Posted on 02/04/2006 8:54:24 PM PST by george76
$10 million spent annually by district for classroom subs...
Driven by parental concerns about teacher absenteeism, the Chicago Public Schools for the first time will start scrutinizing schools with high numbers of teachers taking sick days.
On any given school day in Chicago, an average of 1,500 teachers, about 6 percent of the teaching staff, call in sick or take a personal day, according to a Tribune analysis of teacher payroll records.
The absentee rate is highest on Fridays, when an average of 1,800 teachers don't show...
For each of the last six school years, Chicago teachers missed an average of 12 unscheduled days in their 39-week work year. Their current contract calls for 10 sick days and three personal days.
By comparison, salaried employees nationwide take an average of five sick and personal days during their 50-week work year...
Last school year, the district tapped 280,000 substitutes, with the peak coming in February, when demand for substitutes topped 47,000--or about 2,350 each day.
The demand for subs in the 2005-06 school year is even higher, up about 27 percent for the first five months of this school year compared with the same period the year before...
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
He didn't say anything about that. I say it depends on the teacher on a case by case basis rather than making generalities. Heck, we have "some" Dems for that--hehe:).
You are right. I also wonder how many of those days are related to pregnancy issues. The fact that teaching is more female-oriented has to be some factor, though I'm not quite sure what it is.
Yes, the whole Walmart thing is stupid. In my own place here, it's the teacher bashers who they should worry about more.
I don't get days off before or after holidays either (unless it's the holiday season). But teachers shouldn't complain too much--we do get ample time off (though many would tell you not all of them are "off" days).
You raise some decent points. We actually had a day before a holiday here where the district said that we couldn't have any substitutes.
Parents with children do not have the flexibility to take days off during the school year while their children are in attendance... it's not like they can leave the children at home, attending schools. These parents wait until vacation time so they can include their children in the family vacation.
Yep, welfare fixes everything.
You are right on one thing--we need to ALL care.
Can I get some money too? I would like to have the "choice" to even have a child. Maybe I'll go hit up some of the voucher people here since I'm paying for their child.
I missed 1 and a half days last year. This year I have missed 1. I too have been blessed with good health. I HATE to miss days because I can't stand leaving my class. BUT also, it's so much dadblam work to prepare for a sub.
None of us teachers here have classroom aides.
What we need is less politics in education and better attitudes and efforts by all involved.
I had a parent that took her son out every Tuesday for football practice. Lots of people take off things for different reasons, that's for sure.
3 years ago when my daughter had cancer I was out constantly--I used up my sick leave from that year and from 5 of the previous years I had been in this system. (She's fine now, btw :)) The next year, I used up a great deal for followup appointments. This year, I doubt I use all 10 days granted to me.
But on the surface a teacher missing over 40 days of school in one school year looks bad--real bad, until one looks at the reason and then at the long term history.
They are becoming infrequent at the middle and high school levels too. Only the high needs kids are pretty much guaranteed 1 or even more aides in a classroom.
In high school and middle school, only the special ed teachers have aides, and they are becoming increasingly infrequent in the lower grades as well.
It is assumed that teachers have aides, but almost NONE do here. We don't have specialists either (other than a reading one--that is not payed by tax money). I think you'll almost see them disappear entirely later on like they have here.
Good luck on your kidney transplant. My friend had to wait 20 years for his.
That's pretty sad for a bunch of people who don't even have to work weekends and get the Whole summer off.
So explain why in DC 1/2 of the charter schools perform BELOW DC public schools--that's a really low bar to reach there and they aren't even making it. All those tax dollars pumped down a rat hole.
So, let's take thousands of MORE dollars and give them directly to parents and let's see how fast they spend them on "school supplies." And let's give these charter schools more money so that they can spend them on ridiculous salaries and equipment no one wants or needs while the students fall behind the DC public school kids.
I have one, and I do teach special education. However, next year I will be switching to a different school and will most likely be sharing an assistant with 2 other teachers.
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