North Kingstown - Article VI Teaching Hours and Teaching Load

ARTICLE VI TEACHING HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD

North Kingstown School District

A. WORK DAY

1. The teaching day for all certified personnel shall be between six (6) and six and five tenths (6.5) hours. Teachers shall be required to report a minimum of ten (10) minutes before the start of the students' school day and to remain a minimum of ten (10) minutes after the official closing of the school to fulfill their obligations relating to special help for students, parent conferences and staff meetings.

2. With the exception of the above, any involuntary assignment of work outside of the teaching day within the school year shall be compensated fifty-six dollars ($56.00) per hour.

3. The teaching schedule in grades six (6) through eight (8) shall consist of one (I) common planning time, and an unassigned period for professional work per day. The number of classes will be determined by the length of the classes. Any changes to the current schedules must be negotiated.

4. At the High School, teachers will teach five (5) block classes over two (2) days, three (3) classes one day and two (2) classes on the other. Teachers will have one (1) block of duty-free planning time each day. On the day a teachers has two (2) block classes and a duty-free planning period, the additional block will alternate between common planning time and supervising a Personal Learning Time or conducting a duty. Blocks will last between 75 and 80 minutes. Teachers may also be assigned to an Advisory. Personal Learning Time, Advisories and duties will not involve planning or grading. Duties will be monitoring the outside doors, the restrooms or the hallways. Personal

Learning Time will be capped at twenty-seven (27) students, but will not count towards the overall cap of one hundred twenty-five (125) students. Teachers in Personal Learning Time with more than the cap of twenty-seven (27) students will be compensated according to Article VI. C. 6. Personal Learning Time will be a quiet study area. Teachers will indicate a preference for Personal Learning Time or a duty on the wish list submitted to Administration. Teachers who teach in the "Success Academy" may, upon mutual agreement between the Administration and the teacher, be assigned to an additional planning time with other "Success Academy" teachers, instead of Personal Learning Time or a duty.

5. If necessary, more than one itinerant teacher in a specialty area may be employed less than full time (1.0 FTE) at the high school level, middle school level or elementary school level. No teacher shall be reduced to accommodate this Article. During the 2016- 2017 school year a Committee comprised of administrators and union representatives shall come to an agreement regarding fair and equitable procedures relative to part time itinerant staff.

6. Teacher participation in extracurricular activities shall be voluntary.

7.. All elementary classroom teachers, reading specialists, and special educators, will participate in principal/designee-directed common planning sessions for a total of one 40- minute session per month. This session will be scheduled during the school day. All elementary teachers will participate in 40-minutes of teacher-directed common planning during each of the remaining weeks of the month. Upon request, elementary teachers will provide the principal/designee with a monthly, bulleted summary of common planning activities.

8. All middle school teachers will participate in common planning sessions for the equivalent of one instructional block of fifty (50) to fifty-five (55) minutes four (4) days per week.

9. Middle School teachers will be assigned a Directed Learning Center of20-25 minutes per day. Directed Leaming Centers will not involve grading. Directed Learning Centers will have no more than fifteen (15) students. Directed Learning Centers will be organized around a common activity like academic interventions involving content instruction in the area of the teacher's certification or enrichment or administration provided Social Emotional Lessons (SEL). Administration will consult with teachers about personal choices for both academic interventions and enrichment.

10. All high school teachers will participate in common planning sessions for eighty (80) minutes every fourth day.

B. UNASSIGNED PERIODS

1. All members of the bargaining unit shall be entitled to unassigned time for professional work on an equitable basis.

2. All elementary classroom teachers, reading specialists, and special educators teaching in elementary schools shall be guaranteed a minimum of two hundred sixty (260) minutes per week of unassigned time for professional work. The amount of unassigned time for professional work shall be adjusted proportionately for weeks in which there are less than five (5) school days. Elementary specialists shall be guaranteed a minimum of two hundred ten (210) minutes per week of unassigned time for professional work.

3. All middle school teachers shall have unassigned time for professional work of one instructional block of fifty (50) to fifty-five (55) continuous minutes six (6) times per week.

4. As long as the 4x4 schedule is utilized, High school teachers shall be scheduled for one instructional block of between seventy-five (75) and eighty (80) continuous minutes of duty-free planning time for professional work five (5) times per week. If necessary, during the weeks of standardized assessments, the amount of continuous duty free planning time may change.

5. When a teacher in a special area of instruction is in charge of an elementary school teacher's class, the regular teacher may leave the classroom. Such release time shall be an unassigned period to be used for professional work. In addition to continuing the current practice of receiving specialists every other week, full-day kindergarten teachers shall receive the same specialists as the other classroom teachers, when available.

