HCEA in the news

 These are highlights from original articles. The entire article can be accessed at the link.

June 3, 2016

Dorothy Carter, Henry County Education Association President, said that she recently attended a screening of a film about dyslexia.

“I listened to facts and heartbreak dyslexics deal with every day,” Carter said.

Carter revealed that while approximately 20 percent of students are diagnosed with dyslexia, 35 percent of entrepreneurs in America have the learning difference.

“These are the people Henry County needs to bring in businesses,” Carter said.

Carter urged Henry County Public Schools to “strategically plan for the upcoming year.”

“Our hearts are willing, but the resources aren’t always available,” Carter said.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/meadow-view-project-goes-out-for-rebid/article_a1df0960-7f13-57af-a520-76e7ba0590d2.html

April 18, 2016

Others who spoke at the public hearing included Dorothy Carter of the Henry County Education Association, school board members Francis Zehr and Betsy Mattox, Dr. Mark Crabtree of the Piedmont Virginia Dental Health Foundation, Blue Ridge Regional Library Director Rick Ward, Ricky Walker of the Anchor Commission and SPCA Director of Development Mary Compson.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/no-changes-to-budget-proposed/article_7744c680-05d8-11e6-8702-c3f0f72ce3a9.html 

March 5, 2016

Also during the time for public comment, Dorothy Carter, president of the Henry County Education Association, indicated she thinks Henry County government needs to provide more funding for public schools. She cited statistics that she said showed Henry County ranked poorly in providing funding for public schools compared with other school divisions in Virginia.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/school-board-requests-funding-for-bengal-tech/article_9ed49381-53eb-56de-ac29-b7f137c678fd.html

Feb. 2, 2016



Concerns over class sizes and teacher salaries were brought to the attention of the Henry County School Board on Tuesday by Dorothy Carter of the Henry County Education Association (HCEA).
The school board held a public hearing at the Henry County Administration Building Tuesday evening to hear input regarding the fiscal year 2016/2017 budget. The board will hold a budget work session at its regular monthly meeting Thursday morning.

Carter and James Whitlow Jr., a special education paraprofessional at G.W. Carver Elementary School, were the only two people to speak at the hearing.

Carter raised a number of concerns at the hearing, including assertions that teachers have been told that there have been no funds for professional development this year since Aug. 2015; that teachers have been told there are no funds for field trips during the second semester because those funds were spent during the first semester; that coaches have been told to limit their team sizes to the number that can attend away games on one bus; that the schools lack enough special education teachers; that cafeteria staff are severely underpaid; that there often are not enough substitutes; and that step raises have been frozen for four years and likely will be frozen another year, among other issues.

The main issues Carter discussed, however, were class sizes and teacher salaries. Carter said that many classrooms are growing in size rather than shrinking.

"It is not unusual for core teachers to have 30-35 students in their classrooms," she said. "An absolutely brilliant teacher told me just recently that he could not guarantee that all of his students would pass the SOL because with so many students in the room, he does not have enough time to give the individual attention to every student that each one needs."

Carter said that an English teacher this semester has more students in her class than is currently allowed by the code of Virginia, but that she wouldn’t allow the HCEA to press the issue on her behalf because she didn’t want some students who need the course to have to wait until next year.
Monica Hatchett, coordinator of family and community engagement for Henry County Public Schools, later reached out to the Martinsville Bulletin to say that the code Carter cited refers to average classroom sizes across the district and not exact class size on a per-classroom basis. County schools are not in violation of the code, she said.

Regarding teacher salaries, Carter said that the U.S. average salary for teachers is $56,610 according to the National Education Association.

"However," she said, "the HCPS 2016 Adopted Budget reveals that HCPS average salary for 2015/2016 is $44,045. … Virginia ranks number 29 among all states in average salaries, but when a person realizes that (Northern Virginia) salaries are averaged into that number, it is evident that HCPS salaries rank closer to the bottom of national average salaries.

While the state is partly to blame for low teacher salaries, Carter said that Henry County and the school board also bear some responsibility.

"There is the feeling among our staff that this board, anxious to fulfill some of its own projects, also overlooks teacher/employee salaries and other needs," she said. "While we recognize the difficulty of our local school board in many arenas, and we thank them for paying 100 percent of our health insurance, there are still those who feel not enough is being done for salaries."

Carter concluded by asking the school board to do its best for the teachers of Henry County.
"They do their best for our students every day and they deserve the best in return," she said.
Following Carter, Whitlow thanked the board for giving special education paraprofessionals a five percent raise last year. However, he said, there is a $2,700 salary gap between preschool paraprofessionals and special education paraprofessionals.

