For those wondering what is the truth about the recent postings about Jersey City Teachers....


Just the Facts?

MYTH: Teachers get paid in the summer when they are not even working.

FACT: Our salary is divided by 20...the number of paychecks we receive from September to June. We DO NOT get paid during the summer. Some districts, Jersey City included, contractually mandate staff members to have a portion of that bi-monthly check withheld so that they do receive money over the summer, but it is NOT additional monies, but rather a district run ?savings plan?, except in this case the district gets the interest from the savings plan, not the employee. Not all districts offer this. Some teachers receive a check on the last day of school and do not receive another check until mid September.

MYTH: Teachers make 6 figure salaries.

FACT: All teachers are required to have a Bachelor?s degree in an academic subject (with a minimum 2.75 GPA), pass a written licensing test, and complete 20 Continuing Education hours each year in order to become and remain certified. In 2008-2009, a first year teacher made $47,323. A teacher with 8 years of experience made $49,323. If that seasoned teacher earned a Master?s Degree, his/her salary rose to $52,623. That is a difference of $3300 for a 32 credit (or more) degree that is NOT wholly financed by the district. There is a sum of money put aside each semester for tuition reimbursement. That sum is divided by the number of applicants for reimbursement. Typically it works out to about $100 a class.

MYTH: Teachers get a raise just for ?breathing?.

FACT: After working 13 years, teachers no longer receive an increment each year. The salary he/she makes at year 13 is their salary for the remainder of their working days, unless a raise is negotiated in a new contract. After 20 years, teachers receive a modest ?longevity payment? as recognition of their long term service to the district. After working 20 years, a teacher receives $1550 longevity. Since he/she has not has a raise in 7 years, that $1550 equals out to $221 a year, or a .4% increase.

MYTH: Teachers carry over sick days to get a big payout at retirement.

FACT: Jersey City teachers cannot collect disability, nor do they have an official ?maternity leave? policy. Teachers are allowed to carry over sick days in case of catastrophic illness or pregnancy. Teachers are also exposed to a large amount of germs. Consider how many times you catch a cold from your child, then multiply that by the 20 children in your class. When teachers are absent, their class must be covered. A substitute must be paid. The monetary compensation for unused sick days is an incentive for staff members to not use sick days for minor illnesses, therefore saving the cost of hiring a substitute for the day.

MYTH: Teachers only work half the year.

FACT: After 10 years of experience, the average private sector worker with a four year degree receives 25 days off (a combination of sick days, personal days, vacation days or simply ?paid time off). This private sector worker therefore works 235 days of the year, or 64% of the year (including paid time off, weekends, and the 10 federal holidays.) After 10 years of teaching, a Jersey City teacher makes works 186 days, or 51% of the year. The difference in amount of time working is only 13%. Additionally, teachers do not make the calendar. The local Board of Education does. They are the ones that decide when school starts, finishes, and will be closed. (Sources: www.salary.com and www.payscale.com)

MYTH: Teachers only work 8-3.

FACT: Our CONTRACTED hours are 8:00 to 2:55. We receive a 45 minute lunch period daily. That is our only ?free? time. From 8-8:30 we are tutoring students, meeting with parents, planning lessons, engaging in professional development or meeting with colleagues and/or administrators. From 8:30 until 2:55 we are teaching children. We are not allowed to go to the bathroom, make or receive a phone call, have a snack, chat with a colleague, or do personal work. We are encouraged to not even be sitting down. We are to be actively instructing and interacting with your children. We do receive one 45 minute ?preparation period? daily. This is NOT free time. We are not allowed to leave the building. This time is for meeting with parents, grade level partners and administrators. It is also for planning, copying, and preparing for lessons, grading assignments, completing paperwork, calling parents, creating bulletin boards, cleaning the classroom and doing the myriad of clerical tasks that pop up during the day. Even the best high school English teacher cannot grade and comment on 75-100 essays during a 45 minute period. Nor can the best Kindergarten teacher plan approximately 25 differentiated weekly lessons during that prep period. (Yes, that?s right?25 lessons a week. Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social Studies for 5 days. That doesn?t even touch the subsets of reading [comprehension, phonics, grammar, spelling?] appropriate modifications for students with disabilities or limited English, and the meaningful infusion of technology) Therefore, we do the ?non student? work before school, after school, at home, and on weekends. We are obligated to be ?on?, at school and working with students for 6 hours and 15 minutes daily (more if we work after school programs). The additional time is not always seen by the public, but it?s there. Teachers do more of their non student work ?behind the scenes?. Private sector workers are usually assumed to work 9-5 and typically receive an hour lunch. That is 7 hours. Although in this economy, many private sector workers are working more than the traditional 9-5, many of them do not bring work home. Unless they are under a deadline, if a task does not get done, it is simply pushed off until the next day. If a lesson plan is not completed, or report cards not finished before Open House, it cannot be pushed off until the next day. We cannot leave for lunch 5 minutes early, or come back 1 minute late. We cannot be a few minutes late in the morning and make it up in the afternoon. We live by the clock.

