teacher

project coordinator

audiologist

truck driver

special education paraprofessional

Montgomery-County-Public-Schools,-Md

Teaching is pretty synonymous with overworked and underpaid across the nation, unfortunately.  I can say that with this school system the longer you work there the more you get paid (and the pay is good, comparatively).  However, this system likes to be frontrunners - they need to be hip with every new term and pedagogy, and will change curriculums, data management systems, teaching protocols, trainings, all of it in a short amount of time if it so pleases.  I've worked here 8 years and gone through 3 curriculum changes, 2 schools, bunches of online work systems, over 200 hours of trainings (mostly unrelated to my job), and changing protocols & unmanageable deadlines.  I worked between 12 and 14 hours a day my first 3 years teaching & now I've whittled it down to 10-14 hours a day (never less, unfortunately).  

Management varies from school to school, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes hate life.  I would say schools are divided equally between bad bosses and good ones, so it's a toss of the coin what you'll get.  Some schools in more affluent areas control most of what goes on in the system because their parents are lawyers (or can afford lawyers), and other schools in the system get the raw end of the stick because they have high levels of poverty or immigrants.

If you are a new teacher or if you work in a job other than teaching (HVAC, bus driver, night manager, paraeducator, etc.), this would be a place for you.  But if you want a good work/life balance, a relatively straight forward job, or to not be physically injured at work, I wouldn't suggest it.

A lot of your experience with MCPS depends on the individual school, principal, and community, but I worked at multiple schools and was constantly working overtime without pay, which is to be expected as a teacher. My last principal was very disrespectful, distrustful of her employees, and did not do enough to ensure safety of students. MCPS as an organization needs to decide on a focus and communicate that instead of shifting gears so frequently. There are so many "focus" areas that teachers are expected to learn about, implement, and demonstrate, but then as soon as you get into a routine, they give you three more things you need to add. They change the curriculum and how they do certain things like guided reading and math so that you can't use your plans from one year to the next, and you have to constantly learn how to implement new programs. It's ridiculous trying to keep up with it all, and then there's also the culture of never taking your personal or sick days! You get in trouble for using these days, even when it's legitimate! 

Starting salary was good, but the yearly increase is not impressive. The health insurance is stellar, though! 

I wish I could've continued teaching, but MCPS made it so much harder. Some of that could've been the issues with being in lower income schools, but since those schools are still expected to meet the same benchmarks, we had to work three times harder to attempt to get there, nevermind all the new initiatives MCPS was trying to implement mid-year.

Work as a special education paraeducator is a very mixed experience.  
The good:  
-enjoy developing a relationship with students and in small ways contribute to their growth and success
-no take-home work; I can leave work at work which is AMAZING
-job security, paid sick leave, good health benefits

The bad:
-THE PAY.  Target employees are better compensated sigh.  The truly scary thing is that MCPS actually pays paras quite well compared to other school districts.  Speaks volumes...
-We are extremely undervalued. Most of us are educated and very knowledgeable about a specific content area (Math, Science, English) and yet we are put in classes seemingly at random, as if we have nothing to contribute other than babysitting services. Furthermore, although we are the ones who work the most closely with students in crisis, counseling fails to inform us about significant events affecting these students- I often have to find out from the classroom teacher after the student has an outburst or leaves the class :/
-there is very little oversight on paraeducator performance which means poor employees often skip classes, take long lunches, and leave early without consequence while we good employees see this and internalize the message that what we do does not matter. And ultimately the students we are supposed to be serving suffer. 

Working as a substitute teacher in Montgomery County has been a great working experience. I have had the opportunity to work at various locations from elementary through high school settings and they have all been a positive learning experience in becoming familiar with the many schools that exist in the county. Working as a 
substitute you don't have a typical day any day because of the fluidity of working at various locations all of the time. However, the general work day will consist of going to a location and filling in for the absent teacher. Taking attendance, classroom management and teaching prepared lessons are all part of the daily agenda. I find the most difficult part of the job is when the teachers don't have a set lesson plan for the day and you have to create a lesson on the spot for the students to become engaged in. The most rewarding part of the assignment is always getting to work with the students and since you usually don't have the same class for multiple days, getting to work with different climates all of the time is also a great way to be exposed to all different classroom settings.

