education associate

elementary school teacher

high school teacher

teacher

special education teacher

Des Moines Public Schools

Des Moines Public Schools is so intent on showing good numbers that they intentionally make assignments incredibly easy. In fact, students are not even, in effect, required to have passing grades to pass middle school and move on to high school. Once they do attend high school, to quote one teacher, all they have to do is “breathe on a paper” and they will get a passing grade. As such, students are graduating without basic knowledge to equip them for college or the real world. 

Students in the high schools do not receive detentions because they are unenforceable. Officially there are still detentions, but there are no consequences for missing them. This exemplifies a problem with the lack of any accountability for students. 

Students in Des Moines receive two hours less education than other schools in the nation so that teachers can receive professional development. These sessions are made up of lessons as to how to be less disciplinary. This attempt to be more "understanding" certainly comes from a good place, and no one would argue that similar attempts have worked in the past, but the complete lack of discipline or any semblance of accountability is, to the contrast, showing negative effects in the schools themselves. Teachers all across the district have noted how student behavior has only gotten worse in recent years. 

The teachers themselves have been told in these professional development sessions to actively try to give fewer detentions to students of color so that the district's numbers will appear better. This is not to be confused with trying to avoid bias. I assure you, the actual instruction was to give fewer students of color detention to create better numbers.

I, as a substitute teacher of four years, was terminated after putting my hand across a door to prevent a student from entering. This was my second "strike" after previously touching a student's hood. The reasoning was that not only is physical contact of any kind not accepted, but putting one's self in a position in which they may be touched similarly is not tolerated. This focus on utmost political correctness to the teacher's expense is just one more indication of the district's overall attitude.

Des Moines Public Schools cares about one thing: Numbers. They attempt to get these good numbers at the expense of their teachers and, more importantly, their students. They are extraordinarily failing many children. Their slogan is to be the "Model in Urban Education," yet they prove an embarrassing example to the contrary.

What is the best part of working at the company?
My former colleagues and support staff were the ones that made education a reason to be there and be supportive in the educational setting.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Education has changed during the past decade. Students will be students, however, the Administration has changed not in a positive way. There have been initiatives handed down yearly that had placed more burdens on staff. Secondly, when issues have come up caused by students or parents, Administration will side more so to them, even if there was no evidence . Third, there is one particular administrator that does not belong in Education. He has absolutely no leadership skills and provides no direction during collaboration.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The district/ building Administration adds initiatives to the staff yearly. The Administration will not be involved until each step is taken by a teacher. Also, some initiatives have cost previous staff to leave/ terminated and then it goes away.

Current staff does not feel safe, especially since the SRO’s have been eliminated.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Very little teaching, but consisted more of supervision. The class sizes make it very difficult for an organized learning environment. Not including having to monitor for those students who skip their other classes and come to this class.

DMPS is the largest public school employer in the surrounding area. You can truly believe in helping foster safe, inclusive environments for youth while simultaneously acknowledging that DMPS does not treat its teaching faculty well. There are buildings with great administrators, just like buildings with poor administrators. However - overall - the district really struggles to be transparent in its hiring practices (who advances?), it struggles to compensate employees (it is a given that teachers are overworked and underpaid), and it struggles to retain high quality professionals because of burn out. The work load is EXTREMELY high, the class sizes are HUGE, and the prep time is practically ground down to the negatives because teachers and other staff are frequently covering for absences. Lack of substitute teachers has left an unfillable void that many staff members are now losing their own (limited) prep to cover, with the expectation of still meeting benchmarks, testing, and data input for classes of 35+ (at the secondary level, that's 35 x several periods).  The district is so understaffed and underserved, and money is always the issue. This is not necessarily DMPS-specific problem, but it is felt *very heavily* in DMPS. Expect lack of amenities, out of pocket purchases, and a grinding work culture that takes advantage of those who want to serve the students. 

Yes, there a many employees who have a genuine compassion for positively impacting the growth and development of students and colleagues and the skillset to do so. However, many of the administrators and other key personnel are too stuck on implementing traditional learning environments (minus the discipline). No wonder student enrollment is down and attendance issues and behavior problems have been on the rise. 21st century best practices need to be implemented. Leaders will suggest their lack of follow through is due to laws, society, and at home environment, but that's a flat out lie. I used to think it was willful ignorance and naivety as many of the employees do not live in the area/have little experience working with the learner demographics, but after my 3rd year, I realized its a concerted effort at all levels to keep performance low. I know, it's hard to comprehend that people who work against the stated vision and mission are promoted and/or kept in decision-making positions, but that's been the nature of the district for decades now. Unless you like working in persistently toxic and non-proficient learning environments, don't apply. Many employees are jaded and are just waiting to retire and the district supports this.

