Archive: February 2006

Timelines, Highlight Required Timelines
By Steve Kaplan, UniServe Field Organizer

The bolded emphasis is to highlight required timelines. The text, but
not the bolding, is in the Contract. Itinerant Unit Member Preference
"In accordance with the provisions set forth herein, each program / department, in consultation through the program's governance team with all itinerant staff, will develop its own system for making assignments, based on the program's unique needs." Section 12.16.4

The Contract sets a number of timelines and parameters that must be
built into the system developed by each program/department. The first parameter is found in the requirement for each itinerant program / department to have a functioning governance team. Itinerant is defined in Section 3.1.12 - ""Itinerant Unit Member" is a unit member who may provide services to students of more than one (1) site and who is assigned to one (1) central office cost center." Examples include: Psychologists, Speech and Language Pathologists, District Counselors and Adaptive Physical Education Teachers.

Other timelines and parameters include:

• "Annually by March 1, itinerant unit members shall express their preferences for work schedules within the department or division, including level, program, school(s) or special interests." Section 12.16.2
  
• "The program/department head shall provide itinerant unit members with information regarding the assignment combinations anticipated for the ensuing school year by May 1." Section 12.16.3
  
• "Assignments for the ensuing school year, contingent on student enrollment, will be made by the program manager / department head by June 1." Section 12.16.4.

In addition, Section 12.16.1 requires that: "The program manager / department head shall provide itinerant staff with information regarding itinerant assignment considerations which become available throughout the school year. Interested itinerant unit members may apply for such opportunities."