Lack of Staff Forces Teachers to Work Overtime
Absences in several departments require the school to hire substitutes and reorganize student schedules
By Maxwell Moiseff and Darius Parakh
Absences in several departments require the school to hire substitutes and reorganize student schedules
By Maxwell Moiseff and Darius Parakh
As the California teacher shortage stretches into another year, the administration has been hard pressed to keep up with rapid teacher departures.
Sparked by the sudden resignation of Doug Unger on Oct. 14, the math department has been forced to dissipate additional classes across their already packed schedule, sacrificing a preparatory period in exchange for overtime pay under a 1.2 full-time equivalent plan, as the district searches for a new teacher to fill the empty position.
The math teacher’s notice comes after a series of other teachers entered into extended periods of absence, a list that includes English teachers Catrina Galloway and Scott Peterson and Priya Talreja from social studies.
The staff absences resonate far beyond the school itself, as parents of affected students grow increasingly concerned about the adverse effect these changes may have on their children’s education. Dave Rowe’s daughter Elizabeth Rowe, 9, was in both Unger’s and Peterson’s classes and although Rowe trusts in teachers’ ability to take on classes, he is concerned about the prospect of having a substitute teach a class for extended periods of time.
“My biggest frustration as a parent is that I feel relatively powerless to change the situation,” said Rowe. “The feedback I’ve received (from my daughter) is that the substitute teacher doesn’t really have the experience to teach full time.”
On the school’s end, teachers and administrators have little sway when it comes choosing who will fill in the gaps. Many instructors, including English teacher Michelle Bowman, have already lost a prep period as a result of having to take on another teacher’s classes.
“That’s why I’m so grouchy,” said Bowman. “A teacher doesn’t realize how much you get done during that prep period, things like copies, coffee and bathroom breaks — those are big things.”
According to Assistant Principal of Instruction Brendan Simon, 13 teachers are currently working without a prep period, a point of stress for those striving to protect their students’ access to education.
“For our teachers, that prep time is gold. As such, we try to not do .2 FTE if possible,” said Simon. “Even so, as an administrator, the number one priority is ensuring that the kids have a credentialed teacher that can deliver consistent lesson plans and a .2 FTE is just one way to provide that.”
Math teacher and robotics coach Cody King was forced to take an Algebra I class after Unger’s departure, a level of math that he had never taught before. One of the harder parts for King was deciding where to begin with the students.
“It’s hard to figure out what the kids know and what they don’t know,” said King. “I’ve tried to go from where they left off, but I don’t really know how they’ve been doing before that.”
For the students themselves, the change in teachers can be quite jarring. Jeremy Summers, 12, was in Galloway’s AP English Language and Composition class last year before Bowman took over teaching the class.
“At first, it was kind of hard, because it felt like we were starting the whole school year again, with all the getting-to-know-you know,” said Summers. “It was a weird transition, because they focused on different things, but after a while I got used to it.”
According to San José Unified School District Assistant Manager of Human Resources Michelle Elliot, the district is always looking to hire new teachers to fill the gaps left by departed teachers.
Sparked by the sudden resignation of Doug Unger on Oct. 14, the math department has been forced to dissipate additional classes across their already packed schedule, sacrificing a preparatory period in exchange for overtime pay under a 1.2 full-time equivalent plan, as the district searches for a new teacher to fill the empty position.
The math teacher’s notice comes after a series of other teachers entered into extended periods of absence, a list that includes English teachers Catrina Galloway and Scott Peterson and Priya Talreja from social studies.
The staff absences resonate far beyond the school itself, as parents of affected students grow increasingly concerned about the adverse effect these changes may have on their children’s education. Dave Rowe’s daughter Elizabeth Rowe, 9, was in both Unger’s and Peterson’s classes and although Rowe trusts in teachers’ ability to take on classes, he is concerned about the prospect of having a substitute teach a class for extended periods of time.
“My biggest frustration as a parent is that I feel relatively powerless to change the situation,” said Rowe. “The feedback I’ve received (from my daughter) is that the substitute teacher doesn’t really have the experience to teach full time.”
On the school’s end, teachers and administrators have little sway when it comes choosing who will fill in the gaps. Many instructors, including English teacher Michelle Bowman, have already lost a prep period as a result of having to take on another teacher’s classes.
“That’s why I’m so grouchy,” said Bowman. “A teacher doesn’t realize how much you get done during that prep period, things like copies, coffee and bathroom breaks — those are big things.”
According to Assistant Principal of Instruction Brendan Simon, 13 teachers are currently working without a prep period, a point of stress for those striving to protect their students’ access to education.
“For our teachers, that prep time is gold. As such, we try to not do .2 FTE if possible,” said Simon. “Even so, as an administrator, the number one priority is ensuring that the kids have a credentialed teacher that can deliver consistent lesson plans and a .2 FTE is just one way to provide that.”
Math teacher and robotics coach Cody King was forced to take an Algebra I class after Unger’s departure, a level of math that he had never taught before. One of the harder parts for King was deciding where to begin with the students.
“It’s hard to figure out what the kids know and what they don’t know,” said King. “I’ve tried to go from where they left off, but I don’t really know how they’ve been doing before that.”
For the students themselves, the change in teachers can be quite jarring. Jeremy Summers, 12, was in Galloway’s AP English Language and Composition class last year before Bowman took over teaching the class.
“At first, it was kind of hard, because it felt like we were starting the whole school year again, with all the getting-to-know-you know,” said Summers. “It was a weird transition, because they focused on different things, but after a while I got used to it.”
According to San José Unified School District Assistant Manager of Human Resources Michelle Elliot, the district is always looking to hire new teachers to fill the gaps left by departed teachers.