Welcome back to another school year. For those that are new to the field of teaching, thank you for undertaking the most rewarding profession, raising up the future generation! Teaching is not a career that is financially rewarding, but the long-term rewards are the many lives you influence. For seasoned teachers, keep encouraging each other to stay in the profession. Keep the dialogue focused on student success; though, take the time to provide common sense direction to those who join our ranks of educators.
As a common sense direction for new teachers, for instance, I encourage you to complete your Master’s degree as soon as possible. Moving upward with your level of education is one way to increase your pay for making the teaching profession more palatable. In order to reclassify, you need to submit your completed documents prior to the start of each school semester as stated in GDOE’s Personnel Rules and Regulations 904.701.
For the paraprofessionals, you have not been forgotten. You are the backbone of our school communities. The school culture is heavily influenced by your direct interactions with students in the hallways. Please continue to be the positive influencers as we shape our students to be safe, respectful, and responsible.
For both teachers and paraprofessionals, please take the time to read through your collective bargaining agreements that can be found on the GFT website (https://gftunion.com/collective-bargaining-agreements/). Your union member leaders and representatives negotiated several items protecting both your working conditions and your students’ learning conditions.
Have a great school year!
In Solidarity,
Sanjay Sharma
President