Archive: April 2006

Elementary Modified Day Prep Time
By Steve Kaplan, UniServe Field Organizer

The contract guarantees modified day preparation time at elementary
schools. This is covered in Article 8, Section 8.6.6 of the contract.
Section 8.6.6.1 states the frequency of required modified day prep
time. The two keys provisions are: that one to three modified days
per month "will be set aside for elementary prep time"; and prep time
will be provided "a minimum of one-half of the available modified
days in a school year."

Other key points in Section 8.6.6 include:

• Selection of the specific days set aside for prep time
  requires "consultation with the classroom teacher." Section 8.6.6.2
• On designated prep times, "the site shall not schedule
  required meetings or conferences." Section 8.6.6

Each site should be counting the number of days set aside for prep
time. Create a calendar of each modified day during the school year.
Log whether or not meetings were scheduled. Remember, some meetings
may impact only a portion of the staff. Examples might include
governance team meetings, grade-level meetings or conferences. For
each staff member make sure a minimum of one-half of the modified
days have been used exclusively for prep time. SDEA has filed
grievances establishing that parent conferences, pre-school meetings
and governance team meetings cannot occur on a modified day set aside
for prep time. In addition, an open house is a required meeting and
therefore cannot occur on a modified day set aside for prep time.

What to do if there are too many scheduled meetings on modified days?
Bring the evidence to your administrator and work on an amended
schedule for the balance of the year that provides the required prep
days. If the meeting doesn't resolve the problem, contact the SDEA
office.