An open letter to the residents of Gloucester Township

Dear Residents of Gloucester Township,

I am a mom of two students in our GT Public Schools. I am a graduate of James W. Lilley, Charles W. Lewis and Highland High School. I was an educator at one point in a surrounding district, and this is one of the many reasons why I left and why our education system is failing. I am here to explain why our teachers working without a contract is bad. Do you even understand as a resident what it means to work without a contract?? Let me give you a little insight from some of our loved teachers from the district.

An anonymous GT elementary school teacher says:
“Typically, we sign a three-year contract. Our contract was up in June, and the GT Board of Education and our teacher’s union are very far apart on things like money and time. We have not gotten any increase, and they aren’t agreeing to what our union is presenting. I was so naïve to the fact that I was so hopeful about our contract being up for renewal last year because I thought it was the perfect time because of everything that we had done and were thrown into, but that is not the case. It’s almost like the GT School Board has given us no recognition for everything we have done and had to go through. They may talk a big game when in front of other people, but when it comes down to it as we all know actions speak louder than words. It is so sad and demoralizing the lack of appreciation we feel. Our contracted time is 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., and I’m here every day at 7:15 a.m. and stay way later than 3:30 p.m. to go home and work some more. GT Board is wanting us to basically work longer hours and not pay us any more. Please also add nurse to our list of responsibilities due to the lack of nurses in the district. In one day… A student gashed their knee, someone had an accident in their pants, someone threw up and someone need medicine for a headache that the office ladies had to handle. The front office does not get paid enough to deal with this, and the teachers ARE NOT NURSES.”

Could you even imagine going to work, day in and day out, trying to put a smile on your face all while facing all this every single day. These are the front-line workers who are with OUR children for 7+ hours a day, and this is how they feel. It’s awful. It’s embarrassing as a taxpayer. It is downright dreadful for parents. The morale in the building MATTERS. If the teachers are unhappy and the morale is bad, imagine how that may rub off on everyone else. This is not a hard concept. The fact the GT School Board can not understand that when one player is down and out, it brings down the whole team across the district. Imagine being a teacher during a pandemic and feeling like this every single day on the way to work.

An anonymous GT middle school teacher says:
“Working without a contract comes down to value and respect. In past contract years, this may not have hit home quite as hard, but now more than ever, the lack of a contract makes us all FEEL underappreciated, undervalued, and disrespected as professionals and people. For the past 10 years, government leaders and communities have taken aim at teachers, passing rules that prevent us from maintaining a reasonable way of living and regulates us to “part-time workers.” Teaching may be the only profession that is considered “part-time” but requires years of training and multiple degrees to do. Every year, the cost of benefits, taxes, retirement costs, etc. increase while our take home pay decreases. At the same time, we spend our own money on students consistently throughout the year. Pencils, supplies, buying lunch for them when they forget theirs, clothes for students needs. The list goes on. We give up our own time to talk to a student who had a horrible day. Whose parents may be going through a particularly ugly divorce. Who needs extra help or a little boost of confidence? Then we go home to our own families and continue to worry about those students. Now, let’s account for COVID. We all re-learned our profession on a weekend’s notice and didn’t complain. We completely reinvented education, learned ways to make it happen, changed subject matters or teaching positions, took on extra responsibilities, supported each other and all the while, we kept a smile on our face, pushed forward and CONTINUED to worry about and be there for our students. The shifting standards, expectations and changes have NOT STOPPED since March 2020 and our only bit of advice was to “make sure to take care of ourselves” followed by a list of tasks that still need to be done by Monday. The feeling in the air is that the “Powers that Be” recognize all we do BUT also know that we will continue to do these because that is what teachers do. In a year that we are being asked to reinvent education AGAIN and make concessions in our rights to fair compensation employment terms, it’s very difficult to feel like we are actually being valued and respected and not take advantage of.”

Teachers are not just teaching your student. They are mentors. They are heroes. They are sometimes the ONLY safe place that a student has. This is how they feel. As taxpayers of this town, we should be ashamed and appalled at how they are treated day in and day out. This is NOT an attack on our administrators BUT this is standing up for what is RIGHT. A teacher is and will always be the most influential/important part of a student’s life. One teacher can turn a student’s ENTIRE LIFE around with one talk. IT IS NOT OK THAT THIS IS HOW THEY FEEL EVERY SINGLE DAY.

An anonymous GT elementary school teacher says:
Working without a contract means that after everything we did last year, the board seems to have NO RESPECT for us. We were asked to change course without a minute’s notice and are still being asked to go above and beyond without the appropriate staffing, support, or training. Without a contract, teachers and nurses are making less this year than they did last year due to tax increases. Wearing red, holding signs and attending board meetings are all harmless ways of protesting but often ineffective. If we don’t get the support we need, we’ll be asked to do more. It is coming down to being asked to not work beyond school hours, no email, no dojo, no lesson planning, no after school events, no student games, no fundraisers, trips, dances etc. This is part of ALL the extra that we do that most parents do not understand until we don’t have them anymore. This will only hurt the students and destroys parent/teacher relationships that are crucial. We are not only fighting for ourselves, but we are fighting so hard for our students.”

If our teachers DO NOT settle OUR children will be hurt by this. Guess who the parents are calling to complain… the teachers, the administrators. Those on the front lines in direct communication with the parents.

Yes, this is three teachers out of hundreds, but I can guarantee that most feel like this and if they don’t than they are not an active teacher in the district. The fact that our teachers and parents, myself included, have had to fight this fight anonymously in fear or ramifications from those “powers that be” is terrible. Absolutely disgusting. There is nobody that would stay at any job that continues to pile on the work and doesn’t give the employees a raise or proper compensation. WHY IS IT OK FOR OUR TEACHERS? Yes, you can say… well they can leave and go to another district. Do you even know what leaving and going to another district looks like? You lose your tenure; you drop back to step one on the pay ladder, which means they take a HUGE pay cut. If our teachers aren’t happy, then our students are missing out. I believe that teachers are the backbone of this country. It starts with them. A teacher can literally change the trajectory of so many children’s lives. Why are they treated so poorly, Gloucester Township School Board? WHY? You all have a duty to do what is right, what is just and what is in the best interest for the staff/students of this district.

Sincerely,
A very angry parent of two Gloucester Township students.