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glasssa251 OP t1_ivyptz6 wrote

Reply to comment by Successful_Pen_2387 in jersey city public schools...what improvements do you want to see? by glasssa251

Unfortunately changes to the hiring process need to be made for this to happen. Qualified teachers don't want to work here because they would have to start at the first step with their salary, compared to districts that will match their salary to their experience.

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ChuckleheadStrategy t1_ivz52w1 wrote

Sounds like changing the hiring process should be priority #1. If we cannot hire qualified teachers, can we say we are providing a quality education? If we're not providing an education, the money would be better spent paying private school tuition for every kid.

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RosaKlebb t1_ivznhtn wrote

That's the thing, quality of education is likely going to take further blows as brain drain from prospective people who'd go into teaching check out greener pastures.

I know there's ton to wax poetic about when it comes to history of NJ's standing in education and all that but the way the state has gone in terms of opportunity and just the stark cost of living even regardless of how much teachers can get comparatively to elsewhere, it still makes it not exactly the most sexy thing to check out.

Especially if you're conventionally smart in a subject like math or sciences you can virtually go into anything else that values that ability and have a lot of it be worth your while.

A lot of the people I know in teaching atm are completely at the end of their rope ready to bail, or are grinning and bearing it because they grew up with money and the salary isn't entirely the biggest issue or in some cases they got a breadwinner partner making significantly more cash to offset things.

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ChuckleheadStrategy t1_iw0fyki wrote

Yeah, it's pretty wild. Admittedly, I haven't done enough research on my own (no kids, no desire to work in education myself) to know the difference in pay between NYC and here, but can we not close the gap? I live close enough to Ferris to see the kids leave at noon with no intention of going back for the afternoon...wtf. I grew up in the suburbs so just a different school life, but if we cannot educate the kids, wtf are we doing. We might as well sell the land the schools sit on and put the money to sending the kids to a place that can offer an education. I don't mean this to sh*t on any teachers in JC public schools, but if the comment above is that we throw our hands up and say we don't have access to a consistent amount of quality teachers, then we need to re-assess.

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Primary_Ad1561 t1_iw12wuj wrote

Governor Murphy announced today a new task force looking into the teacher shortage. Jersey City needs to push for representation on this 25-member task force so the issues you mentioned are discussed and emphasized.

Perhaps NJ standardizes the hiring practices of all public school districts in order to level the playing field, allowing for geographic cost of living adjustments as required.

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Mindless-Budget9019 t1_iw2eax4 wrote

This only works if the state pays its fair share instead of being a cheapskate.

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oldnewspaperguy2 t1_ivz5m5k wrote

What about the experienced teachers that’ve been teaching in JC? Why do we need to hire new experienced teachers?

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glasssa251 OP t1_ivz6x6d wrote

Many are leaving in droves for districts with better pay. I'd be one of them if I wasn't in the middle of fertility treatments and can't allow my health benefits to lapse. I love my students and coworkers, but the lack of cost of living raise is problematic. Inflation is a real problem

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oldnewspaperguy2 t1_ivzgddl wrote

What’re your thoughts on JC’s exceptionally poor educational metrics?

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glasssa251 OP t1_ivzjyqb wrote

To be fair, a good chunk of it is because we give standardized tests that are not designed with esl and sped students in mind. We give them accommodations, but there is no way they can pass. We then use these tests to measure student performance in the state, so we will always fall short compared to districts with smaller ESL populations

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