We all know certain things occur outside contracted hours. Family events, open house, staff meetings, etc. what is reasonable? We have an extended school day. Calendar is a nightmare for next year and wasn’t voted on by the public (done in secret by the board). It is increasing instructional time by 7%. We are losing over 20 annual leave days as we follow a modified year round. We lost conference days, extra time at spring and winter break. We also have to return 1.5 weeks earlier than previous years. Nobody is clear why or what we are supposed to do with *three weeks* of teacher workdays before school even starts. Additionally, one special area teacher per grade for a 6 week rotation. That means no grade level planning can occur during the instructional day. It must be done before or afterschool. This has caused great debate as some view this as a required part of our contract- to stay late and arrive early. I have coworkers who work 6am to 6pm. They say I’m not doing what is required of me in my contract. Planning is part of the job and I am not fulfilling it. We get a one hour break daily, it’s great! I’m used to 25 minutes during lunch if that. Why can’t teams use that as one day to plan together?? But is technically considered “off the clock” due to our extended day. This is why we have one special area per grade to assist in covering lunch and recess time. considering our contracts include essential “whatever it needs to get the job done”, who/what determines what is reasonable? I have a start and end time. I strongly believe team planning time should be included as part of a regular schedule. <I’m looking at having to give up a second job, which provides tutoring to my children, a therapy appt, taking my kids to dance and school. I’m not OK. I didn’t have kids to not see them grow up and enjoy life with them. >
Everywhere I've been has been on an extended or otherwise wonky schedule, but I've had very different demands on my time. One was 7-4, but we got 90 min of plan per day. Everyone else got 30 min duty-free lunch; I didn't because I had to travel between buildings on mine. Our dept. plan/meeting had to be held outside of those hours. It was unpleasant. If team meet/plan is expected/demanded of you, then it should be included. Anything that would require consistently over 40 hours should be included in the timetable. Of course we all know it's almost impossible to get everything done during plan, but the tradeoff is that anything extra is done at our leisure, not when admin/the board dictates. If I want to grade at 4, I grade at 4. If I want to grade at 11, I grade at 11. If the new demanded working hours are longer than last year, it's only just that pay reflect that. Time is money. One potential work-around might be to do virtual meets. Even now that we are able to have staff meetings in person, we have the option to join virtually if you have a reason to leave the building. I have a second job and everyone knows it, so if I'm working later that evening, I join via zoom. Same for the ones with kids to pick up. It's still a demand on your time, but it's easier to work in other needs that way.
