ARTICLE VIII TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD

Cranston School District

A. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the official length of the teachers' school day shall not exceed six hours and forty-five minutes at the elementary level and six hours and fifty minutes for all others.

B.1. Teachers may be required to attend the following meetings after the regular school day. The numbers of meetings stated below are to be considered a maximum. Those persons responsible for calling such meetings will only do so when, in their professional judgment, a meeting is absolutely necessary.

a. Six (6) building meetings per year, called by the school principal, not to exceed one (1) hour in duration.

b. Two (2) professional development meetings called by the Administration not to exceed two hours in duration. The Administration may schedule groups of teachers from different schools with the same dismissal time to attend said meetings. The meeting shall start within twenty (20) minutes of the end of the teachers’ normal work day. Attendance at these meetings shall be subject to the professional development requirements provided in Article VIII Section V and compensated accordingly. The Administration shall provide at least ten (10) school day notice of the professional development meetings.

c. Four (4) secondary school meetings per year, up to one hour in duration, curriculum, in-service, or other meetings called by department chairs, program supervisors or building administrators. Departments with various levels (itinerant, middle and high school) will meet separately. The meeting shall start within fifteen (15) minutes of the end of the teachers’ normal work day. The meetings will take place on different days of the week on a rotating basis.

d. Program Supervisors may be required to attend up to ten (10) meeting per year up to one hour in duration to be called by the Executive Director of Education Programs and Services or the Executive Director of Pupil Personnel.

e. Teachers will be required to sign in to indicate attendance at meetings called pursuant to Article VIII Section B and Article VIII Section C.

2. The school administration shall prepare a tentative schedule of the above meetings and distribute same on teacher orientation day. Changes in said schedule may be made because of inclement weather or situations beyond the control of the administration. Notice of the makeup meeting date shall be given to the teachers at least ten (10) school days prior to the meeting.

3. Itinerant teachers will attend building staff meetings at the school to which they are assigned at the end of the day on Mondays. Evening performances or activities conducted by unified arts teachers shall be counted against the total number of meetings mentioned in Article VIII., B.1 a, b, c.

C. Teachers will be required to attend one evening meeting per year which shall be no more than two (2) hours in duration, called at the discretion of the administrator responsible for the directing of such meeting. Meetings held under the section shall be charged to B1 above. Related Service Providers and Itinerants assigned to multiple schools shall be required to attend meetings at one school.

In the month of February, one additional evening meeting will be held at the high schools in lieu of the building meeting provided in B 1 (a) and one common planning time meeting provided in E 1 (e). Teachers shall be compensated for one hour at the hourly rate for attendance at the second evening meeting.

D. Teachers will have a duty-free lunch period of the same length of time as students.

E.1. Subject to the approval by the Board of the Charter School, teachers at the New England Laborers’ / Cranston Public Schools Construction and Career Academy shall follow the existing schedule unless a different schedule is mutually agreed to by the parties. For high school teachers at Cranston High School East and Cranston High School West, the normal ten (10) day instructional cycle based on 84-minute periods will include:

a. Thirty (30) class periods

b. One (1) daily continuous unassigned period, three (3) of which are 84 minutes and seven (7) of which are 42 minutes

c. Seven (7) 42-minute office assignment periods

d. Teachers scheduled to teach inclusion classes will be relieved of two office assignment periods per cycle to provide additional collaborative team teaching planning time organized around improvement of student learning

e. High school teachers shall be scheduled to participate in ten (10) sixty - minute periods of common planning time meetings. These meetings will begin as soon as the teacher day ends. Teachers will be compensated at the rate of $50/hour. Attendance at common planning time activities is mandatory unless excused by the building principal. 50% of all common planning time meetings will be directed by participants. Each common planning time will have a sign in sheet, agenda and minutes submitted to the building principal after each session

f. Two (2) twenty-minute advisory periods within the 10-day instructional cycle to be held on Friday

g. Twelve (12) minutes before school non-instructional time

h. Fifteen (15) minutes after school non-instructional time

i. Advisory periods shall be used to support students as set forth in the state regulations

2. For middle school teachers, the normal ten (10) day instructional rotating cycle will include;

a. 1) Forty (40) class periods, consisting of thirty-two (32) fifty-six (56) minute periods and eight (8) forty-eight (48) minute periods.
2) Two forty-eight (48) minute Advisory/Ensemble periods within the ten(10) day instructional cycle to be held on Wednesday or another day mutually agreed upon by the Superintendent and the Cranston Teachers’ Alliance.
3) Five (5) team planning periods or additional office assignments for assignments for those teachers not assigned to a team.
4) Five (5) office assignments
5) Ten (10) planning periods, one per day
6) Fifteen (15) minutes before school non-instructional time
7) Twenty (20) minutes after-school non-instructional time

b. Advisory periods shall be used to support students as set forth in the state regulations.

c. The school administration shall make a good faith effort to schedule Unified Arts teachers with time during the ten-day instructional cycle to meet for purposes of common planning in lieu of one or more of the additional office assignments periods provided for in Section E 2 a.3 above.

d Team planning periods shall be used to coordinate curriculum and instruction correlated to the school improvement plan by team members with input from school administration. Team members shall share topics discussed at team planning sessions with school administration upon request.

e. The schedule for middle schools is appended to this Agreement as Appendix K.

