Sun
Jan 4 2015
11:17 am
KNS article on teacher absenteeism
By: Mike Knapp

Understanding teacher absences: Overall numbers show decline, but some schools, days see increases

Lydia McCoy at the Knoxville News Sentinel took a look at teacher absentee numbers for the last three school years plus the first semester of the 2014-2015 school year thru December 2nd. The website has a nice, sortable database of all schools.

I'd be very curious to know how that Friday before fall break absence spike compares when regressed back before the recently shortened fall break. Also a per capita absence rate to smooth out the range of teacher populations per school would be an appropriate treatment of the raw data.

Topics:
GSD's picture

Can't help but wonder....

Submitted by GSD on Sun, 2015/01/04 - 8:16pm.

...If KNS editor McElroy didn't publish this "look at those lazy work-only-9-months-out-of-the-year-glorified-babysitters-abusing-their-sick-days-to-go-on-exotoc-vacations" puff piece in order to inflame the reliably-reactionary and predictably-underinformed local populace and distract them from the increasingly-obvious bad policies emanating from the superintendent's office in the wake of THIS piece that aired on WBIR this morning?

(link...)

KC's picture

That's a given, isn't it?

Submitted by KC on Sun, 2015/01/04 - 9:51pm.
(in reply to GSD)

That's a given, isn't it?

fischbobber's picture

Among other things......

Submitted by fischbobber on Sun, 2015/01/04 - 7:03pm.

How many days were planned as opposed to last minute? How does this compare with private sector trends? How does it compare with pre-churn absentee rates? (Let's look at Lindsey, Morgan, etc.) How many of these teachers were habitually absent? If Patrick Birmingham were running the schools there would only be on full time teacher per school and the rest would be substitutes on a daily basis. The first step in achieving professionalism is to treat your people like valued professionals. The quickest way to lose it is to treat your people like replaceable underlings of no individual worth. Assuming morale IS going down the toilet and dragging professionalism with it, it's not like that's unpredictable or expected.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

*

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Mon, 2015/01/05 - 6:51am.

One teacher I know told me in recent months that teachers must increasingly use their sick days to attend professional development training events, which are required?

This didn't sound right to me (and my daughter couldn't illuminate), so I'd be interested to learn if it's correct.

GSD's picture

As a KNS teacher until the

Submitted by GSD on Mon, 2015/01/05 - 5:41pm.
(in reply to Tamara Shepherd)

As a KNS teacher until the end of last year, I never heard of anyone being MADE to use sick days to attend mandated professional development.

I remember a good bit of scuttlebutt going around last year about McIntyre wanting to discontinue the allowing of a teacher's sick days to accrue and roll over into following years, however, and I wonder if the KNS piece wasn't an advance preparation for him to try to push it through again.

I mean, why should those teachers get to keep their sick days and then get paid 100 bucks a day for them if they ever make it to retirement if they just use them to play hooky anyway, right? Bunch of lazy, irresponsible union members who don't care about kids anyway. Just their pensions and summers off and..... (sarcasm).

Call me paranoid, but I don't trust a damn thing that's printed in the News Sentinel that's related to KCS.

Min's picture

Sick leave accumulation is statutory.

Submitted by Min on Mon, 2015/01/05 - 6:46pm.
(in reply to GSD)

Teachers' unused sick days accrue from year to year and from school system to system, until the teacher leaves service, and Dr. McIntyre has no authority to amend the statutory requirement. Paying out for sick days when someone leaves the system is not a statutory requirement. The accumulated days are still available to the teacher, if she takes another qualifying job, or they can count as service days toward qualifying for retirement.

Some Tennessee school systems pay for accumulated sick leave when a teacher leaves service as a reward for longevity and good work attendance, but such a payout is purely a local prerogative.

FYI: Using sick leaves to cover professional development is a misuse of sick leave, which is only to be used for the illness, injury, or quarantine of an employee or the illness, injury, or death of a member of the employee's immediate family. Teachers receive two days a year of personal/professional leave to cover absences for either personal reasons or optional professional development. If the administration is requiring the teacher to attend the professional development, then the teacher should be paid her regular salary for that day.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

*

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Mon, 2015/01/05 - 7:56pm.
(in reply to Min)

Thanks, GSD and Min. Like I said, that report didn't seem to me to likely be correct...

I believe KCS does voluntarily pay out accumulated sick leave? And it's my vague recollection that the rate was increased to this flat $100 per day, irrespective of longevity, under Interim Superintendent Roy Mullins?