6. Teaching Advanced Placement (AP) courses shall be voluntary. Teachers shall be expected to remain in the program a minimum of three (3) years. Teachers are expected to attend district-funded AP training. Teachers shall receive a payment of $1,000 for attending training.

7. All elementary school teachers shall have a continuous duty-free lunch period of at least twenty-five (25) minutes and, in addition, they shall have another continuous twenty-five
(25) minutes for unassigned time for professional work. All middle and high school teachers shall have a continuous duty-free lunch period equivalent to the length of a student's lunch period in addition to unassigned time for professional work of at least forty (40) minutes each day. Teachers may volunteer to perform extra duties during their unassigned period in exchange for compensation at the rate fifty-six dollars ($56.00) per hour.

8. Teachers shall be guaranteed a lunch period of at least one hour for in district professional development days.

C. CLASS SIZE

1. Class size at all levels shall be maintained at a level that is consistent with the best interests of the students. The Committee and the Association shall jointly try to arrange class size so that the maximum number of students may receive optimum instruction from every teaching situation, viz., larger classes may be scheduled for lectures, demonstration and audio-visuals. Class-size contractual maximums apply to all grade configurations.

2. Individual class size in preschool shall not exceed fifteen (15) students after the first five (5) days of school. Self-contained special education classrooms shall not exceed ten (10) students.

3. Class size at the kindergarten level shall not exceed an average student-teacher ratio of 18:I in the district. In grade one(!), class size shall not exceed an average student-teacher ratio of 24: I and in grades two (2) through five (5), class size shall not exceed an average student-teacher ratio of 25: I in a given school.

a. Individual class size in kindergarten shall not exceed nineteen (19) students after the first fifteen (15) days of school.

b. Individual class size in grades one(1) and two (2) shall not exceed twenty-four (24) students after the first fifteen (15) days of school.

c. Individual class size in grades three (3) through five (5) shall not exceed twenty-six (26) students after the first fifteen (15) days of school.

4. Class size in grades six (6) through eight (8) in academic areas, including Foreign Language, shall not exceed an average pupil-teacher ratio of 25: I in a given school, based on present practice or its equivalent. Individual classes shall not exceed twenty-eight (28) students after the first fifteen (15) days of school.

5. Class size in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) in the departments of English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies shall not exceed an average pupil teacher ratio of 25:1 in each department. Individual class size shall not exceed twenty eight (28) students after the first fifteen (15) days of school.

6. Compensation for teachers with students over the contractual class-size and course-load limit is intended to deter the number of classes over the contractual limits:

a. Middle and high school teachers shall be compensated at the rate of five dollars ($5.00) for each student over the class-size maximum per day, per class. At the high school this rate shall be adjusted proportionately to allow for the Block Schedule.

b. Elementary teachers shall be compensated at the rate of twenty-five dollars ($25) over the class-size maximum per student, per day.

c. For specialists at the elementary level, compensation shall be at the rate of five dollars ($5.00) for each student over the class-size maximum per day, per class.

d. High school teachers shall be compensated at the rate of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) per student, per day for every student over the course-load cap of one hundred twenty-five (125) students. At the High School this rate shall be adjusted proportionally to allow for the Block Schedule. Middle school teachers shall be compensated at the rate of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) per student, per day for every student over the course-load cap of one hundred (I 00) students.

7. Special-area class size shall be maintained at a level that ensures safety and proper supervision by instructors.

8. a. No teacher in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) shall have a class load greater than one hundred twenty-five (125) students.

b. No teacher of academic subjects in grades six (6) thru eight (8) shall have a total caseload greater than one hundred (100) students, not including the students assigned to the Directed Learning Center. No other teacher shall have a daily caseload of over one hundred (100) students, not including students assigned to the Directed Learning Center. Teachers who are over their caseload cap will be compensated at the contractual rate. The class cap will be adjusted proportionally for part time teachers. If any Middle School teacher in any area of instruction is over their caseload cap, they will not have a Directed Learning Center, but instead will have an additional 20-25 minutes of unassigned time for professional work.

9. After the first ten (10) days of school, if any class exceeds contractual class-size limit, the Association and School Department will meet to discuss how to address class-size overages.

I0. If at all possible, teachers will be provided at least 24 hours' notice before the arrival of a new student.

11. Under extenuating circumstances, students may be dispersed to other classrooms at the same grade level due to a lack of a substitute teacher.

D. SPECIAL EDUCATION

1. When a student from a self-contained class in an elementary school is integrated into a regular classroom for fifty percent (50%) or more than fifty percent (50%) of the school day, the student shall be counted as a regular education student in computing class size.