3. The primary purpose of the preparation period is for preparation related to teaching and learning. A teacher will spend either this period or at least an equivalent amount of time outside the school day on class preparation.

4. Elementary classroom teachers, excluding Pre-kindergarten teachers, shall be allowed 500 minutes for planning and education related activities for each ten-day cycle (which includes 50 minutes of common planning time). Such time shall be exclusive of lunch and the time before and after the beginning and end of the student's school day.

a. Elementary itinerant teachers and Related Service Providers shall be allowed 500 minutes for planning and education related activities, which includes common planning time, for each 10-day cycle. Continuous planning periods of at least 50 minutes shall be scheduled daily. Such time shall be exclusive of lunch. The time before and/or after school shall be excluded only if the itinerant has been assigned duties during that time, such as bus duty or student supervision. The administration agrees to make a good faith effort to equitably assign duties to all elementary teachers. Related Service Providers and Itinerants assigned to multiple schools shall be assigned duties proportional to the time spent at each school.

b. Pre-Kindergarten teachers shall be allowed a 45-minute block of time between A.M. and P.M. sessions, inclusive of lunch and travel.

c. In addition to the 500 minutes for planning and education related activities for each ten (10) day cycle, the school administration will schedule, within the 500 minutes, one twenty-five (25) minute block of common planning time per week, organized around improvement of student learning, to elementary teachers scheduled to teach inclusion classes. On alternating weeks, common planning time sessions shall either be directed by the administration or directed by the participants.

d. For elementary teachers, the normal instructional cycle based on the 50-minute itinerant educator periods will include:

1. One (1) daily preparation period

2. One (1) weekly twenty-five (25) minute common planning time period

3. One (1) daily twenty-five (25) minute lunch period

4. Fifteen (15) minutes before school non-instructional time (in Title 1 schools, the teacher will be responsible to supervise the breakfast in the classroom program)

5. Fifteen (15) minutes after school non-instructional time

5. The first ten (10) day cycle shall commence on the Monday of the first week of the school year and each succeeding cycle shall follow the first, unaffected by interruptions in the school year, such as holidays, vacations, and snow days.

6. Each elementary classroom teacher shall receive at least eight (8) fifty (50)-minute time blocks and two (2) twenty-five (25) minute blocks of preparation time during a ten-day cycle, which is included in the 500 minutes.

7. When an elementary teacher is absent, students may be distributed to other elementary teachers when no substitute teacher is available. Students so distributed shall attend the itinerant classes in the receiving teacher’s schedule and will also attend the itinerant classes in the absent teacher’s schedule.

F. In secondary schools, when a regularly assigned teacher is absent, other regularly assigned teachers shall not be assigned to cover classes of absent teachers unless qualified substitute teachers are not available. Teachers shall not be required to cover more than one class at a time for the entire school day, but this shall not be construed to affect the teaching of classes which include pupils from more than one grade. Teachers will have on file in the school three (3) days of plans for the covering teacher. Covering teachers shall make a good faith effort to distribute any assignment left by an absent classroom teacher.

G.1. Middle school teachers may be required to devote not more than two (2) unassigned periods for student supervision without compensation. High school teachers may be required to devote not more than two (2) 42-minute unassigned periods for student supervision without compensation. In the event there is no other reasonable coverage option available, a teacher can mutually agree with administration to swap their planning period with their office assignment to provide coverage for that period. This option should only be utilized after school administrators scheduled available teachers without compensation pursuant to Article VIII Section G of the Collective Bargaining Agreement or scheduled available teachers with compensation pursuant to Article VIII Section H. The swapping of planning periods with office assignments is not intended to be the common practice.

2. Elementary teachers shall be required to devote not more than one hundred (100) minutes of planning time as defined in VIII (E) above for student supervision, without compensation. Compensation for coverage is paid for absent itinerant teachers. Every effort will be made to avoid scheduling teacher participation in Evaluation Team and IEP meetings during a teacher’s planning time.

H.1. Department heads will be provided with adequate time to perform their supervisory duties within the limitations of Article XIV, E.1, without being deprived of their daily unassigned period, subject to Section A. The fact that unassigned periods are of unequal duration shall not be grounds for grievance. Regardless of scheduling arrangements, academic subject area teachers shall be entitled to one unassigned time period per day.

2. Student supervision at the elementary level beyond that required in G2 above shall be compensated at the rate of $49.00 for each additional period or minimum block of fifty(50) minutes. Student supervision at the middle school level beyond that required in G1 shall be compensated at the rate of $70.00 for each additional period. Student supervision at the high school level beyond that required in G1 shall be compensated at the rate of $70.00 for each additional half-period. In the secondary schools, a list of volunteers to assume such coverage shall be established. This list shall first be exhausted before any involuntary coverage is assigned. Any involuntary assignments made under this article shall be on a rotating basis starting in inverse order of seniority. In the case of a long term absence, a list of content certified volunteers to assume coverage will be established. Coverage will be assigned based on availability and seniority.

