Our union sent us Frequently Asked Questions covering the extended time Mondays and Tuesdays.
For those who have great professional development and are working collaboratively with administration to make positive use of the extended time on Monday and Tuesday, please tell us how you are doing it. For everyone else, may Monday and Tuesday afternoons pass very quickly.
We have advice for anyone in the latter group: figure out how to become a multi-session school so you don't have to bother with any of this.
The UFT's Frequently Asked Questions:
Repurposed Workday FAQ
In response to the many questions about the repurposed time in the workday, we’ve assembled the following FAQ to provide answers. For more information about the repurposed time, you can check the Contract 2014 section of the UFT website.Who does the repurposed workday apply to?
It applies only to all classroom teachers (including speech teachers and Hearing Education Services teachers) and paraprofessionals in single-session schools unless a school has adopted a school-based option on the reconfiguration of time. Teachers and paras are the only staff required to do Professional Development, Parent Engagement and Other Professional Work during the repurposed time.
Does the repurposed workday apply to guidance counselors, school psychologists and social workers, OTs and PTs, school secretaries, lab specialists, school nurses and supervisors of nurses/therapists?
No, it does not apply. People in those titles work the same number of hours and minutes each day and they do the same work during that time as they always have.
Title | Length of Workday |
| Guidance Counselors | 6 hours, 30 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| Lab Specialists | 6 hours, 30 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| OTs/PTs | 6 hours, 25 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| School Psychologists | 6 hours, 50 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| School Nurses | 6 hours, 25 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| School Secretaries | 7 hours, 20 minutes (including lunch period same length as teachers) |
| Social Workers | 6 hours, 50 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
| Supervisors of Nurses/Therapists | 7 hours, 10 minutes (exclusive of lunch) |
What is the schedule for the Professional Development, Parent Engagement and Other Professional Work time?
All single-session schools, except those that have adopted a school-based option to change their schedules, will have the following schedule:
Monday: There is an 80-minute block of time immediately following the school day that will be used for Professional Development. If less than the entire 80 minutes is used for Professional Development on a given day, the remaining time will be used for Other Professional Work. This period of time ends exactly 80 minutes after the end of the school day.
Tuesday: There is a 75-minute block of time immediately following the school day, 40 minutes of which is for parent engagement and 35 minutes for Other Professional Work. This period of time ends 75 minutes after the end of the school day. Paraprofessionals are only required to work the first 70 of the 75 minutes of this block.
For single-session schools that have not adopted an SBO on the reconfiguration of time, the school day plus the repurposed time must be between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and between 8 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Can IEP conferences be scheduled during Parent Engagement time?
Yes, but only if all staff required to be at the IEP conferences are present. No one in job titles other than teachers can be required to attend IEP meetings during this time.
Can IEP conferences be scheduled during Other Professional Work time?
No.
Who has to attend the four evening parent-teacher conferences (the back-to-school night in September plus regular conferences in November, March and May)?
All school-based teachers in single-session schools plus all guidance counselors, school social workers and psychologists in single-session schools must attend these four evening conferences. Paraprofessionals are among those who are not required to attend.
How long are these four evening parent-teacher conferences?
For teachers, they are three hours each. Guidance counselors, school social workers and psychologists attend for three hours in September and March and for the first two hours and 10 minutes of the conferences in November and May.
Do all schools have the two additional evening parent-teacher conferences in September and May?
No, only single-session schools hold them.
now im confused
ReplyDeleteI dare to say that the majority of the teachers will be extremely exhausted by the end of November and the number of teachers out sick (exhaustion/frustration) will be an all time high by January or February because of those ridiculous PDs on Mondays and Tuesdays.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if many members will finally feel the regret of voting for this absurd contract by the time for the next UFT election?
After Thanksgiving, schools will run out of PD ideas and it will turn into a pure waste of time-which it is already is. Don't be surprised if the city and UFT agree on changing this part of the contract sometime later this year or next September at the latest.
ReplyDeleteUnder the old contract we had 150 extra minutes. Now we have 155. Why?
ReplyDeleteThe extra 5 min for teachers plus the 2 extra three hour PTC and the extra 30 minutes to the regular PTC's come from the minutes from the now gone after school Faculy and Grade Conferences
DeleteAs ATRs are not school based teachers, they don't have to do the parent conferences?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on if you are in a single session school or not.
DeleteATRs need to stay for the parent conferences COME ON guys be serious Why would you take that CHANCE AND LEAVE AND THEN BE BROUGHT UP ON CHARGES OF INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR .ITS NOT WORTH IT STAY AND DO NOT LEAVE YOURSELF OPEN TO ANY CHARGES
ReplyDeleteMy school uses the time for PD effectively. We have workshops that adresses the needs of students in different areas. I recently suggested one for Excel because I believe it's very much needed to analyze instructional groups and interchange as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteWhat school?
ReplyDeleteThe Head in the Clouds Academy.
ReplyDeleteIn my school it is a waste of time and money. We have a multi session time school because our middle school starts 10 minutes earlier/gets out 10 minutes earlier than the elementary school. So the day starts for the elementary students at 8:20 and ends at 2:40 every day! Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday teachers stay till 3:05 to meet with parents/paper work. Tuesday we stay till 3:40 for PD. So much teaching time lost to the day. It is seriously going to hinder the students progress. I can't wait to see what happens to the tests scores next year. No amount of PD is going to give back the time we lost.
ReplyDeleteHeres my plan for the monday/tuesday teacher detention:
ReplyDeletezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
That will cost you with certain administrators. Can you sleep and look like you are awake?
DeleteYes. I had my eyelids tattooed with pictures of eye balls. Now I can sleep through hours of PD
ReplyDelete"Hey, let's make test scores the only real criteria to rate teachers!!!"
ReplyDelete"Hey, let's give them less time with students!!!"
Perfect.
Can administrators make teachers prepare and present the pd's to the rest of the staff? I have a funny feeling that will be happening sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteWe actually use the time effectively. Once a month is a school-wide PD and the rest of the time is used for work in teacher teams. Our admins are pretty flexible about letting us choose what we want our team to focus on during that time, as long as we can show some kind of work product every now and then (i.e., the APs want something to show so they can cover their asses when they are asked by higher ups how they know we've actually done something with the time).
ReplyDeleteSounds enlightened.
Delete"(exclusive of lunch)" means those people don't take lunch breaks? How does that work? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt means the 6hr 30min does not include their lunch break. So it could be 6hr 30min plus 50 min of lunch so they work 7hr 20min.
ReplyDeleteTeachers in my school would rather sit through mind-numbing admin-driven PD than have to prepare a PD while still teaching a full schedule of classes and having to administer new teacher evaluation processes.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame them one bit. We didn't ask for more PD on top of all the other work we do.
Do you know what PD used to be? It was experienced teachers and an experienced AP providing tips and knowledge and help to new teachers throughout the days and years.
This new crap is simply extra work dictated by non-educators.
Farina says P.D. cures aids and cancer.
DeleteThis looks like MORE WHINING to me (see what I did there?). Everyone who visits me at 52 tells me they love the extra PD. It empowers teachers by giving them more PD. So kindly stop telling us what you think, and start echoing what we think. We work better under those circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThat will be all.