2. Peer helpers (i.e. students included in classes with special education students): Every attempt shall be made to count peer helpers when computing class size.

E. STAFF MEETINGS

1. After-school staff meetings, not to exceed twelve (12) per year, may be called by administrators. No more than two (2) meetings may be held in any one (1) month. Teachers shall be notified of after-school staff meetings one (1) week in advance of said meeting, except in cases of emergency. Additional staff meetings may be held on Professional Development Days. Normally, said meetings shall not exceed one (I) hour in duration.

2. Teachers may be excused from after-school meetings with the approval of their immediate supervisor.

3. Teachers shall receive the agenda for all faculty meetings at least two (2) days in advance.

F. WORK YEAR

1. Prior to its adoption by the Committee, the school calendar shall be submitted to the Association for suggestions.

2. The work year of all teachers shall consist of one hundred eighty-four (184) days + six (6) hours (outside of the school day), other than for new teachers who maybe required to attend additional orientation sessions. Orientation days for new teachers shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as regular workdays, for attendance and pay purposes.

3. Teachers shall be provided with the tentative teaching schedule for the coming school year no later than two weeks prior to the first day of school.

4. Within the teachers' work year, teachers shall attend at least one (I) full day immediately prior to the opening of school for in-service education and/or orientation for all teachers.

5. The principal may declare an emergency whenever they feel an unusual situation threatens the safety of the pupils or the school. In the event of an emergency, teachers shall help the principal in alleviating the situation.

6. Guidance counselors will work a total of six (6) additional days per school year, three (3) days previous to the school year and three (3) days after the school year, as assigned by the principal and will be compensated at each counselor's individual daily rate calculated as yearly salary divided by 185 days.

G. PARENT CONFERENCES FOR THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS (See Appendix A)

1. Elementary and middle school teachers, including kindergarten teachers, shall schedule parent conferences within two (2) weeks of the end of the first quarter at times mutually agreed upon between teacher and parent for the 2019-2020 school year.

2. Any teacher whose position may not warrant parent/teacher conferences will complete six (6) hours of alternate professional duties to be determined in collaboration with the building principal.

1. Elementary and middle school teachers, including kindergarten and pre-school, will use the 2nd Tuesday in November for parent conferences.

2. Elementary and middle school specialists shall report to work on the 2nd Tuesday in November and shall either participate in professional development or perform other professional work.

3. High School teachers will not report on the 2nd Tuesday in November but shall perform duties in accordance with Article VI. J.

4. Whenever possible, teachers agree to accommodate any parent who can't attend parent conferences as described above.

5. Any teacher whose position may not warrant parent/teacher conferences will complete six (6) hours of alternate professional duties to be determined in collaboration with the building principal.

H. KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION MEETING

Kindergarten orientation shall be scheduled as follows:

1. Kindergarten teachers shall schedule individual orientation appointments with students and their parents/guardians on the first day of the school year.

I. CLASS COVERAGE. It is agreed by the parties that the following provisions shall be in effect concerning class coverage:

1. The building principal shall be diligent in their efforts to obtain substitute teachers. Only after reasonable efforts have been made shall the principal seek volunteers for class coverage during their unassigned period. The selection of volunteers shall be made with an equitable distribution among teachers when possible.

2. In the event that substitutes are not available and volunteers cannot be found among the teaching staff, the principal may request that non-volunteer teachers make themselves available to cover classes.

3. Teachers who cover classes because of the unavailability of a substitute shall be paid fifty-six dollars ($56.00) per hour. Payment shall be made no later than the second pay period following the coverage provided approved timesheets are received by the payroll department no later than the Monday before the pay date. Any timesheets not received by the Monday before the pay date will be paid in the next pay period. Compensation for coverage under this Section shall also apply to the elementary classroom teacher where no substitute is available for other class specialists, as defined in Article VIII.

J. SENIOR PROJECT FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL (see Appendix A)

l. High school teachers shall evaluate students' Senior Projects for three (3) hours outside of the school day and complete three (3) hours of alternate professional duties to be determined in collaboration with the building principal.

2. The date for evaluating Senior Projects will be scheduled by October 1st of the school year.

K. PART-TIMEEMPLOYEES

1. Employees assigned less than 1.0 FTE shall be classified as part time.

2. Teachers employed on a part-time basis shall have their unassigned and/or duty time prorated in accordance with their teaching load.

4. The Administration shall make every effort to ensure that scheduling of part-time employees shall be such that their class assignments are continuous.

5. Part-time teachers at the middle and high school level will have their course load capped proportionately to their part time assignment.

5. Part-time teachers at the elementary level will have their number of classes adjusted proportionately to their part time assignment