Letters to the Editor

May 2, 2016

 

Henry County Public Schools honored 53 Bassett High School and Magna Vita High School seniors Thursday evening, April 28, at the Academic Awards banquet for achieving at least one of the following criteria: earning a grade point average of 4.0 or higher; placing in the top five percent of his/her graduating class; scoring 1,250 or higher on the Student Achievement Test (SAT), using any two of the subtests, or achieving at least 700 on any one of the subtests; scoring 28 or higher on the ACT composite score; and/or perfect attendance during high school with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. These are all worthy achievements for which to honor our students. Not only were these students honored, but they were asked to recognize, in turn, a teacher or mentor who had impacted their lives. Many were chosen.

As one of those teachers, I was touched and surprised by the fine young woman, Kejah Dillard, who chose me. So many times, we do not know who looks to us for inspiration and guidance, so to learn we have touched someone is a humbling honor. However, I also take this type of recognition in stride because I know it came to me simply because I am privileged to teach motivated students, who, for the most part, have encouraging parents. I know that the educator who teaches those students who are not as gifted or motivated, may work even harder than I do, yet because his/her students are not recognized for one of those already named criteria, even though the student works at his/her best capacity, the educator is not honored.

This week, May 2 to May 6, is Teacher Appreciation Week. If there is a teacher/educator (paraprofessional, bus driver, food service worker or custodian) whose impact made a difference, I hope readers will take a moment to write a note and tell him/her what that educator did that encouraged or changed the readers’ lives. Perhaps the educator made a difference for the reader’s child. Again, a note would be so encouraging to that person. Henry County Public Schools has many fine educators who have encouraged all of us through the years. Let’s take a few moments to thank them.

Dorothy M. Carter, MFA, NBCT

President Henry County Education Association

October 29, 2015

Ryan Zehr is the right man to serve on the Board of Supervisors for Ridgeway. He is a local homeowner and taxpayer, and he is more. He graduated from Magna Vista High School in 1998 and Virginia Tech in 2002; he then went on to serve our country as a captain in the U.S. Army, earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. His teachers knew him as a student of integrity, and as an adult, he continues to be that person.

Ryan cares about public education. He understands that a strong educational system fosters a strong economy. He is committed to economic development that creates job opportunities with healthy salaries. Ryan told the Henry County Education Association that education “is necessary to attract new business and industry. I want the best possible education that Henry County can afford.” He already has one child in Henry County Public Schools. Eventually his newborn will also come through the system, so he relates to each parent’s desire to care for the present condition of our schools.

His community priority is three-fold, including: 1. economic development, his number one priority; 2. the educational needs of the county schools; and 3. two quality of life issues: Law Enforcement/Public Safety and Parks and Recreation. His is a well-rounded approach. There are some who think he is quiet; that is a good quality. He is a listener and he is willing to listen to the needs of his constituents in the Ridgeway area. But he will do more than listen. He will work as a team with the other Supervisors and the School Board to find solutions.

For all these reasons, HCEA has chosen to endorse this candidate. He is educated in the needs of this area, he has good ideas for success, and he is committed to doing the job. Please vote for Ryan Zehr.

Dorothy Carter
President Henry County Education Association

August 9, 2015

Some of the most important people in our public schools (besides students) are not teachers or principals or even the superintendent. They are Education Support Professionals — ESPs. ESPs are more commonly known in our school community as bus drivers, custodians, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers, maintenance workers and secretaries. They are not as well paid as teachers and principals, but they are essential to the organization of the school.

Ask any teacher: How well would the school run without these support people? Who would bring the children to school? Who would cook for them? Who would sweep and mop at the end of the day or when a child is ill? Who would help the special needs child? Who would answer the telephones and organize records? If teachers and principals had to do all this, much less instruction would occur. These positions are vital. Sadly, these staff members are often underpaid to the point that some qualify for food stamps and other types of assistance, depending on family size and other income factors.

