North Carolina Teachers Chatboard

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

NC Teachers

MEMBERS

16 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

North Carolina Teachers Chatboard

Used to get burnt out early May...

by Staying positive

Oct 9, 2015

I used to start feeling burnt out around late April or early May. Now it is Every. Single. Day.

It's not the kids. Heck, sometimes I half forget that teaching them even matters. It's the completing all the tasks that just get piled on Every. Single. Day.

Then, if something slips through the cracks... some tiny detail... it's like...See More

Comment

(4)

report post

view previous comments

Anne On 10/09/15, Staying positive wrote: > I used to start feeling burnt out around late April or > early May. Now it is Every. Single. Day. > > It's not the kids. Heck, sometimes I half forget that > teaching them even matters. It's the completing all the > tasks that just get piled on Every. Single. Day. > > Then, if something...See More

Oct 12, 2015

report post

North Carolina sucks It is time to go... Leave this state or do something else.

> On 10/09/15, Staying positive wrote: >> I used to start feeling burnt out around late April or >> early May. Now it is Every. Single. Day. >> >> It's not the kids. Heck, sometimes I half forget that >> teaching them even matters. It's the completi...See More

Oct 14, 2015

report post

Combined Levels of Classes

by Wondering

Oct 13, 2015

My school has combined Academic and Honors classes for my 4th period. Is this legal?

Comment

(2)

report post

kee Sure it is legal. There aren't any laws regarding placing students of different academic levels in one classroom together.

It might not be best for the students or make teachers jobs easier, but it isn't against the law.

There are public schools in NC where 2 different grade levels are taught together in one classroom at the same...See More

Oct 13, 2015

report post

Steve On 10/13/15, Wondering wrote: > My school has combined Academic and Honors classes for my > 4th period. Is this legal? Yes, it is legal. My school continually places a handful of CP students in my Honors Physics class. Every semester I tell those kids to go get a schedule change form and change it to Honors. I say I'm not good enough to teach...See More

Oct 13, 2015

report post

This really hurt me

by A

Oct 8, 2015

So, you know we have no budget for ... well, anything. But, like the rest of you, I buy supplies for my classroom out of my pocket.

Today we did an art project in class, and my seniors' attitude towards it could be described as disgruntled and surly. You'd think they'd have enjoyed something creative.

I gave them directions for...See More

Comment

(3)

report post

view previous comments

Bill T retired An additional thought.

Right no, teachers, all kinds of them, are being highly disrespected by the powers that be and that can make any slight seem worse and more painful. It's one of the reasons I checked out to years ago...got tired of feeling beaten up and disrespected;\. It gets old real fast.

The fact that you took the time...See More

Oct 8, 2015

report post

hst A, I am sorry you had this happen. I agree greatly with Bill T that undoubtedly there were students who benefited from and appreciated this assignment. Also, I teach primarily freshen but sometimes have upperclassmen sprinkled in. Currently in an honors class it is the upperclassmen who are sometimes disrespectful. I could give examples but they wo...See More

Oct 10, 2015

report post

RE: Early Resignation

by JR

Oct 7, 2015

I chose to resign from CMS. It was a difficult decision to leave because of the children, but I was extremely dissatisfied with my job there. I was basically hired as someone's robot. At my school, teachers do not have a voice, nor are we allowed to just teach! The principal controls your every move! It is a horrible environment. I will be looking ...See More

Comment

(5)

report post

view previous comments

A I'm in a county adjacent to CMS, and I don't think anyone would question why you're leaving them. They are genuinely the worst of the worst. A fair number of my colleagues used to work in CMS, and all of them tell awful stories.

If it were any other county (at least, any other county in our general area), I'd waiver on this one ... but pe...See More

Oct 8, 2015

report post

Bill T retired > is the "new normal". I personally think we're witnessing the > end of public schools as we know them.

************************************************************************

And you're probably right.

Right now the general assembly, led by one Senator Phil Berger, seeks to turn over "public"...See More > is the "new normal". I personally think we're witnessing the > end of public schools as we know them.

************************************************************************

And you're probably right.

Right now the general assembly, led by one Senator Phil Berger, seeks to turn over "public" education to corporate run charter schools.

Not that charter schools are necessarily evil, in their own right. I know of some that are run very well, by communities NOT corporations, but their number, I find, are few and far between.\\

Corporations say they are "non profit," but corporations, by their very nature, seek one thing, no matter what they tell you: profits. And children will NOT be their priority. Neither will the welfare of teachers, whom they will see as lowly serfs, to whom they will pay little, offer few if any benefits or any real job security. I know of some charters that do not give their teachers any health benefits at all. That ought to be illegal and under current public school law, as applied in traditional public schools, it is. I could be incorrect on my last observation and would welcome knowing if I was (I hope I am) but that is the word I get.

