ARTICLE 5 HOURS AND PREPARATIONS

Westerly School District

1. Hours

A. The workday for all teachers shall be 6 hours and 55 minutes, which includes at least 15 minutes for before/after the student day, which building administrators shall schedule in the manner that most effectively ensures the safety and welfare of students during arrival and dismissal.

B. The first session at the secondary level shall start not earlier than 7:15am and the last session at the elementary level shall end not later than 3:30pm. It is agreed that teachers will be in or about their classrooms to assist student supervision for the start of the student day and to admit students to the corridor and/or classrooms.

C. There will be no more than five (5) scheduled teaching periods per school day for high school and middle school teachers:

D. Teachers will have a duty-free lunch period of not less than twenty (20) minutes.

E. When a teacher in a specialized area (i.e., Art, Music, and Physical Education) is in charge of an elementary teacher's class, the regular teacher may leave the classroom.

F. Advisory periods shall be maintained at the secondary level to increase the level of personalization and support the academic growth ofstudents. Administration shall provide teachers the materials necessary to implement the curriculum

G. School Year

i. The length of the school year for teachers will be one hundred eighty-four
(184) days.

ii. The length ofthe school year for students will be one hundred eighty (180) days.

iii. At the end of the first quarter of the school year students shall be released one (1) day to accommodate parent-teacher conferences during the normal school day. All other parent conferences shall be held at a time mutually agreed upon by the teacher and parent.

H. Length of School Year for Specific Staff

1. School Nurse Teacher may be required to work beginning ten (10) days prior to the classroom teachers' work year with administration approval.

ii. Certain special education teachers, depending on their students' indivi_dualized education program (IEP) shall be a maximum oftwo hundred thirty (230) days, unless otherwise specified in the IEP's.

iii. Guidance Counselors may be required to work up to seven (7) days beyond the contractual work year with administration approval.

iv. Teachers specified, herein, shall receive their per diem rate for each day worked in excess of one hundred eighty-five (185) days.

I. Meetings

i. Principals shall establish and distribute during the first week of school for teachers a schedule, which normally will be followed, for all mandatory meetings for that school year. There shall be an agenda for all meetings. Teachers will attend the following meetings:

a. Orientation meeting-One (1) per year

b. High school and middle school staff meetings - One (1) meeting per month, normally on the 3rd Thursday of each month, will be mandatory for all teachers. All other staff meetings will be voluntary

c. Department meetings - One (1) per month, normally on the 1st Thursday of each month, will be mandatory for all teachers. Any other department meetings will be voluntary

d. Elementary staff meetings - Up to two (2) per month, normally on the 1st and/or 3rd Thursday of each month, will be mandatory for all teachers

e. All other staff meetings will be voluntary

f. Normally, all staff meetings shall occur in the buildings wherein the staff is located

g. An agenda will be distributed to all teachers involved- in staff meetings at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of such meetings

I. Teachers are encouraged to present an agenda item to the building leader forty-eight (48) hours in dvance. Said item will be added to the agenda, if possible. Agenda items offered · by staff at least one (1) full week in advance of meeting will be added to the agenda.

II. Provided that there is no need to use the space to serve students or the community, the Principal shall make available to the Association a location to convene a business meeting immediately after such staff meetings, or in the discretion of the Principal, prior to the staff meetings..

III. Should any regular meeting schedule as outlined in this Section be changed during the course of the school year, teachers are not obligated to attend.

h. Emergency Meetings - A Principal may call an emergency meeting requiring attendance of all teachers when he/she deems it necessary to protect the welfare of the students and staff. Either immediately before or after an emergency meeting, the Association may hold a business meeting for that building.

ii. Teachers shall attend three (3) evening meetings each year, not to exceed two (2) hours in duration for the purposes of open house, parent-teacher conferences, and/or public relations/curriculum.

J. Extra-curricular activities will be on a voluntary basis. An extra-curricular activity, excluding student supervision, is any activity normally carried on after the close of the student school day.

Teachers shall use their planning and preparation time for this stated purpose. In the unusual circumstance in which a teacher seeks to conduct personal business during the workday by leaving the building during planning and preparation period, the teacher shall notify the Principal and sign out and in. A teacher with an unassigned first or last period of the day shall not seek permission to be out of the building during this period to reduce the length of the workday.

K. Administrators will not normally schedule any meetings or activities after the official closing of the school day from 3:45pm to 5:30pm on the first or second Wednesday of the month for attendance at Association meetings.

2. Preparations

A. Scheduling should allow at least one (1) unassigned period per day for all teachers. Common planning/team time is not considered unassigned. All elementary classroom teachers shall have common planning time; of at least forty (40) minutes per week, provided there is no· increase in full time equivalents (FTE) to achieve this goal.

B. The Committee agrees to provide all elementary teachers with a minimum of five (5) forty (40) minute periods per week without duty of any kind. These periods will be provided by employing certified specialists. These periods will occur once a day.

C. Teachers on the secondary level will not be required to teach within more than two (2) disciplines within their areas of certification.

D. On the secondary level, the optimum shall be no more than three (3) preparations. A preparation is defined as an individual subject, grade, and level within a grade. This definition does not preclude the scheduling of students of different grade years in a specific class.

3. Flexible Scheduling

In order to better service students and their parents, teachers in certain areas will be allowed with the approval of their Principal to flexibly schedule their workday. These areas include but are not limited to, social service providers, librarians, and computer teacher(s). In all instances of flexible scheduling, the length of the teacher's day shall be six (6) hours and forty (40) minutes.

4. The Committee and Association recognize that adjustments in the use of instructional time are significant variables in assisting students to meet higher standards. Further, the parties acknowledge the goals of creative use of instructional time during the regular school day and the availability of extended instructional time for students beyond the school day to significantly address the individual needs of the students. To achieve these goals, the Committee and Association shall explore alternative scheduling methodology, including a possible pilot program and the necessary training period for staff.