Teachers have been hamstrung

Nedra Tawwab, licensed therapist and best-selling author, says, “Don’t allow anyone to mistreat you, no matter who they are.” No one has “special privileges to treat you poorly.” She does not say, “unless you are a teacher,” yet Clark County School District educators tolerate mistreatment daily.

One reason teachers resign is lack of student and parent accountability for behavior and grades. Between “one size fits all” restorative justice plans that place the burden of parenting on educators, and grade-reform policies that give students zero incentive to engage in classroom activities, our ability to teach is stifled. Students who want to learn are either interrupted by those who know they only need to “pass the test,” or disrupted by those whose aggressive behavior affects everyone else’s ability to focus.

But another reason teachers resign is inadequate pay and benefits. While CCSD raised the pay for new teachers, veteran educators have never received a cost-of-living raise that is commensurate with the cost of living. Health care premiums have skyrocketed and our pay has been frozen more times than I can count.

The Nevada Legislature has given CCSD an opportunity to right many of these wrongs, yet instead of helping those in the trenches, it is using the funds for administrative politics. CCSD will continue to have vacant teaching positions and student achievement will continue to suffer until district administrators and trustees recognize that they need to stop biting the hands that feed them.