Plan Time – What you need to know

October 2015

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December 2014

Fourteen (14) school days of sick leave are provided to all employees. Up to five (5) may be used for business days.

Business Leave- Each full-time teacher may use five (5) days, no more than three (3) consecutively, of leave each year for emergencies or other urgent and compelling business which cannot be conducted during non-school hours or days. If more than three (3) days are needed consecutively, the employee will make a written request to both the Superintendent or designee and the Association.

CPDU’s– Please remember to enter your CPDU’S on the ISBE website within 60 days of completing an eligible activity.

Transfer Request

A teacher requesting a change in teaching assignment for the following year must make a written request to the Assistant Superintendent by February 1^st. In the event of a change in the building principal, teachers may request a transfer in accordance with this paragraph for a two week period following the announcement of the new principal.

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November 2014

Oops?
Please remember that up to 5 days may be added to the school calendar at the end of the year for snow/cold weather events during the school year. Please consider this when making your end of the year plans

CPDU’s– Please remember to enter your CPDU’S on the ISBE website within 60 days of completing an eligible activity.

Sick leave– will be interpreted to mean personal illness, quarantine at home or serious illness in the immediate family or household. “Immediate family” includes parents, spouse, civil union partner, brothers, sisters, children, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, legal guardians, step-children, grandparents-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews. Sick leave can be used for the birth, adoption or placement for adoption of a child as set forth in Section 24-6 of the School Code of Illinois.
Religious Observance Leave– Pursuant to the application of state law, teachers who decide not to use their business days and who desire to take time off from work in order to practice religious beliefs will be permitted to engage in work during hours other than the employee’s regular working hours, consistent with the operational needs of the District, and in order to compensate for work time lost for religious reasons. Please review the contract for additional information

Evening Events– Staff will not be required to attend more than five (5) evening activities.

September 2014

•Each District 54 teacher received a copy of the agreement between the Schaumburg Education Association and the Board of Education. If you have not received a copy of your contract, please contact the Human Resources.

•Our school district has partnered with Workplace Solutions Employee Assistance Program. The WSEAP offers counseling, work-life and legal-financial assistance.

•Sick Leave/Business Leave- Fourteen school days of sick leave are provided to all employees. Up to 5 of those days may be used for business leave. A staff member may not use more than 3 of these days consecutively.

•Inappropriate Use of Sick Leave (Article VII, B) Each teacher may take no more than two of the following days as sick leave without penalty:
-The day before or after a holiday/school break
-The following specific/unique work days: In-service days, Institute days, the day after the Super Bowl
-Any Monday or Friday after Spring Break
Upon the third such occasion, the sick leave will only be approved upon the receipt of written documentation by a health care provider identifying the cause of the illness and the date the member was treated or other written documentation that the Superintendent or designee deems acceptable. This documentation…..

•As many as 5 evening meeting/presentations can be expected per school year. Included in these 5 evenings are Curriculum Night and Parent Conferences. (The evening parent conference requirements are eliminated for Elementary Fine Arts and PE teachers.)
•Salary Schedule- At the beginning of each school year SEA Member’s should review their salary, incentive pay, sick days and contributions. This information may be obtained by visiting your employee portal.

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May 2014

Teachers will arrive prior to the start of school and be prepared to instruct students and stay until the students are dismissed and student supervision duties have been completed. In order to meet the needs of parent and student schedules there might be an occasional meeting scheduled before or after school. These meetings will not be regularly scheduled and all involved teachers will actively participate in the scheduling of these occasional meetings.

A teacher will be given notice of assignments for the forthcoming year no later than seventy-five calendar days preceding the first day of the new school term. In the event changes in such assignments are proposed, the teacher affected will be notified promptly and consulted. In no event will changes in the teacher’s assignments be made later than sixty calendar days preceding the commencement of the next school term unless an emergency situation requires same. In the event of such emergency, the teacher will be notified, and allowed to resign if such change is not acceptable.

Bereavement Leave

In the event of death in the immediate family of a teacher, that teacher will be granted absence without loss of pay for three days. Approval must come from the Superintendent or designee. Such absence will not be deducted from a teacher’s sick leave. If additional time is needed, the employee must secure the Superintendent’s or designee’s approval. If such a request is granted, the teacher may be given up to five additional days to be taken from the teacher’s sick leave. For the purpose of this provision, immediate family includes: parents, spouse, civil union partner, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, legal guardians, step-children, grandparents-in-law, step-parents, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews.

