VoteBYoung - Teachers

Teachers

Teaching is one of the noblest professions in our county. There is nationwide concern over the loss of quality teachers. We must ensure that Harford maintains the learning and working environment that will attract the best trained teachers available to instruct our pupils.

Fully funding the Board of Educations budget request for the 2005-2006 school year was a good start toward putting our children first. More must be done, however, to make sure that Harford has the best teachers in the state, and to put us in competition with neighboring Pennsylvania.

The starting salary for a teacher in Harford is now $36,374. To attract teachers to Harford, we must be sure that we are competitive with the benefits that our teachers receive. I will work to create a fund for special projects to be utilized by our teachers. This fund will be available for teachers to apply for grants to turn their hobbies and interests into programs to benefit students.

These programs, such as computer editing, radio broadcasting, printing, technical field development, and more will enable our teachers to better serve students, and to keep them interested in education. It will give the teachers an added sense of enjoyment and accomplishment in bringing their passions to students. These programs will distinguish Harford as a leader in innovative education.

It will also decrease workload for our teachers by making students more interested in subject matter and educational opportunities to make them more amenable in the classroom.

The return to the guidance counselors office to its former role as a negotiator, facilitator, and psychological resource for teachers will not only further help to keep students focused on learning, but will give teachers (and especially new teachers) assistance in orienting themselves to the demanding world of teaching.

Further, I would like to increase the role of faculty senates in school decisions, increasing not only the quality of the education available, but giving teachers a say in the educative process that will ultimately decrease work environment politics so that teachers may more readily focus on what they do best.

This will bring teaches into an open debate into the issues affecting education, making them an important part of the plan for how our county will act to ensure that our students have the best system possible so that they enter the world well prepared.