Sad Tonight

And its Friday. This is suppose to be my happy post.

The School Board finalized their budget after two Public Hearings and they reinstated a number of important positions: Special Ed Counselors at the HS level (Thank God), Elementary Librarians, HS Graduation Programs, Ignite (Gifted) Teachers, Maintenance Workers.

All needed.

But they are still cutting six elementary counselor positions. The six of us with the least seniority.

And I'm 99% sure I'm one of the six.

So I sit here tonight hoping for one of two things: that at least three other counselors will retire, transfer, or quit. Or that our Republican Governor will realize that schools can't operate on flat budgets and approve a bill that will increase funding for schools over the next three years.

And I hate this anxious feeling of hoping for stones.

Our school held a Family Fun Night tonight from 6-8. I skated with my students, played in the snow, ate cupcakes in the hallway, all the while thinking, I may be told I can't work here anymore.

And I won't know for sure till April.

And sure, I can see how the folks in their suits and heels may think: Elementary kids don't need counselors.

But they didn't see how the boy locked eyes with me when the policeman photographed his face. Or the way the kids run to me at recess to give me a hug. And tell me their stories.

I know what I do matters.

And it sucks to be discredited in a political game of numbers.

Even if my stones turn to soup and I somehow get to keep my job, this whole process corrodes my belief this work. When you are told you are expendable its hard to remember its not personal.

And it is the children, as always, who lose.

"I like my school counselor because she loves all of us," a fifth grade girl wrote to me recently.

She's right, I do.

But you know, our money would be better spent on oil development. And tax breaks for corporations.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Comments

[Shelley]

That just sucks! All the decisions in education seem to the made by "suits" who have never set foot in a classroom and have no tangible understanding of what we educators really deal with all day. They think it really is only about math and reading, but those of us in the trenches know that on some days, those are the last things on the kids' minds. For example, our schools superintendent has never been an educator. I am uncomfortable with people who have never done my job telling me how to do my job! Reading and math? Very important...definitely, but Johnny doesn't really care about that if he hasn't eaten since lunch yesterday. Why is that so hard for the head cheeses to understand?
Sorry to vent, but it is simply ridiculous that your position would be presented as expendable.

[Shelley]

*school superintendent, sorry

[Sarah Lynn]

I am hoping for you. I am so sorry --for you personally and for children who will lose something they need.

[Niksmom]

I hate this. I hate that our most vulnerable citizens take the hit for things they have no power to control or understand. And I hate that it leaves so many people, very good and wonderful people such as you, feeling anxious and undervalued. And worried about having a job. It sucks.

I'm sending you many good thoughts and hoping your worst fears do not come to fruition.

[Liz]

Not sure what to say but that sucks, for you, for all six of you, and for the kids ... I am so sorry. Keep fighting and telling people what you do matters because it does. HUGS

[Christy]

Oh Shelley, you can vent away, I'm right there with you and Niksmom too. A lot of my kids will never make AYP (Adequate yearly Progress) not b/c they aren't bright but b/c one or more of their parents are in jail, they cant do HW at night b/c there are 12 people living in a trailer, their parents fight all night long and hit each other into walls, their grandfather molests them, their parents hit them, there isn't food in the fridge, they are in 2nd grade and are already saying, "I wish I were dead." But no,they don't need a full-time counselor at elementary school. we should wait to intervene till they are dropping out of middle school or living on the streets. Even my children who come from more stable homes with means need help navigating the world of social and emotional learning. If they are called names, or if their best friend decides she no longer wants to play, they will not perform their best on their test that afternoon. And not that I have the power to make the hurt go away but I can be there to listen. At the very least.

Eight or nine counselors have already been told their position is going to half-time at their current school and that next year they will serve two schools. Double the students and families, two distinct school cultures, but the same expectations and pay. It just makes me so sad for the kids. Even if we get more funding from the state it looks like half-time counselors, serving two schools is the direction of our Board. My position is only funded half-time by Elementary Ed and my principal funds the rest with Title One money. And that too is shrinking. The other crazy element in all this is that I could be cut, a more senior counselor takes my job, then we could get more $ from the state as late as July and I'd be re-hired but placed in a different school. Further screwing the kids by dismantling their relationships.

I've been following the national story about the elementary school in CA where the Board replaced the whole staff due to the heinous crimes of two men, and all I can think is those poor traumatized children. First the crimes against them or their peers and then the loss of all the trusted adults in their educational lives. Who makes these decisions?

Oh I rant and rave and Olive is pushing a chair across the kitchen to eat more frozen peas and Elias is asking me, "How do i get the flower back in the garden?"

[Stacey]

Hugs are coming!!!

[bec]

I'm sorry, that just plain sucks. You are not expendable, and what you are doing matters. Unfortunately, it's hard to see how important the work is until years later. Hang in there and I'll keep fingers and toes crossed for a delicious stone soup soon.

[Christy]

Bec, thanks for your words, especially for knowing that the work us elementary counselors do doesn't always have immediate affects. At the Hearing many of the other positions had more parents and students speaking on their behalf. The most powerful work that I do, supporting kids from rough homes, doesn't usually turn parents into counselors' cheerleaders. And these kids are way too young to know what goes on behind the scenes.

[Kate]

so very disappointing and short sighted of the administration. hope they come to their senses.
hang in there.