3. If a teacher is absent in an elementary school and no substitute teacher is available, the absent teacher's class may be distributed among teachers in the school for the instructional day. The committee shall pay the teachers who cover the absent teacher's class at a pro-rated rate based on 50% of the top step of the salary scale plus a Masters, with each teacher covering receiving a fractional share in proportion to the number of pupils added to his/her class and amount of time covered.

4. Supplementary payments under this article shall be paid quarterly by including said compensation in the teacher’s next normal payroll check.

I. Secondary school teachers will not be required to teach more than two subjects nor more than three preparations at any one time on a continuing basis except in cases of mutual agreement between the teacher and the appropriate administrator. High school teachers will not be required to teach more than four preparations in an academic year except in cases of mutual agreement between the teacher and the appropriate administrator.

J. Classes based upon different ability levels shall not be considered separate preparations, but the administration shall make good faith effort to keep the number of teachers carrying a class of different ability level in addition to three preparations to a minimum.

K. Except as qualified elsewhere in this agreement, the work year of teachers covered by this agreement will include no more than 182 days. Day 1 will be a district-led professional development day; Day 2 will be a district-directed meeting day; Day 3 will be the first day of students reporting. Two additional days may also be required of teachers who are employed on a full-time basis for the first time.
Professional services required beyond the last official day for teachers shall be compensated at the rate of 1/182 of the teacher's annual salary.

L. A regularly scheduled instruction day which must be cancelled or terminated because of inclement weather or for other good cause shall not be regarded as a working day for the teachers unless the School Committee can use the day to meet the requirements for state aid. These days will be considered a regular working day if a Distance Learning day is called. In such a case, teachers will be required to work remotely in accordance with the Distance Learning Plan

M. Teachers shall be permitted to leave the building during unassigned periods upon notification to the principal or his/her designated representative. If the teacher leaves the building, the teacher must sign out and sign in. If a teacher signs out during the last period of the day, they must return and sign in, except in the case when a teacher volunteers for early morning duty. Such notification shall indicate where the teacher may be located in case of emergency.

N. When an itinerant teacher in a special area is in charge of an elementary teacher's class, the latter may leave, however if in the opinion of the principal, the objectives of the educational program are continually not being met, the teacher may be required to remain.

O. Parents shall not be deprived of an opportunity to confer with the teachers of their children because such conferences must be held outside of the regular work day, but all parties concerned will strive to schedule such meetings during the teacher's work day.

P. Travel requirements will be considered in assigning the workload of nurse teachers.

Q. Teachers may be required to work beyond the defined work day in paragraph A only in case of emergency or when they have accepted such responsibility or when the proper performance of their professional responsibilities necessitates such duty.

R. Compensation paid for extra-curricular and special service activities shall cover time spent outside the normal school day and school year on such activities.

S. The following positions shall carry compensation as indicated.

High School

A Joint committee composed of three members appointed by the President of the Alliance and three members appointed by the Superintendent shall convene by October 1, 2022 to review the compensation of stipend positions and to consider adding positions to the list of stipends in the Agreement. Subject to the Approval of the CTA President and the Superintendent, stipends shall be adjusted to be effective at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

Supplemental payment under this Section shall be paid quarterly by including said compensation in the teacher’s next normal payroll check.

T. Extracurricular activities held by non-CTA members will be posted annually.

U. Department Chairpersons and Program Supervisors will work 186 days, two days before the school year starts and two days after the school year ends unless the Department Chairpersons and the Program Supervisors arrange a mutually-agreeable alternative work schedule with Administration. These additional days will be compensated under the terms of Article VIII, Section K of this agreement. They will also, after consultation with their principal, spend such additional time as may reasonably be necessary to fulfill their responsibilities

V. A professional development program will be provided through a Professional Academy for Cranston Educators (PACE) developed collaboratively between the CTA and the CPS.

In addition, teachers shall be compensated under the terms of Appendix D for meetings scheduled pursuant to Article VIII, Section B1b.

W. 1. Participants in the development of MTSS, IEP's and 504 Plans shall include the appropriate specialists.

2. The receiving teacher shall be given prior notice, except when data is not available, of a student who is being mainstreamed into his/her class. Teachers will be responsible to review any and all data in their possession and/or provided to them to support students with academic, instructional and social-emotional needs.

X. A mentoring program developed by the Administration in cooperation with the Alliance will be required for all newly hired teachers. All new mentors shall receive at least ten hours of initial training provided by the school department. The annual stipend for teachers actively serving as mentors for up to three teachers will be six hundred ($600) dollars. The annual stipend for teachers actively serving as mentors for four or more teachers will be eight hundred ($800) dollars.

Y. Elementary MTSS team members who meet outside the normal school day will be compensated under the terms of Appendix D.