#KnowtheRole
School Counselor
From teaching regular, direct classroom lessons (including mandated lessons on Erin’s Law and Start Talking Maryland) on academic, personal/social, and academic/career topics, to working 80% of our time to provide direct service to our students, School Counselors play a critical role in students’ wellbeing and development at school. They are essential educators and first responders for our students, addressing both curriculum and crisis, and should be respected and paid as such.
Literacy Teacher
As required by the Ready to Read Act, Literacy Teachers are tasked with conducting screenings of students in grades K-2 three times a year using DIBELS to ensure the Ready to Read Act is being carried out. In accordance with the requirements of Senate Bill 0734 and the AACPS Assessment Manuel, they also place students in Tier 1 programs, or after monitoring and proving an implementation plan, place them in Tier 2. Literacy Teachers are often called to pull intervention groups to support students who would otherwise go without, providing direct engagement on a daily basis. They are first to fill roles as intervention specialists, counselors, and administrators, and should be respected and paid as such.
Pupil Personnel Worker
The AACPS website lists Pupil Personnel Workers as "part school counselor, part social worker". Primary interaction with students on a daily basis is essential for PPWs to complete their work, and for our students to have the most productive learning environment they can. They support students during periods of homelessness, personal hardship, and through other issues impacting their education and should be respected and paid as such.
School Social Workers
School social workers focus on addressing students' mental health and classroom behavior by providing counseling, crisis intervention, and consultation with teachers. They provide direct resources to students and parents, and help connect families to resources.
Testimony from our elected officials
County Council Chair Lisa Rodvien
“I am increasingly concerned about AACPS and Blueprint using NBCT as a means for big salary increases. First, there are several fields not included in the Blueprint for the bonus. In addition, there are teaching areas where NBCT is not available for that subject matter. Why should those teachers be excluded? I would also like to point out that the salary bump for Masters + 60 or a Doctorate degree is roughly 4000-6000 depending where you are on the salary scale. Are we supposed to believe that the NBCT process is worth that much more than coursework from accredited universities and degree programs? We are being told you get a 10,000 bump from NBCT. I believe that this needs a lot more thought before we implement these rules for teacher pay. We are going to end up in another equity mess.”
Read the petition here and add your name!
So far, over 550 people have signed the petition!
