Is this really one of Walton County's Teachers?

[Jdarg]

Someone mentioned that principals hire the teachers. I also understand that we have a Human Resources director. It seems to me that the HR director should review all applications and find the most qualified candidates before principals unilaterally hires a teacher. Walton county seems to hire the least experienced, least qualified people. I also feel that the board members should also review the applications. They are getting paid for serving on the board. They need to earn their keep. Sorry, but this whole incident doesn't pass the smell test. Somebody outside the inner circle needs to investigate this and the entire recruiting and hiring process. I would even go so far as to have an audit of the school district conducted by an independent auditor with no connections to state government agencies. From what I can see the Florida DOE is about as useless as the UN.

I am sure you don't mean to generalize, but your statement about the teachers in Walton County is just ugly and unfounded. I am sure there are exceptions, but so many of the teachers are excellent, have advanced degrees, years of experience, devote long hours, and care about our kids. Just like in every profession (and in every school), there are a few bad apples in every bunch, but to say that all the teachers are not experienced or qualified shows that you don't have a clue about what you are talking about, and is completely disrespectful to those teachers who are wonderful and working their tails off. People like you are such a great asset to the community- keep up the good work!

To the Walton County teachers and support staff- please know that you are appreciated by most of the parents, students, and community!

 

[Beach Runner]

As an educator in another state, I feel badly for the educators in Walton County who have been insulted in this thread. Teaching K-12 is a demanding job, and in general most of those who teach this age group do it because they love teaching children and molding young lives. As in any profession, there are always exceptions.

If some of you feel that "Walton county seems to hire the least experienced, least qualified people," you have some options if you have children in Walton County schools. You could become engaged in making things better by joining parent groups. If you feel unempowered in terms of making a change, you could research locations in which students do well on nationally-normed tests, for example, and move there. These are just a couple of options, not all-inclusive.

 

[meggiemom]

Does someone have some statistics? What about the percentage of teachers with graduate degrees and some numbers on years of experience teaching. I know that Walton Schools have had a big turnover in it's teachers. Some of my kids had great teachers in elementary school and they're no longer teaching and they can't seem to get rehired. Why is that? I wish I could afford to send mine to a good private school.

 

[pelican41]

FLDOE
School Public Accountability Reports
You can search and compare each school's statistics, including teacher experience and degrees, from 2002-2013.


http://doeweb-prd.doe.state.fl.us/eds/nclbspar/index.cfm

 

[ricky bobby]

I'm a product of South Walton High. I spent four years there. I made lots of friends and had lots of fun. I had some good teachers and some not so good teachers. I saw changes and from what my friends tell me the changes weren't always good. I managed to stay out of trouble and made pretty good grades. And I saw a lot going on that some of you probably don't want to know about.

 

[Misty]

I don't feel badly at all for the teacher who was "outed" in this thread. Had she loved teaching and molding young lives as much as she loved drugs, she would assuredly have made better personal choices.

Parents in Walton County have never been encouraged or empowered and no where is it more apparent than at school board meetings. HISTORICALLY, meetings are poorly attended, partly because they are held at times that are inconvenient or nearly impossible for working parents to attend and if the Board doesn't want to hear your concerns they have (in the not so distant past) limited a parents ability to speak or voice concerns. Mrs. Anderson has also been known to use fear and intimidation tactics to silence opposition to her gestapo like decision making practices but in fairness, she has had great teachings from many of her predecessors.

You make moving elsewhere sound so idyllic BeachRunner but for the working poor/retired which, makes up the majority of North Walton, that simply is not an option but it is a very republican attitude.

 

[j p nettles]

The intent of this thread was not to criticize the good teachers in the schools. I recognize that there are good teachers. The point is that Mrs. Anderson is no longer recruiting the BEST teachers available and I know for a fact that the best teachers are routinely passed over. They are not even called in for interviews. And if the apologists for Mrs. Anderson and the board question this fact, perhaps the ones who are tight with the chairman and the superintendent could get some answers. Nobody else can. Maybe Mark Davis could let somebody know how many applications the school had for the math teacher who was "outed". It also appears that there are additional "independent contractors" that are to be hired as "part time teachers". I guess the Sunshine Law applies to everyone but the Walton County School district.

 

[Beach Runner]

I voted for Obama.

 

[Misty]

I voted for Obama.

Lots of republicans did.

 

[Misty]

The intent of this thread was not to criticize the good teachers in the schools. I recognize that there are good teachers. The point is that Mrs. Anderson is no longer recruiting the BEST teachers available and I know for a fact that the best teachers are routinely passed over. They are not even called in for interviews. And if the apologists for Mrs. Anderson and the board question this fact, perhaps the ones who are tight with the chairman and the superintendent could get some answers. Nobody else can. Maybe Mark Davis could let somebody know how many applications the school had for the math teacher who was "outed". It also appears that there are additional "independent contractors" that are to be hired as "part time teachers". I guess the Sunshine Law applies to everyone but the Walton County School district.

When I had a child in the Walton County School system Mark Davis was the lone school board member I could actually depend on to listen to my concerns. These days however, his plate runneth over and he is neck deep in County politics. I do still feel he is a good man with way to much on his mind to be as effective as I believe he once was in the district.