Article VIII -- Teacher Assignments
1. No later than sixty (60) days before the end of the school year, the Teacher
Preference Form (Exhibit G) shall be distributed to all teachers and returned
no later than ten (10) schools days thereafter.
1a. The talents and professional skills and experience of the individual teacher in
conjunction with the preference forms shall be the basis upon which assignments
shall be honored, where possible.
1b. The department head shall consider the rotation of qualified persons within an
academic field in matters of assigning teachers to special, honor, vo-tech, and
various track sections.
1c. No later than June 1, the department head shall discuss with each member of the
department his/her tentative recommendations to the Office of Academic
Affairs including subject, grade level(s), track level(s), or any special
grouping. At this time, the teacher shall be informed of his/her tentative service
period and homeroom assignment, if known. It must be understood that these
recommendations are tentative in nature and subject to change.
1d. Where preferences on the Teacher Preference Form (Exhibit G) are not assigned,
the administrator and the department head at the local school shall discuss the
reasons. If requested by the teacher, the department head will inform the teacher
of the specific reasons the course preferences were not assigned. If requested by
the teacher, the appropriate administrator shall inform the teacher of the
specific reasons all other preferences were not assigned.
1e. The administration is responsible for the final decision.
2. Teachers shall receive a complete roster thirty (30) days prior to the first day of
school. In those schools where it is not possible to do so, the school must
indicate this in writing to the System with a copy to the Association thirty (30)
days prior to the first day of school.
Complete roster shall be defined as including:
- Subject area, grade level, track level, any special
groupings, academically talented, accelerated, honor or
seminar sections and the approximate number of students
in each of these classes
- Service period assignments
- Rostered lunch period
- Homeroom
- Preparation period
- Room assignment.
In the event complete rosters as enumerated above are not available, teachers
shall receive thirty (30) days notice of the subject area, grade level, and any other
of the above information available at this time.
2a. Any change in a teacher's roster between the time the roster is received by the
teacher and the opening of school can be done only after the teacher is informed.
3. A teacher's roster may be changed after the opening of school only for serious
and compelling reasons and only after consultation with the teacher.
4. Teachers shall not be assigned to teach subjects outside their field of competency,
unless agreed to in writing by the teacher and the System and witnessed by a
representative of the Association. Competency shall be determined as
demonstrated by academic background which shall mean eighteen (18) minimum
semester hours of college credit or teaching experience in the subject which shall
normally mean two (2) or more years.
For teachers hired after September 1, 1982, academic background shall mean
twenty-four (24) minimum semester hours of college credit.
If a teacher is declaring a competency, transcript documentation must be
provided. If necessary, course description for competency verification must be provided.
If necessary, a teacher with fewer than the required number of credits for
competency may be employed on a provisional basis. The teacher shall not
acquire competency or eligibility for tenure until the required number of credits is
acquired or the provisional status is removed. The teacher shall have
three (3) years to fulfill this obligation; otherwise he/she shall be terminated.
If an opening occurs in an individual school in an area in which a provisional
teacher has competency, the provisional teacher shall be offered the position.
The number of academic credits needed for specific competencies will be printed on the
Competency Form.
In cases such as Science, World Language, Business and Technology Education,
and Health and Physical Education there are specific competencies such as:
Science (Biology, Physical Science, Physics, etc.); World Language (French,
Spanish, etc.); Business and Technology Education (Academic, Skilled and
Business Technology).
Health and Physical Education competencies will follow state certification
regulation or twenty-four (24) credits in each of Health and Physical Education or
two (2) years diocesan secondary teaching experience in each of Health and Physical Education.
Provisional Teachers
4a. Should a provisional teacher become full-time in his/her competency (three (3) or
more periods in the area of competency), the provisional status will be removed
from his/her record. The fact that the opening may be in the teacher's present
school or another school has no relevance.
None of the provisional years of teaching in a field outside the teacher's area of
competency shall be counted toward competency in that subject area.
A provisional teacher cannnot be hired to fill a roster as long as an experienced
teacher with competency in the major area remains unemployed.
4b. A constricted provisional teacher's date of hire will determine his/her eligibility to bump into his/her competency or select a position in another school.
If a constricted provisional teacher is placed in another school in the teacher's area
of competency, and the teacher's original roster becomes available at the original
school, the provisional status will be reinstated if the teacher returns to the original school.