Extremely toxic work environment!  Very little support from those with ability to make decisions.  Forced to implement philosophies expressly against what is taught in college courses in relation to grade level instruction and descrepant abilities of students.  Untrustworthy leadership.  Verbally abused and mistreated by students on a daily basis.  Blame always lies with the Educator.  Be prepared to be set up to fail and then belittled for it.  Wish I could say it was better.  I miss none of it.  I wanted this to be a great place to learn and grow.  It was the opposite and caused unbelievable stress and mental health issues for myself and other co-workers.  I can't let people believe the lies the try to sell.  It's a horrible environment and I only hear it's getting worse.  Don't be manipulated into believing things have improved.  Fights, swearing, disrespect & deception dominate every day.  There's a reason they need help.  Think long and hard before subjecting yourself to this school system.  They paint a very deceptive picture.  

Associate pay is decent but only paid for 190 days/year that is spread throughout year; meaning, your pay on on payday is shortened by a few hundred dollars to make up for 4 months you don't work. There is little support when you need for a child in crisis or fighting and you are left to handle situations on your own many times. You must carry a cell phone as your not given a walkie-talkie to call for assistance. You get no training except the training other associates give you. Some SpEd teachers are helpful some work against you because they don't want conflict with kids or adults. Your expected to go by the IEP but the school doesn't even go by IEPs making sure kids are getting their minutes met. There are no consequences for bad behavior, they only coddle the children and rarely completely remove a child from a classroom after a violent encounter with another student or teacher so other students are scared to be in room with that kid. Just not the same safe environment as 80s and 90s.

I have had a positive experience working with Des Moines Public Schools. As a public safety officer, I’ve found the district to be a reliable and professional employer that offers excellent benefits. The organization is well-structured, and I appreciate the flexibility to bid into different departments or locations when opportunities arise, which allows for some variety in the day-to-day work.
​While my role in public safety is specialized, it is clear that the district invests heavily in its employees, particularly through various educational and development programs for teaching and support staff. While I haven't personally utilized the academic training paths, they are a great resource for those looking to grow within the education field. Overall, it’s a stable, professional environment, and I would recommend it to those looking for a consistent and supportive place to work."

As a life time educator, I felt that Des Moines Schools was the most innovative district in the State of Iowa.  I had wonderful professional development opportunities.
Education has changed greatly over 4 decades, but DMPS is still meeting the needs of a very diverse student population.
Education is a very stressful but rewarding profession.  I had many opportunities to leave a take positions in other central Iowa school districts, but I was always very proud to work for DMPS.
There is a lot of dysfunction in the current top leadership team,  which is very concerning and disheartening.  But the rest of the leadership team and all of the rest of the employees are hardworking, amazing people.  Even with the negative that I mentioned, I still believe  it’s a great place to work , if you have chosen education as your profession.

In my experience, this school district doesn’t prioritize the best performing people or the most qualified candidates. They hire from people who are good friends with higher ups or who are friends with people in HR. They also do not recognize the wage disparity between administrators in the district (out of building admin) and those who have contact with students daily. My supervisor is paid more than twice my salary and I feel little to no support. Her supervisor is paid even more and has little to no knowledge of the after school programs he is in charge of, and was hired from elsewhere in the district. The mental toll of working with families in this day and age is not represented in PTO or wages.

The ideal day at work would be if the lesson flowed smoothly, and all of the students learned the intended objective for the day.  This sometimes does not happen as there are behaviors, and other things that come up.  It takes a lot of work to prepare engaging lessons for students.  The administration was supportive, but they were so busy trying to assist students with behavioral issues that they did not support the staff as much as they would have liked to.  The hardest part of the job would have be the student behaviors, lesson planning, being pressured to perform.  The most enjoyable part of the job is when students do acquire knowledge and they are appreciative of what you taught them.  I don't want to discourage anyone...there are some amazing teachers, but it is definitely not for everyone.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Education associate 46 salaries reported	$19.69 per hour
Elementary school teacher 95 salaries reported	$65,080 per year
High school teacher 54 salaries reported	$64,138 per year
Teacher 15 salaries reported	$79,350 per year
Special education teacher 35 salaries reported	$64,494 per year

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