empty classroom is about as distanced as you can get. You don’t want to be in a crowd? Don’t go chit-chatting in the break room with your co-workers. Furthermore, the email specifically stated: “practice social distancing when around others. Meetings between two or more people are also restricted to large meeting spaces only. Principals and other supervisors must work to ensure that their facilities are operating within the most recent guidelines.”
A few people are even expressing concerns over whether the school has been disinfected. Common now, y’all know we have been out the schools for just shy of 3 months. Do your due diligence and read up on how long Covid-19 lives on surfaces.
Now, let’s just address the elephant in room already. Y’all just want to extend your summer vacations and you know it. Would it have been nice to stay at home these next two and half weeks? Darn tootin’ it would! But it ain’t happening. So, put on your big girl panties and stop crying about the fact that you gave to go to work to get paid.
But what’s the point? I would agree with you if we really did have a “professional service” to perform that was “necessary.” If any teacher has ten days’ worth of work to do at school, I’d love to know what it is. By the way, the non-traditional schools somehow managed to close out their calendars yesterday without having any mandatory days whatsoever. Was that magic? If it’s so necessary for us to go back, how did they do it?
Wow…this Wayne County Board of “Educators” need to find a new profession. They can’t make decisions and when they do…the others seem to know anything about it. Go back and hear Dunsmore or what ever his name is…quoted he was in the dark about things???? Really???? You are the man and you don’t know what’s going on!! This board can’t even make a decision about graduations and keep family’s dangling on a string like a puppet to not know when or how to plan a graduation. You refer to how other counties did it..why can’t you make rational decision. Football fields here in Wayne County are plenty big enough to press on with graduations. You met four times and are not any further along than you were the first meeting you had.
You call teachers back to school on short notice!! This country and county has battled this “virus” and safety measures have been in place to protect families. Childcare is not as convenient as it once was. Many have closed down and has been challenging to find any. This topic should have been discussed a lot earlier so we could have a game plan if this was the route you were thinking for us to take. Don’t wait and then…surprise us with a less than 48 hour notice to get back in the classroom. You have shut us out for months and now you say….go back it’s safe????? Amazing!!!
So now it’s optional that we go back…lol…a change to the change to the change. That’s typical with you guys and ladies lol
One more thing….you are attempting to cut fall athletics and for what reason?? These students don’t deserve to pay for your lack of financial knowledge. Sports is vital for redirecting the youth to know what teamwork is about and drive for goals of attending a college for athletics. So make the call…. Balls in your court Wayne County Board!!!!You seem to have forgotten where 5 million dollars has disappeared too??? Really??? Who’s in charge…good question!!! We would all like to know. You want to cut positions in the schools…to be honest, it should start there at Central Office with all the BS positions you have and have created!!! You have gone to China recently for some type of development…I’m sure that wasn’t a cheap trip or vacation!!!! You also send teachers and staff out of state many occasions for development!! That’s just what we hear and know about. This board needs to take care of Wayne County and stop following the next greatest idea if you want to call it that!!!! You have so many job titles created that make no sense.
I’ll end with this….take care of Wayne County, the teachers and the students!!!! When a Principal screws up….don’t retire them, reassign them or make them resign…hold them accountable and pay for the havoc they caused the school they were at, financially and legal standards!!!!Oh ya …you guys are good and hiding and sweeping things under the rug!!!! Don’t want to make you look bad …right Ken and family members at Central Office?? Teachers deserve to be treated better than what they have and need to lead by true leaders!!!!
The problem is not with work. The problem is that it is inconvenient and was not properly brought to our attention. My principal even stated that the information they received was not the same. Yes, we have been on call. However, we were given ample notice when to report to our work sites and even allowed time to work through any conflicts. Principals were given time to establish routines that would prevent us from being in buildings where they would be large groups. This was not the case. The problem is not “chit-chatting”. The problem is that the disease can be spread just by breathing the air of an infected person. Please do not forget that the buildings were never closed to all and that there were people in and out throughout the day. We have done our research. Principals have even communicated that this was a rushed decision and that more guidance was needed prior to us retiring. It is not about having an extended summer vacation. It is more about the safety of myself, my children, and my family. Please do not confuse me wanting to stay safe as me not wanting to return to work. @ just being real thank you for your comment and don’t forget to wear your mask.
I’m so glad I no longer work for WCPS. The nepotism and “good ole boy” system is still alive and well. Principals get caught with their pants down and get reassigned to another school. If they are demoted, they are promoted at a later date. I guess the Wayne County Board thinks we all have short memories. The lack of leadership on the board and at the central office is appalling. We have a huge deficit and they hire an interim superintendent at an even larger salary than the “screw up”. With the salaries the Central Office staff is receiving someone should have been monitoring the budget. The teachers now have to worry about whether or not they are going to receive their supplements. Maybe the Central Office should take a pay cut! We won’t hearing any of them offer to forego their salaries paid by WCPS. Like teachers across the country, the teachers of WCPS rose to the challenge when the state closed schools and implemented remote learning for our students. Many had to learn new skills and research engaging lessons using platforms they were not accustomed to using. Yet, they went the extra mile for their students. It’s a shame the way WCPS is treating them.