MYTH: Teachers do not pay for their health benefits.

FACT: Health benefits are a negotiated perk that each individual school district must work out with. There is no ?blanket rule? that covers all teachers in the state of NJ. In Jersey City, teachers do have money taken out of their paychecks for family coverage. The new state law signed by Governor Christie states that teachers must pay 1.5% of their salary towards their health benefits. Assuming the average cost of these benefits are $15,000, a teacher at the top of the salary guide will be paying approximately 10% of the cost of the benefits. The actual cost, and type, of benefits offered is decided upon by the Board of Education, not teachers. Benefits are not supposed to be changed during a contract, however Jersey City teachers agreed to a change in health benefits in the middle of the last contract and accepted higher co-pays, higher prescription costs, and changes in coverage in an effort to help Jersey City?s fiscal crisis.

MYTH: Teachers get huge retirement payouts.

FACT: A teacher may retire at age 60, or at age 55 if they have completed 25 years of service. The formula for figuring out a pension is the number of years worked/55 multiplied by the average salary for the last 3 years working. For a 60 year old at the top of the salary guide with 30 years of experience this is a pension of approximately $49,000. For the 55 year old with 25 years of service, this is approximately $41,000. The state is in trouble because it either failed to put money into, or minimally put money into, the pension fund over the past 17 years. Teachers have pension money deducted from their salary every paycheck.

MYTH: Once teachers get tenured, they cannot be fired and can basically just slack off.

FACT: Tenure is a form of job security for teachers who have successfully completed a probationary period. Its primary purpose is to protect competent teachers from arbitrary nonrenewal of contract for reasons unrelated to the educational process -- personal beliefs, personality conflicts with parents, administrators or school board members or as a cost saving method (lay off the more experienced, more expensive teacher just to save money). A non tenured teacher operates under a one year contract. At the end of each year, the Board of Education decides whether or not to renew that non tenured teacher?s contract. Both non-tenured and tenured teachers are subject to observations and evaluations throughout the school year to assess their job performance. t is not impossible to terminate the employment of a tenured teacher. A tenured teacher is entitled to due process when he or she is threatened with dismissal or nonrenewal of contract for cause: that is, for failure to maintain some clearly defined standard that serves an educational purpose. In such cases, due process usually requires that the school board hold a hearing at which the administration presents its arguments in favor of dismissing the teacher or not renewing the teacher's contract, and the teacher is allowed to present his or her side.

MYTH: Teachers are afraid of merit pay because they don?t want to be judged.

FACT: Teachers welcome the opportunity to evaluate and reflect upon their job performance. However, until a reasonable plan for merit pay is proposed, teachers will continue to oppose it. Under current proposals, merit pay for individual teachers is tied to scores on standardized test scores. There are many problems with this. Consider these scenarios:

Ms. Johnson teaches special education in a large urban district. Alex is 12 years old, in the 6th grade, and classified as having dyslexia. He came to her in September reading on a beginning 2nd grade level. She worked with him all year, and as of May is now reading on a late 4th grade level, showing a 2 ? year increase in his reading skills over the school year. According to NCLB, Alex must take the 6th grade NJASK, because he is 6th grade age. He does not pass the test.

Ms. Williams teaches in an affluent suburban district. Maria enters her 6th grade classroom already reading adult novels and demonstrating a savvy understanding of abstract concepts. Her parents have hired tutors and enrolled Maria in numerous extracurricular activities to enrich and expand her education. Her September reading assessment indicates that she is reading on a 10th grade level. Maria coasts in the classroom all year, barely putting forth any effort, yet achieving high grades. Ms Williams doesn?t push Maria, since her grades are satisfactory. On the NJASK, Maria is proficient, but her May reading assessment show that she has only progressed 3 months over the past academic year.

Mr. Davis is Drew?s teacher. Drew is in the 6th grade, and reading on a late 5th grade level. Drew has been absent 33 days this school year, and tardy an additional 18 days. Although Drew is bright, he does no homework. The attendance officer has gone to Drew?s house; detention has been given; parent conferences have been held. Nothing has changed. Mr. Davis has given extra attention to Drew when he is in school, working with him during lunch and recess. Drew does not pass the NJASK.

Mr. Smith is Gabrielle?s teacher. Gabrielle is an average student in the 6th grade. Mr. Smith has been absent 43 days this school year. Gabrielle works hard and passes the NJASK.

Mrs. Lawson teaches Art. Three of her students have been accepted into the University High School Art program. Mr. North teaches Music. His band has been invited to perform on television. Miss Nelson teaches Social Studies. One of her students won a national geography competition. None of their students take the NJASK.

Now ask yourself?who deserves the merit pay? How did you determine that? Currently there is no fair, objective proposal for merit pay out there. Some merit pay plans even allocate a given amount to each school and make teachers compete to earn their share of the ?prize?. Research has shown that when teachers collaborate and share best practices, student achievement goes up. Making teachers compete for limited prize money would not encourage teachers to work independently in isolation and do away with the collegial professional learning and problem solving that now takes place.