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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) school 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 the 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.

Where applicable, a complete roster shall be defined as including:

 

  1. 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
  2. Service period assignments
  3. Rostered lunch period
  4. Homeroom
  5. Preparation period
  6. 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. For the 2011-2012 school year, 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.

Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, 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 three (3) 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 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. (Effective September 1, 2012, three (3) years experience.)

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 cannot 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.

For the 2011-2012 school year, 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.

Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the six (6) teaching semesters of evaluation for tenure shall include up to three (3) teaching semesters of evaluation, designated as Distinguished, Proficient or Basic, 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 thirty-one (31) with a corridor of three (3). The total teaching load will be one hundred seventy (170).

7a. 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, 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 the 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 reduced or 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 various 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 or modified teaching 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 proposal made by the System for a new academic program that requires any variations, adjustments or exemptions from contract language will be addressed by both the Association and the System. In addressing these issues, the System and the Association will approach the discussions in good faith and neither will unreasonably withhold approvals for these programs. The System and the Association will work together to address specific problems as they arise.