Dec 19-Jan 20 Advisor

EXPOSING

DECEMBER 2019 – JANUARY 2020 CEA ADVISOR 11

Has any student ever threatened you or a fellow student with physical harm? 49.61%

Do you want to be armed in school?

Bridgeport, Stratford, Stamford, Region 10, and Naugatuck. Teachers there will continue to record classroom temperatures through the winter months, when students often need to wear coats, gloves, and blankets in class. More questions for teachers After the first news stories aired on NBC Connecticut about CEA’s “Is My School Sick” pilot study, media coverage expanded, and interest in other issues facing public school teachers intensified. Channel 3 Eyewitness News teamed up with CEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT Connecticut) for a second survey—one that looked at everything from classroom safety to teachers’ out-of-pocket spending. The goal of the questionnaire was to give parents and other community members an inside look into Connecticut’s classrooms—including the real-life challenges facing teachers every day. “The results,” says WFSB reporter Matthew Campbell, “were eye-opening.” A 23-question survey was sent to Connecticut’s public school teachers. Within days, 1,400 teachers responded, seven of whom joined Campbell for a series of televised interviews that aired in November. Watch the coverage at cea.org . Key findings included: • Half of all teachers surveyed said their class sizes are too large for them to teach effectively • Half of all teachers have been threatened with physical harm by a student, and two-thirds have witnessed students threatening other students • 60 percent say violence or the threat of violence makes them uneasy about challenging or disciplining students • 92 percent do not want to be armed in school • 88 percent do not feel equipped to handle their students’ mental health challenges, and 77 percent say there is insufficient support for students’ mental health needs at their school • 94 percent say bullying is a problem at their school, and 48 percent believe not enough is being done to curb it • 90 percent of high school teachers say vaping is a significant issue in their building • 87 percent say ongoing education budget cuts and budget because it covered a wide range of issues of concern to students and teachers,” says physics teacher and Stratford Education Association Vice President Kristen Record, who was part of a Channel 3 televised panel interview. “While the results may not be surprising to teachers, I am glad they are being released publicly, because I think they will raise awareness among parents and others in the community.” For one thing, she said, large class sizes in many schools make it difficult to differentiate teaching and give the individualized attention and uncertainty have resulted in a significant loss of resources • 95 percent of teachers spend their own money on classroom supplies • More than one in three teachers currently have second jobs “I personally liked the survey

instruction students need and deserve. They also make it harder to handle situations where a student becomes dysregulated or disruptive—a more common occurrence today, by most accounts. Dias shares that over her 20-year career she has had students escalate, threaten, and get aggressive. “It’s an experience that sticks with you,” she says. “It’s really emotional, because we see students as our children.” In an interview with WFSB Channel 3, she recalled an incident involving a student who was sent to the office but returned within moments and demanded re-entry to the classroom. “‘I want back in,’ he said, as he tried pulling open the door,” Dias recalls. When she opened the door to talk to him, he began punching the wall. “I didn’t know if the next thing he punched was going to be me.” Dias is not alone. Teachers at every grade level—more than 49 percent of those surveyed—report threats and acts of aggression from students, and they have deep concerns about classroom safety. Parents can be vocal advocates for reducing class sizes, enhancing classroom safety, and providing more resources to make better outcomes possible, Record told reporters. Budget cuts hurt students Diminished school funding is a factor in these and other problems facing public schools, and underfunding happens at both the state and local levels, says foreign language and literature teacher David Simon, who teaches at West Hartford’s Hall High School. “The money we get from the state has been given and taken away,” he explains, “and the funding formula has not been correctly applied for years.” In the WFSB interview, several teachers pointed out that budget cuts have resulted in the loss of teachers, school counselors, mental health professionals, and paraprofessional educators—all of whom students need to be successful. Torrington elementary school teacher Michael McCotter described the ripple effect that has had: the lack of supports for students in crisis, violent or disruptive behavior in schools, and widespread impacts on safety and learning. “Parents might be surprised at the number of times their child’s classroom has to be evacuated,” said McCotter, referring to a common response when dysregulated students act out in ways like throwing chairs. “A lot of children have become desensitized to their classrooms being ripped apart, threats being made against other students or teachers, and the whole class being evacuated. We need a lot more social workers and psychologists in our schools. Since Sandy Hook and some of those other tragedies, we’ve seen no additional support in that sense, and teachers—we care about our students, we give our hearts to our students, but we’re not trained mental health professionals, and we need more of those professionals in our schools to help those kids in need. As far as time for social emotional learning, our school districts are ranked so heavily on standardized test scores that we can’t always take the time to focus