Because special education paraprofessionals frequently face personal physical risk, the gap is unfair, Whitlow argued. He asked the board to consider supporting a five percent raise this year and also the following year in order to close the gap.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/concerns-raised-over-class-sizes-teacher-salaries/article_3db79690-ca2d-11e5-8611-d7f773485432.html

Dec. 15, 2016

Henry County Education Association President Dorothy Carter was the only member of the public who chose to speak. Carter told the board that she sees the state backsliding in regard to pay for teachers, and presented the board with a supporting document from the Virginia Education Association.

According to the document, Virginia teacher salaries are nearly $6,800 below the national average and Virginia teacher pay has been ranked worst in the nation in terms of competitiveness by the Education Law Center at Rutgers University.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/retiring-officials-recognized-by-supervisors/article_ad62d5da-a3b4-11e5-870e-033d6e4e7afe.html

Dec. 14,  2015

Also during the time for public comment, Dorothy Carter, representing the Henry County Education Association, made comments about changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Carter referred to a handout from the National Education Association, which says in part: "For nearly 14 long years, students and educators have lived under the deeply flawed No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Every Student Succeeds Act returns decision making for our nation’s education back where it belongs – in the hands of local educators, parents and communities – while keeping the focus on students most in need."

Among other things, the Every Student Succeeds Act:

 "Provides more opportunity for all students, including for the first time, indicators of school success or student support to help identify and begin closing opportunity gaps;"

• Includes less focus on, and a decoupling of, the high-stakes associated with standardized tests, so students have more time to learn and teachers have more time to teach.

"While continuing to require annual tests in grades 3-8 and once in high school, the bill eliminates NCLB’s rigid system of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) aimed at 100 percent proficiency in deference to state-defined goals."

·         "Empowering educators with a greater voice in educational and instructional decisions."

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/staff-raises-are-at-issue/article_e73db8a8-a2e0-11e5-9233-0fd3cac9f5cd.html

September 6, 2015

Dorothy Carter, president of the Henry County Education Association, told the Henry County School Board at its meeting Thursday night that the new school year is off to a good start but she already is hearing "the signs of stress among the faculty" from various schools.

"There are concerns about too many meetings, class sizes that are too large with no aides, too much data collection, the amount of time spent working at home after extended hours in the buildings, and not enough personal time," Carter said.

She added: "Some lament that the extra responsibilities teachers are asked to perform is taking away from instructional time. And saddest is the complaint we are meeting so many extra requirements that teaching isn’t fun anymore, even though our teachers love the time spent with students."

Carter acknowledged that she cannot find any violations according to the Code of Virginia, "and some of the things we are doing are necessary."

She asked the school board to somehow find a balance that is both good for students and for teachers.

"Teaching is a profession – not a 9-to-5 job. That means, we expect to take work home. However, we do not expect to be so busy that we have little to no personal time," Carter said. 

She fears that if a balance is not found, the school division will lose some of its best teachers, she said. "The recent exodus we have seen in neighboring localities has occurred in part because teachers found themselves staying at school until late in the evenings while still taking work home," Carter said. "This is typical across Virginia when Academic Review has been imposed by the state, Again, when that happens, there are certain criteria that schools must meet. However, teachers cannot continue to work long hours without adequate rest and personal time before students start to suffer."

Among other things, Carter also said she believes that a big part of the problem is that class sizes have increased in recent years.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/carter-speaks-to-henry-county-school-board-about-job-stress/article_d358d25a-550b-11e5-9586-fb19a322997e.html

August 7, 2015

Also at the board meeting, Dorothy Carter, president of the Henry County Education Association, presented HCEA’s three primary goals for 2015-16.

She said, among other things, “Teach – that is our primary goal, and we pledge to give our best to the students who come to us.”

“Secondly, we want a safe working environment for every employee,” Carter said. “Henry County Public Schools advocates a bully-free environment for our students, but there is nothing in the policy manual or the student handbook about the physical and emotional safety of its employees.”

Carter added: “The code of Virginia has language to ensure employee safety in these respects, but HCPS does not. HCEA wants to work with Dr. Cotton and the school board to implement language that protects the physical and emotional well-being of every employee.”

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/county-oks-contract-for-new-school/article_8b930404-3ca1-11e5-83c7-efdb5f70512f.html

August 5, 2015

Among other things at convocation Tuesday, Dorothy Carter, president of the Henry County Education Association, and Cotton recognized three teachers who received National Board certification: Tiffany Carter Creech at Stanleytown Elementary, Daina Campbell at John Redd Smith Elementary and Jessica France at Mt. Olivet Elementary.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/teachers-told-it-s-showtime-every-day/article_4e340cf2-3b20-11e5-807a-efe5d6c6fc51.html