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SEA Contract Tidbits February 2014

Plan Time

All teachers will receive weekly plan time. Plan time is defined as classroom plan time, team plan time and Wednesday professional development time

Classroom plan time is defined as time spent preparing for daily instruction, making accommodations for students, contacting parents, assessing student work and preparing lesson plans. Classroom plan time is directed by the teacher.

Team plan time is defined as time spent meeting with colleagues who work with students focusing on reviewing and analyzing individual and group academic and behavior. Planning for differentiated instruction and interventions is done during team plan time. Team plan time may be directed/utilized to meet the needs/responsibilities of the teachers comprising the team, the school improvement plan, school administrator and/or school district.

Wednesday professional development time is directed by the School Leadership Team. In elementary schools at least thirty (30) minutes of each Wednesday professional development will be scheduled to be used as team plan time. Schools will be given flexibility to combine the blocks of professional development and team plan time. Any team time that is used will be added to another Wednesday professional development within a month.

How Plan Time is Specific to YOU

Elementary general education teachers will be provided with two hundred forty (240) minutes of plan time each week which includes thirty (30) minutes of team plan time during Wednesday professional development time. Other elementary certified staff will be provided with at least two hundred ten (210) minutes of flexible plan time each week which includes thirty (30) minutes of team plan time during Wednesday professional development time. Part-time teachers will receive a pro-rated amount of planning minutes. Every attempt will be made to provide this time in increments of at least fifteen (15) minutes.

Elementary teachers will have a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) classroom plan time minutes per week out of their total planning minutes. Every attempt will be made to provide a plan time each day of the week.

Library Resource Teachers (LRTs) will be provided with two hundred forty (240) minutes of plan time each week. Any additional time will be spent on what best meets the needs of students and maintaining the functions of the LRC. This will be decided jointly between the LRT and the school principal.

Self-contained special education teachers of students in Grades 1-6 whose students are not in Art, Music or P.E. as a class will be provided two hundred ten (210) minutes of …

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SEA Contract Tidbits December 2013

Fourteen (14) school days of sick leave are provided to all employees. Up to five (5) may be used for business days.

Sick Leave- will be interpreted to mean personal illness, quarantine at home or serious illness in the immediate family or household. “Immediate family” includes parents, spouse, civil union partner, brothers, sisters, children, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, legal guardians, step-children, grandparents-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews. Sick leave can be used for the birth, adoption or placement for adoption of a child as set forth in Section 24-6 of the School Code of Illinois.

Transfer Request

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SEA Contract Tidbits November 2013

Are you aware?

That beginning next year staff absentee rates of more than 10 days per year will be reflected on the School’s State Report Card.

Sick Leave Bank-The intent of this plan is to provide extended sick leave, to Sick Leave Bank members who by reason of personal illness exceed their available personal sick leave days. To be eligible, a teacher must authorize the donation of one (1) or more sick days to the bank on the form provided (see Appendix C). A member is entitled to a lifetime maximum of ninety (90) days from the Sick Leave Bank. For further Sick Leave Bank details consult your SEA Contract, Article VII-Leave)

Jury Duty – In the event a teacher is selected to serve on a jury during the school year, the Board will continue to pay the teacher’s full salary for the period the teacher is on jury duty.

Judicial Hearing Leave – Any teacher who is subpoenaed to appear before legal and quasi-legal review panels as a witness in a proceeding in which the teacher is not involved as a principal will be provided leave and will receive no pay deduction.

Bereavement Leave – In the event of death in the immediate family of a teacher, that teacher will be granted absence without loss of pay for three (3) days. Approval must come from the Superintendent or designee. Such absence will not be deducted from a teacher’s sick leave. If additional time is needed, the employee must secure the Superintendent’s or designee’s approval. If such a request is granted, the teacher may be given up to five (5) additional days to be taken from the teacher’s sick leave. For the purpose of this provision, immediate family includes: parents, spouse, civil union partner, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, legal guardians, step-children, grandparents-in-law, step-parents, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews.