Always had something to do while working at Montgomery County Public Schools which is what I enjoy on the job. The culture was to be competitive in the workplace about what you do to make others around you better. The hardest part was feeling on edge at times to always have something new to engage the students, but that becomes familiar over time. Not that it gets any easier. I learned a lot about myself and others in the position. I would get in to work by 6:00am everyday and leave from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, but there had been days I stayed later until 6:00pm, 8:00pm, or later. Typically I would get in and make my lesson plans, get labs ready, and even stay later if need be. Understanding all the individuals and students you are working with can be confusing at first, but it all start to coalesce together overtime. The benefits were great, but I did not think about benefits when taking a teaching position. I realized there was a lot more to it then that, but then I realized there was a lot more to teaching then I thought it was. Still was a challenge I was willing to accept.

I work in a cliquish, non-inviting elementary school. There are a few and I emphasize a FEW teachers who are very kind. Other than that, the work culture is toxic, starting from the head and flowing down to the body, particularly as I see it toward paraeducators who are comparative to babysitters. There are teachers and staff who stick their noses up at paraeducators, making the assumption that paras have no formal education and haven’t earned a bachelor’s degree and better yet, a master’s. The kids run the school and will have no problem letting you know this in so many words. They are the boss. Unruly and absolutely out of control! And the pay isn’t a livable wage and nor does it meet the demands of a stressful workday. There is also a lot of micromanaging that involves using the cameras around the building to see what paras are doing, all while passing the buck and giving zero to little support concerning the duties and responsibilities of a para. 

I designed and implemented Language and content based lessons for children learning English.  The focus is on academic achievement .I learned how to be patient, respectful and kind to children and adults,  I did both plug-in and pull-out teaching.  Plug-in  is where I go into the classroom and co-teach with the classroom teacher and focus on the objectives of the English Language Learners.  My principals always complemented me on my ability to empathize with students and adults.  Rosemont ES has wonderfully supportive administrators and easy to get along with teachers.  My biggest challenge is that now so much is online.  I work better with the structure provided with a hard copy curriculum in a binder.  I find that structure enables me to be creative and know what is expected of me.  Everything was enjoyable,  The administrators and teachers were supportive and kind.  I especially enjoyed working with the Pre-K children.  They are so excited to learn and really full of positive energy.

As a clinical fellow, MCPS was a hard place to be, especially as a clinical fellow. Caseloads are huge, SLP’s are held to the same expectations as teachers (whether or not those expectations are relevant) as well as the expectations of the speech department. It’s impossible to do everything that is asked of you when you’re pulled in so many directions. Also, as a new clinician, I found the most support in my co-workers, not the people who were being paid to help me. Bad management goes unchecked, even when there is favoritism and unequal treatment and consequences being dished out. I have also felt like I had less of a right to ask for what I needed to thrive professionally because my religious accommodations were used against me by my manager. When I reported this to my central department, no one did a thing. If you’re working full time for MCPS, burnout is likely. For parents, MCPS is a nice option because working part time is much less intense, schools are generally accommodating of your needs, and you can get benefits when you work part time. I would only go back if I were working part time in one place.

Very busy and problematic co-workers who always were hiding cleaning materials. I was treated with disrespect from the Vice-principal and Manager. The position was only part-time, I was under a six-month probation period. Meaning I can not complain to Human Resources, if something happens to me. The school has the right to fire me just because. I was supposed to work only four hours but unfortunately I worked passed my time limit. They constantly changed my time schedule and added more responsibilities then what I could handle. But according to the Manager they can clean the whole school within thirty-minutes! According to the Vice-Principal it can be done.
I enjoyed meeting the students and all the teachers staff were so nice too me. That was the only thing that was enjoyable. I personally do not recommend anyone to apply for a "Building Service Worker" position. Their Managing system sucks!

This company like so many others, do have some devious employee whose out for a pay check. Some appears to have no remorse for the sake of others especially the care, welfare and concern of fellow staff and students. Their pay check and the fact some officials can threaten their jobs/positions affords the opportunity lies and deceit in order to keep a job/position.

As a contract worker you work the same hours as a certified teacher but is not paid nor given any benefits for all the over time you put in working to plan grade mentor and implement the curriculum for successful teaching. You are only paid for 7 hours but held to the same standards as a regular teacher. Your only reward is the satisfaction of seeing the students achieve success and gain more knowledge. Your devotion and hard work is not truly appreciated nor respected

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teacher 1 salary reported	$86,426 per year
Project coordinator 1 salary reported	$72,683 per year
Audiologist 2 salaries reported	$92,128 per year
Truck driver 1 salary reported	$50,530 per year
Special education paraprofessional 1 salary reported	$17.79 per hour

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