Henry County was right to give a 5 percent raise to paraprofessionals this year. Next year the plan is to give 5 percent more. It makes sense to pay well enough that employees do not have to receive state assistance. After all, the taxpayer pays either way. Why not pay in a way that also gives the worker self-respect and allows him/her to take pride in the job? That kind of pride spills over to the students. Teaching students to take pride in their work is a course in which all ESPs as well as other educators are in charge. It is one of those courses for which students do not earn a grade, but they learn it, nevertheless.

The locality as well as state government needs to recognize the need of these employees that make up about 40 percent of the Henry County Public Schools’ workforce. They need to understand these employees’ needs when the school board asks for full funding.

Dorothy M. Carter

President of Henry County Education Association

July 20, 2015

"Why are teachers always complaining about their salaries? Their wages are decent." Have you ever heard or uttered this complaint? For answers, let’s look at why teachers are concerned.

College Scholarships’ website reports the current average student debt is $26,600 for four-year degree graduates; graduate students leave school with an average debt of $43,500. Sallie Mae reports that loan interest rates average from 2.25 percent to 9.37 percent. The student who is $26,600 in debt will repay the loan at the rate of $137.74/month over 20 years at the lowest interest rate. At the higher rate, the monthly payment will be $245.69/month. The average grad student’s payments (using the same interest rates over 20 years) will average $225.25 – $401.79/month. While interest rates and terms of loans vary, it is obvious that payments many teachers must make on education loans are comparable to either a used or new car loan, and most young teachers already have a car payment. Not many people can afford two car loans on one salary. When the reader adds in an average payment for mortgage/rent, utilities, car maintenance expenses, and miscellaneous needs (medical, furniture, clothing, emergency fund savings) there is often not much left for graduates to plan their futures. Because of that, some delay marriage/family. Few middle class families can finance the high cost of education.

In addition, new teachers must now participate in a Defined Benefit Retirement plan. Teachers on this plan are expected to save more personal money for their own retirement since they can expect only two-thirds of what teachers used to expect at the end of their careers. One has to ask, how can they do it?

Teachers are professionals, but the average professional income varies, leaving teachers at the bottom. Virginia View reports that the median Virginia income in the West Piedmont Region (Henry, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Martinsville) for accountants is $53,061. Lawyers receive $68,679, and acute care nurses receive $52,908. However, in comparison, HCPS teachers start at $39,492 and after 32 years, they earn $56,260. Pittsylvania teachers start at $37,461 and end at $52,010 after 34 years. Martinsville begins at $39,315 and ends at $56,931 with 33 years’ experience. Patrick County begins at $36,256 and tops out at $54,771 with 29 years’ experience. These salaries reflect teachers possessing a four-year degree. Until the end of their career, teachers earn below the average professional’s salary.

So why do teachers work for so little? Some cannot. Good teachers often quit because they cannot support their families. They are forced to leave the profession they love to take care of their first priority – family. One thing is certain: Teachers who remain love their students and often sacrifice to help provide student needs.

The public should be thankful for the dedication of these professionals; they should also ask elected officials what has happened that state and local governments have worked together to keep this profession so poorly paid.

                                                                                                  Dorothy M. Carter, MFA, NBCT

                                                                                                  President, Henry County

June 23, 2015

Teachers often hear people say, “You are so lucky. You have a great job and you are paid while you have your summers off.”   Um, well, yes, we have a great job working with kids or we wouldn’t be doing it, but the rest of that assumption is not quite accurate.

    While most of us do have a regular monthly salary all year, what many people don’t realize is that we sign a 200-day contract (10 months) and that is what we are paid for. Most school districts divide that contract into 12 months of salary, but in reality, teachers are only paid for 10 months.