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SEA Contract Tidbits September 2013

-You have the right for union representation at any meeting with your administrator that you believe might result in disciplinary action. You the employee must request such representation. Administrators are aware of your rights to representation.

–Fourteen school days of sick leave are provided to all employees. Up to 5 of those days may be used for personal business days. No more than three days consecutively.

-“Volunteering for assignments (duties) outside their regular classroom duties will not be expected by the Administration during their first two years of employment. This does not preclude a new teacher from volunteering.

-“A teacher has the right to make and receive personal communications, provided that there is no interference w/ classroom instruction or w/ classroom performance.” BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OF THIS CONTRACTUAL CLAUSE. District Email is property of the school district! Any thing you do on their email is theirs. Dismissal has resulted nationally for use of personal email, Facebook, Twitter etc… BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL!!!

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SEA Contract Tidbits May 2013

Complaints by a Parent against a Teacher

will be promptly called to the attention of the teacher.

The following procedure will be followed when a parent makes complaint about a teacher:

Step 1. The administrator will confer with the teacher in a timely fashion to determine the nature, complainant and accuracy of the complaint.

Step 2. The administrator will determine the need to gain additional information, clarification or interpretation. If the administrator determines that the parent declines to put the complaint in writing, the administrator may seek to document or corroborate the complaint through other sources or means.

Step 3. Upon completion of Step 2, the administrator will inform the teacher in a timely fashion of the disposition of the matter.

Step 4. If the parent’s complaint is in writing, the administrator will inform the teacher in a timely fashion of their right to examine it and to attach thereto any dissenting material in the event the administrator decides to place the complaint in the official personnel file.

Step 5. Although a teacher may decline to respond to a complaint, the administrator will request the teacher to sign any complaint(s) or statement(s) regarding complaints prior to its (their) being placed in the teacher’s file. The signature will verify that the teacher has seen the statement but does not indicate agreement with any allegations contained therein.

The Right to Review Your Personnel File

Each teacher will have the right to examine any of the following documents in their
personnel file within two (2) working days after making a request:

Teacher’s certificate; Transcript of college grades; Letters from parents; Evaluations of professional performance and any response in written form made by the teacher; Clippings from newspapers or periodicals; and any other information which could be used as a basis for discipline, reemployment, demotion, promotion, assignment, termination, transfer or for determining the salary of the teacher.

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SEA Contract Tidbits Feb. 2013

Plan Time

All teachers will receive weekly plan time. Plan time is defined as:
•   classroom plan time
•   team plan time
•   Wednesday professional development time.
Classroom plan time is defined as: time spent preparing for daily instruction, making accommodations for students, contacting parents, assessing student work and preparing lesson plans. Classroom plan time is directed by the teacher.
Team plan time is defined: as time spent meeting with colleagues who work with students focusing on reviewing and analyzing individual and group academic and behavior. Planning for differentiated instruction and interventions is done during team plan time. Team plan time may be directed/utilized to meet the needs/responsibilities of the teachers comprising the team, the school improvement plan, school administrator and/or school district.
Wednesday professional development time is directed by the School Leadership Team. In elementary schools at least thirty (30) minutes of each Wednesday professional development will be scheduled to be used as team plan time. Schools will be given flexibility to combine the blocks of professional development and team plan time. Any team time that is used will be added to another Wednesday professional development within a month.

Plan time minutes allocation… SEA Contract p.21

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Inappropriate Use of Sick Leave *Special attention

Each teacher is responsible for the appropriate use of sick leave. Inappropriate use of sick leave occurs when a teacher uses sick leave for unauthorized purposes or misrepresents the actual reason for the absence.

Inappropriate use may also occur when a teacher establishes a pattern of sick leave usage on the day before or after holidays, school breaks, unique work days, Mondays and Fridays to extend the weekend.

Each teacher may take no more than two (2) of the following days as sick leave without penalty:

The day before or after a holiday/school break, the following specific/unique work days: In-service Days, Institute Days, *the day after the Super Bowl, any Monday after Spring Break and any Friday after Spring Break.

Upon the third such occasion, the sick leave will only be approved upon the receipt of written documentation by a health care provider identifying the cause of the illness and the date the member was treated or other written documentation that the Superintendent or designee deems acceptable. This documentation must be provided to the District

Transfer Request