That $100 per day payout would be a rate far lower than even what a first-year teacher earns, it appears.

Mike Knapp's picture

*

Submitted by Mike Knapp on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 1:03pm.

Comparatively high HVA absence numbers due to multiple maternity leaves over last 3 years.

Mike Knapp's picture

Hooky

Submitted by Mike Knapp on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 10:07am.

McElroy weighs in...

Undoubtedly, most Knox teachers use sick leave only when needed. There's evidence, though, that a substantial minority are not so dedicated.

An analysis by Lydia McCoy, our K-12 education reporter, showed that Mondays and Fridays are when the most teachers call in sick. That's one reason that the district has to offer a bonus to hire enough subs those days.

Bad Paper Original 's picture

?

Submitted by Bad Paper Original (not verified) on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 10:44am.
(in reply to Mike Knapp)

"An analysis by Lydia McCoy, our K-12 education reporter," that is a phrase that should cause concern. Who really writes what is under Lydia's byline? McElroy, McIntyre, who? I don't think a reporter can be as uninformed as Lydia McCoy is.

For real education reporting I suggest the Focus or the Shopper.

(link...)

(link...)

peixao's picture

I wonder what the absenteeism

Submitted by peixao on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 12:50pm.
(in reply to Mike Knapp)

I wonder what the absenteeism numbers look like at the Sentinel. Or maybe for local public service sector employees.

If you get your news from those arboreal murderers, you might be unaware there's a forest.

mdonila's picture

*

Submitted by mdonila on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 2:20pm.
(in reply to peixao)

LOL. Fridays and Mondays were a big day when people would call in "sick."
We got a set number of sick days (I believe it was 10 a year) and there were some there that made sure they took every single one of them.
That said, I don't think that's really uncommon anywhere.

reform4's picture

Statistics.

Submitted by reform4 on Tue, 2015/01/13 - 11:47pm.
(in reply to mdonila)

I've heard the number of sick days taken on Mondays and Fridays might be as high as 40%!!

Shocking!!,

peixao's picture

Exactly

Submitted by peixao on Wed, 2015/01/14 - 2:17pm.
(in reply to mdonila)

I wish the Sentinel would replace the AJ Building PR stenographer with an actual reporter who went to J-school or just plain had the sense to ask a question like what those numbers look like *anyplace* else, instead of simply adopting Birmingham's disdain for those lazy, troublemaking teachers.

GSD's picture

Typical...

Submitted by GSD on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 11:37am.

Typical anti-teacher, pandering-to-the lowest-common-denominator editorial smokescreen from McElroy's rag and another transparent attempt to distract the locals from the abject failure of leadership coming from the Superintendent's office.

Lonniewood's picture

The KNS has never been a

Submitted by Lonniewood on Fri, 2015/01/16 - 1:16pm.
(in reply to GSD)

The KNS has never been a responsible or respectable paper. I thought maybe they would improve a little when McElroy came here years ago. That did not happen. He has been a huge disappointment and the KNS continues to be a terrible source for real, responsible reporting. You would think they would do more reporting on the successes of Knox County teachers rather than constantly attack them. For years Knox County Schools have gotten more bang for their buck than most systems in Tennessee. The last I looked teacher pay in Knox County ranked somewhere between 34th and 38th in the state, even though studies show Knox County is 3rd in ability to pay compared to the other school systems in the state. The KNS is a joke when it comes to being an objective and reliable source for news.

Mike Daugherty

KC's picture

Fridays or Mondays are

Submitted by KC on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 10:26pm.

Fridays or Mondays are actually good to take off if you are sick because you have longer to recuperate, or your child does. Common sense.

Min's picture

Also, if you're receiving some kind of treatment...

Submitted by Min on Mon, 2015/01/12 - 1:50pm.
(in reply to KC)

...taking off on Friday allows you two days to recuperate.

Teachers get sick a lot, because kids get sick a lot. So teachers tend to work sick through the week, until they're drive themselves into the ground, and then they take a Friday or Monday to recuperate over the weekend.

KC's picture

Yep.

Submitted by KC on Tue, 2015/01/13 - 11:40pm.
(in reply to Min)

Yep.

fischbobber's picture

Here's how you get those slackers back.........

Submitted by fischbobber on Sun, 2015/01/11 - 11:43pm.

What you do, see, is wait until they come back from chemo, and nail them for taking the whole day off.

(link...)

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