Back to the original topic of the thread: gigantic school systems, like CMS and Guilford, Wake and the like should be avoided if possible. My experience is that their administrators are NOT educators, but, instead, mid level managers and CEOs, more interested in their own advancement and little else. Sounds cruel (and it is) but from 30 plus years of working in North Carolina, I think I would know. And I've seen a glaring example, recently. An assistance administrated in Guilford resigned their position and took a position as principal of a Catholc School in the area. Her machiavellian tendencies showed up almost immediately. This person ran off to very senior teachers, one that had given almost 40 years of her life to the school so they could better balance the school budget. This person's actions have created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty with most of the staff and the overwhelming majority of families who send their children to the school utterly despise this principal. That's the mindset of a gigantic school system for you. People and morals do not matter...money and power do. Someone else on this thread mentioned go to some of the smaller, outlying counties. Yes, they have their issues as well, but not like the one I just described. It would mean doing without much of a local supplement or going without one at all, but you know the old adage? You get what you pay for? You also, sometimes, pay for what you think you get.

Oct 8, 2015

report post

Retiree tips sought for annual leave pay out

by Thanksyall

Sep 19, 2015

Retirees - I assume the annual leave payout is taxed at the top tier ( 39&37;). Is that correct? Any way to avoid that?

Comment

(22)

report post

view previous comments

logicalreasoning On 10/06/15, A wrote: > Good grief, cut the bickering and go ask someone in your > district office. Y'all sound like my fourth period > seniors.

I guess we could do the same with any post on this forum? Why even bother to post anything or discuss anything at all, right? smh

Oct 7, 2015

report post

A > I guess we could do the same with any post on this forum? > Why even bother to post anything or discuss anything at > all, right? smh

Discussing is one thing. Bickering is quite another.

Oct 8, 2015

report post

Teachers with no printers

by Pissed

Oct 2, 2015

Why are they banning printers for teachers? Do you have a printer assigned to you from your school?

Comment

(2)

report post

hst On 10/02/15, Pissed wrote: > Why are they banning printers for teachers? Do you have a > printer assigned to you from your school? Have not had a "personal" printer for many years. At current school we print to a copier and those prints count within our allowed copy total. So yes, we can print, but not in individual classroom.

Oct 3, 2015

report post

A We have loads of problems in schools, but I don't think this one is a real issue. They're not banning printers so much as centralizing them, and the reasons are solid:

- It's easier for the technology guy to keep up with one printer per department than to keep up with one in every teacher's classroom. Additionally, the toner in our printe...See More

Oct 6, 2015

report post

Bad bill for school funding

by tnc

Sep 29, 2015

Contact House members today! This analysis is from the NC School Boards Association: HB 539 passed the Senate tonight by a vote of 25-19. Three amendments were run and one was passed. The successful amendment, run by Sen. Jerry Tillman (R-Randolph), changes the bill in the following ways: (i) no longer would LEAs have to share supplemental property...See MoreContact House members today! This analysis is from the NC School Boards Association: HB 539 passed the Senate tonight by a vote of 25-19. Three amendments were run and one was passed. The successful amendment, run by Sen. Jerry Tillman (R-Randolph), changes the bill in the following ways: (i) no longer would LEAs have to share supplemental property tax revenue with charter schools located outside the taxing jurisdiction; and (ii) change which Fund 8 monies would have to be shared with charter schools. HB 539 would now require the following monies in Fund 8 to be shared:

· All reimbursements except Medicare and Medicaid.

· All indirect costs.

· Federal grants and appropriations unless the federal government specifies which checking account to put the money into (which they never have and never will).

· Gifts and grants unless: (i) given to a specific school; (ii) the donor has stipulated that it should not go to charters; or (iii) it was given, applied for, pledged, or bequeathed on or before October 15, 2015.

· Sales tax revenue distributed ad valorem for those who have supplemental property tax.

The monies in this list that are most problematic are the reimbursements, indirect costs, and the federal grants/appropriations.

Reimbursements are funds for payments a school district has already made. E-Rate would be one of the most notable examples. Charter schools already receive a proportionate share of the monies LEAs use to make the upfront payments for which they are later reimbursed. Charter schools are also eligible to get reimbursements of their own, including E-Rate. Another example would be LEAs that provide teachers for instruction at jails or hospitals who are later reimbursed by the sheriff’s office or the hospital. Requiring LEAs to share reimbursements would effectively allow charter schools to “double dip.”

Indirect costs are reimbursements LEAs receive for incurred costs associated with administering required federal programs, the largest of which is the child nutrition program. The charter school groups contend that school districts get money above and beyond the appropriations for these federal programs but that is inaccurate. The money is built into the appropriations the LEAs receive. Requiring these dollars to be shared would reduce funding necessary to run essential programs for public school students, even if the charter is not offering that program to its own students.

Federal grants and appropriations are things like impact aid for military dependent children, Indian program funds, and other potential funds like Hurricane Katrina relief funds, which are all designated for specific groups of students. The federal government will never make the designation specified in the bill concerning putting the dollars into a specific checking account so all these monies will have to be shared under the bill language. This is a new inequity that would alter federal funding and support for LEAs.

Please contact your House member(s) immediately in opposition to this bill

Comment

report post

Substituting as retired teacher

by Logan

Sep 28, 2015

Did the legislators change the policy of allowing a retiree to substitute without penalty to state health insurance this session?

Comment

report post

Power School difficulties

by Susan Jones

Sep 15, 2015

You are not alone. When we first started Power School a few years ago, I overheard someone "in the know" state that there would be lots of problems because North Carolina purchased the "cheap version." It seems there are definitely more access problems this year than in previous years.

Comment

(1)

report post