66.69% Yes, I have seen a student threaten another student

Yes, I have been threatened by a student

on the social emotional learning that we need to—because that won’t show up on the test.” High school chemistry teacher Leigh Neumon, who is president of the Education Association of Cromwell, pointed out that many threats to students’ well-being today are harder for teachers and others to detect, and they include cyberbullying. “Bullying is a big issue in a lot of schools, and it’s more covert than ever,” she noted. “Fifteen years ago, bullying might be much more visible to us as teachers, and we could help those students. Now, it takes place on social media, and students might not feel comfortable coming forward to get the help that they need.” Teachers also talked about the swell of responsibilities they have now—wearing multiple hats, with new tasks being added every year and none being taken away. “As we lose funding and support staff, the responsibilities become greater,” said Simon, “and what we really want to do is serve our students in the best way we can.” Whether they teach in affluent or impoverished districts, CEA Secretary Stephanie Wanzer told reporters at WFSB, “My colleagues in every district are using so much of their own money for classroom supplies. They are using their own computers at home because there’s not a working printer at school.” In fact, CEA and AFT’s survey found that more than half of Connecticut’s public school teachers spend between $100 and $500 per year on their classrooms, one in five spend $500 to $1,000, and nearly one in ten spend upwards of $1,000. Classroom purchases made out-of- pocket include books, pencils,

technology, arts and crafts supplies, cleaning and personal hygiene items (such as facial tissue and paper towels), and snacks for students. When asked to give an example of what she spends her own money on, Wanzer—who teaches at Cooperative Educational Services in Trumbull and serves as president of the CES Education Association— told Campbell, “For a special education teacher teaching functional life skills? Food. I’m showing students how to cook, how to measure, the skills 18-to-21-year- olds might need to move on in their lives and take those next steps. Like today, we went and made a whole turkey dinner for the kids, which some of them might not even get to have at their own homes. All the staff brought something to the table. We went shopping for these groceries, buying them out of our own pockets, because that’s not in the curriculum. That is just something we do, and it’s really nice for students to have that before a holiday—you know, those simple things.” “That may be seen as something extra, but if we’re truly going to reach our students and prepare them for the real world, these are not extras,” says Sheena Graham, Connecticut’s 2019 Teacher of the Year. Graham, a Bridgeport music teacher, has bought everything from instruments to paper, pens, shoes, and underclothing for students. “We cannot reach them if their basic needs are not being met.” To supplement her own income, Graham recalls a number of second and third jobs she has held while teaching full-time. “This is my 37th year, and I have never had a year where all I’ve done is teach. I have done everything from wait tables to factory work while I was teaching, just to be able to survive.” Graham is not alone. “I don’t know a single teacher who hasn’t needed supplemental income to make ends meet,” says Record. As Campbell wrapped up the interview, he asked teachers a final question—one that wasn’t on the survey and one that provided a glimmer of hope in a time of great uncertainty. “Knowing what you now know, would you still be a teacher?” In a moving display, every hand went up.

Is there sufficient support for students’ mental health needs at your school?

22.54% YES

77.46% NO

Do you feel equipped to deal with your students’ mental health challenges?

12.05% YES

87.95% NO