A provisional teacher has three (3) years in which to acquire competency in
his/her provisional area. Should a teacher be hired provisionally after the opening
of school, this three (3) year period shall be extended to the end of the semester in
which he/she was hired. At the end of each school year, the teacher shall forward
to the System a copy of the transcript indicating the number of credits successfully
earned toward competency in the provisional area.
The six (6) teaching semesters of evaluation for tenure shall include up to three
(3) teaching semesters of evaluation while the teacher held provisional status.
5. Teachers may not be assigned more than three (3) consecutive teaching periods
nor more than four (4) consecutive teaching and service periods combined.
6. Teachers shall not be assigned classes which require more than two (2)
preparations. A preparation is defined according to difference in subject area and
grade level. Every effort shall be made not to place an undue burden on the
teacher by assigning multiple subject areas and grade levels. Multiple track
designations shall only be assigned for serious and compelling reasons. Four (4)
tracks in any subject area or grade level is two (2) preparations. Advanced
Placement courses are not considered a separate preparation. However, the
teaching of an Advanced Placement class is voluntary unless academic necessity
demands otherwise.
7. No teacher's total teaching load may vary by more than eleven percent
(11%) from the average teaching load in that school for that subject area and grade
level, excluding special program classes or where the requirements of scheduling
make it unavoidable. Where possible, there will be an equitable distribution
regarding the number of students assigned to a teacher in an academic area. The
System retains the right to determine class size.
The maximum class size in major subject areas will be be thirty-three (33) with a
corridor of three (3). The total teaching load will be one hundred seventy (170)
with a corridor of five (5).
7a. Effective September 1, 2007, the maximum number of students in homeroom shall not exceed thirty-five (35) students.
8. It is agreed that the above requirements may be altered only where the teacher
voluntarily agrees according to the provisions of Article XVI, Sections 1 and 1a
in which case the Volunteer Form shall accompany the roster, or in cases of grave
necessity in which event the Principal or his/her designee shall provide the
opportunity to discuss the situation with the teacher concerned.
A teacher may agree to complete a Volunteer Form at the time he/she is informed
by the administration of his/her tentative roster. If there are no changes to the
roster between this time and thirty (30) days prior to the opening of school, the
signed Volunteer Form shall remain in force.
The System shall forward to the Association a copy of all Volunteer Forms sent
at the same time that the rosters are mailed.
Signed copies of the Volunteer Forms and the reasons therefore shall be
forwarded to the Association by September 30. If no such action has been taken
in the local school, the System shall notify the Association to that effect.
9. A reduced or modified teaching schedule on the local level may be offered to
those lay teachers who have reached age fifty-five (55) and have twenty-five (25)
years of service in the System, except as modified by Article I, Section 1b.
9a. A request for consideration of a modified schedule for a teacher shall
be initiated on the local level by the Senior Delegate and/or the Association no
later than May 1. The decision by the System shall be made only after
consultation among the parties involved, including the teacher, the local
school administration, and the Association representatives. A list of those
teachers on a reduced or modified schedule shall be forwarded to the Association
by September 30.
9b. The provisions of Sections 9 and 9a shall be without prejudice to individual teachers.
9c. The reduced or modified teaching schedule shall consist of three (3) periods, three
(3) teaching or two (2) teaching and one (1) service period. The teacher shall not
be assigned a homeroom.
9d. Any teacher receiving a reduced roster or modified teaching schedule shall be
treated as a full time teacher in all respects except salary. The teacher shall
receive one-half (1/2) of his/her annual salary. As with those teachers on
sabbatical leave, teachers on a reduced roster will have their
salary counted as full for pension purposes.
9e. Any teacher desiring to return to a full time roster may do so only by mutual
agreement between the Association and the System.
10. Lay teachers who are assigned as assistants to the Assistant Principals
of Academic Affairs, Student Services, Student Affairs, Student Life or Guidance
Director, and where such assignment requires work beyond the school day, shall
be compensated, not necessarily in a financial manner, as mutually agreed to in
writing by the teacher in consultation with the Association or its designee and the
Principal in consultation with the System. Said agreement shall be in writing with
a copy forwarded to the Association.
11. Any pilot school proposal/program will be addressed by both the Association and
the System. The System and the Association will work together to address
specific problems as they arise.
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