Article 8
December 15, 2009
Dear Members,
It is the position of SVVEA that professional educators have the obligation to remain current with best practice and we encourage all educators to take advantage of enhancing and furthering their skill sets by means which are at the professional discretion of each individual. We must all take personal responsibility in honing our skills and our craft which will ensure the best teaching and learning. That is a true mark of a great teacher.
However, I have been hearing myriad issues and concerns regarding the assigning of homework by the principals, which is against the Master Agreement. Here are your contract obligations.
Your contract day is 7 hours
Thirty minute duty-free lunch
Two hours of Professional Development
Eight Late Start Days
An obligation to attend a back to school night
An obligation to attend parent/teacher conferences
A principal cannot assign any work to be done outside those contracted times. They cannot assign a book to be read outside contract hours; they cannot assign work to be done which requires outside the contract time in which to get it done; they cannot assign a book to be read outside the contract hours and then expect you to present it to colleagues at a PD meeting or Late Start.
The time outside the seven hour contract day is your time; it is not time belonging to the district except under the circumstances described above.
As always, a teacher can volunteer to read a book, can volunteer to present to colleagues, can volunteer to read a suggested article-BUT the principal cannot assign it or mandate it.
They can suggest, but they cannot hold you accountable or hold you to any kind of expectations other than to offer possibilities of articles to read at your professional discretion. Then it is totally up to you whether you choose to read the articles or books.
If this is happening, please contact SVVEA if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Jerri Modrall
President, SVVEA
303-772-3666
Let’s look specifically at Article 8.1 and 8.8.
Article 8—Teacher Hours and Work Loads
Article 8.1:
The work day for teachers shall be seven hours which shall include preparation periods as described in Articles 8.4 and 8.5 below. In addition to the seven-hour day, each teacher shall receive a continuous duty-free lunch period of at least 30 minutes, but not exceed 60 minutes.
You have the right to a duty free lunch of at least 30 minutes. This statement gives you the authority to say no to meetings, committee work, watching kids, or anything else related to school activities at this time. OR, you have the authority to leave the building if you choose as long as you inform your building principal:
Article 8.8:
Teachers shall have the right to leave their school during their duty-free lunch period after notifying their principal, or their principal’s designee.
If you find these are being violated, please let the office know. We can help.
Thanks!
Jerri Modrall
President, SVVEA
303-772-3666