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
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