    So how do teachers fill their time in those other two months? Go to the beach? Sleep in every day? Hardly. Few teachers I know have time for much more than a week or two of true vacation. Instead, they are lesson planning for the next year; teaching summer school; tutoring; remediating students for SOLs; attending conferences, training classes, workshops and SOL committee meetings; and taking courses for recertification. (Did you know that fully qualified teachers need to take an additional college course in their field at least once every five years in order to maintain their teaching license? Did you know that they are rarely fully reimbursed for those courses?)

    In other words, teachers are still working during the two months for which they are not paid. Ah, well, some people say, “That really isn’t so bad when you only work from 7:30 to 3:30. Why that is a 7 1/2-hour day with a 30-minute lunch for a good salary.” Really? That 30-minute lunch for elementary and middle school teachers is spent with the students, so they do have an eight-hour day. And planning periods are not FREE periods, they are filled with work and are never long enough to get everything finished, so many teachers remain in the buildings until 5 p.m. or later group planning, grading papers, assessing data and preparing for the next day. And then they take papers home to work on after dinner.

    In addition, they work before and after school doing bus duties, game duties, PTO meetings and a variety of school functions past the hours of a normal school day. They work so many hours during the school year that personal projects are often left until those two summer months, which are still filled with school-related activities.

    The public has a misconception when they believe a teacher’s job is only in the classroom for 7 1/2 hours a day. As professionals, we expect to work longer hours, but we want the public to understand that we work those hours to help the students of the community. We want the community to understand that we love their children and we are committed to doing our best to help them. And finally, we want the community to be as dedicated to us as we are to them. After all, it is a symbiotic relationship.

Dorothy M. Carter, MFA, NBCT

Henry County

President District I, Piedmont UniServ and Henry County Education Association

 

Facts about graduation

Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2015 6:00 am

    May and June are graduation months; for Martinsville/Henry County, high school graduation is over. With each student who accepts his/her diploma, a piece of each of their teachers travels with them the rest of their lives, consciously or unconsciously. Graduates take with them teachers who taught reading and math, basic essentials in modern life. They carry with them educators who taught sciences and history and a variety of electives. Most importantly, graduates carry learning from their educational institution in a way that is distinctive to each student’s capabilities and interests. The acquisition of all of these skills culminate into one special day — the day they receive that coveted piece of paper that ushers them into adult life; the day that their parents lose a child and gain a young adult who will begin to make his/her own decisions as he/she gravitates toward further education and/or jobs. High school graduation demonstrates that teachers from Pre-K-12 have performed their jobs.     In an era where blaming teachers is common, it is important to remember that the majority of students graduate on time — i.e. in four years after entering grade 9. In September 2014, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) reported that 89.9 percent of students graduated on time. In addition, more than 50 percent graduated with an advanced studies diploma. In a time when politicians and commentators label U.S. schools and teachers as incompetent, the public needs to examine the facts. Who sets the curriculum that must be taught? Not the teachers. Curriculum guides comes from the VDOE as do the Standards of Learning (SOLs); the tests that measure those standards also come from the VDOE. Teachers do not see the tests before, during or after the time period students take them, yet students must pass. Teachers do see the standards and they guide their instruction based on those standards that they did not write, yet were dictated to them as guidelines for instruction.

    The public must consider more facts. Of students who did not graduate in four years, 2.3 percent more earned a GED, which brings the rate to 92.2 percent. Only 5.4 percent truly dropped out of school. A small minority (304 out of 94,700 in Virginia — less than 1 percent) are out for a long-term absence, including medical reasons, family leave and expulsions.
    So when people accuse teachers of incompetency, is it fair when nearly 90 percent of all students graduate in four years and nearly 95 percent of all students graduate? Is it possible that the 5 percent who do not graduate on-time have legitimate reasons for needing an extra year? Is it possible that some students refuse to take their part of educational responsibility? Is the 5 percent failure rate only the teacher’s fault?
    While there may be some poor teachers in the classrooms there are few. This year, as we reflect on the successes of our graduates, please remember their teachers as well. They did their jobs.

    Dorothy M. Carter, MFA, NBCT
    President District I, president Piedmont UniServ, president Henry County Education Association