WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES, DREAMS, CONCERNS, AND SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR WORK?
With the active participation of most NESPA members 1-1/2 years ago, we achieved a contract with many gains. Now, this Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on August 31, 2010, the end of this school year. We’ll begin bargaining a new contract this Spring. Your Bargaining Team wants your input. This input will be carefully reviewed by the Team, and the best ideas will be “test-driven” in a written survey to all NESPA members in early 2010. The survey results will be used to create NESPA’s bargaining goals.
Click here to give your input. Then, print your completed form and return it to your NESPA Building Communicator by November 9.
Your NESPA Building Communicator has the forms for you, in paper form also.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
2010-2011 Calendar
Do you want to give input into the 2010-2011 school year calendar? If so, complete this survey by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21. Click here to go directly to the survey.
NESPA Matrix
The 2009-2010 NESPA Additional Hours Matrix has been published and is ready for you to review. This chart will give you information on professional hours, the pool of hours, and non-student days.
Friday, October 2, 2009
NESPA News
Welcome to NESPA News! Starting today NESPA News will no longer be printed and distributed throughout the district. Instead, it will be printed right here on the NESPA blog on the first day of every month. You'll find articles by Deb Murphy and Marge Mitchell, our Co-Presidents, as well as the latest NESPA information from Kraig Peck, our Uni-Serve Rep. Read on for the first installment....
Thursday, October 1, 2009
How do 160 NESPA members earn $582-$1,070 more each year, without working additional hours?
NESPA’s Professional Standards Program (PSP) stipends are part of our negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement, on pages 21 and 22.
Employees who get certificates issues by the Natl Assn of Educational Office Professionals (NAEOP) for education, leadership, community service, etc. receive from $582 to $1,070 per year. Levels II and III employees (nurses, head start, and similar jobs) get $983 for a BA or BS degree, and an additional $983 for an ESA Certificate, and an additional $983 for a Masters Degree.
Employees who work UNDER 3.5 hours daily are eligible for HALF the PSP stipend.
Want to find out more? Or to continue to get your certificates? Come to the special NESPA informational meeting on PSP Stipends: Wednesday, October 21, from 4 to 6 PM at the WEA/NESPA office at 18704 Bothell Way NE, in Bothell across the street from the SAS/Anderson Building, just north of Bothell’s Main Street. Janice Schumann and Emily (both from NAEOP) will be there to answer questions.
Questions? Keep in mind that the process of getting the certificates is a bit complex, and can’t be described over the phone. That’s why we have these meetings. General questions can be addressed to Heather Flatman (hflatman@nsd.org) or Karin Shipman (kshipman@nsd.org).
THANK YOU to Heather and Karin for leading NESPA’s PSP Committee, and helping NESPA members get these stipends!
Employees who get certificates issues by the Natl Assn of Educational Office Professionals (NAEOP) for education, leadership, community service, etc. receive from $582 to $1,070 per year. Levels II and III employees (nurses, head start, and similar jobs) get $983 for a BA or BS degree, and an additional $983 for an ESA Certificate, and an additional $983 for a Masters Degree.
Employees who work UNDER 3.5 hours daily are eligible for HALF the PSP stipend.
Want to find out more? Or to continue to get your certificates? Come to the special NESPA informational meeting on PSP Stipends: Wednesday, October 21, from 4 to 6 PM at the WEA/NESPA office at 18704 Bothell Way NE, in Bothell across the street from the SAS/Anderson Building, just north of Bothell’s Main Street. Janice Schumann and Emily (both from NAEOP) will be there to answer questions.
Questions? Keep in mind that the process of getting the certificates is a bit complex, and can’t be described over the phone. That’s why we have these meetings. General questions can be addressed to Heather Flatman (hflatman@nsd.org) or Karin Shipman (kshipman@nsd.org).
THANK YOU to Heather and Karin for leading NESPA’s PSP Committee, and helping NESPA members get these stipends!
Working with violent students? Some good news...
· If you work in a CLC that has students with behavior disorders (even if you are not specifically assigned to such a student), or if you are in a position that requires interaction with students with behavioral disorders, the District MUST provide you with “Right Response” or similar training. In fact, if you are newly assigned to such a position, you are required to get this training. This training is at your regular rate of pay---not from professional hours.
If you’ve already had the training, the recertification classes will be offered January through April. And there will be a recertification class on the March 22 NESPA Day.
For information on these classes, contact Lynn Brewer at lbrewer@nsd.org or at ext. 7738. If you believe your need this training, and are denied, please contact NESPA staffperson Kraig Peck at kpeck@washingtonea.org.
· As a result of an agreement between NSEA (teachers) and administration, teachers will be writing a District Safety Procedure Handbook addressing common problems.
· Later this year, each school will be preparing a crisis response plan that outlines procedures to be followed when a student engages in dangerous behavior.
· Severe and Profound students cannot be sent to the nurse’s office without another adult staying there with them.
· A new eSIS (computerized student records) system is to be piloted that will include DOCUMENTATIONOF ALL INCIDENTS, so that the next staff who work with a student will have complete information, and can avoid injury .
If you’ve already had the training, the recertification classes will be offered January through April. And there will be a recertification class on the March 22 NESPA Day.
For information on these classes, contact Lynn Brewer at lbrewer@nsd.org or at ext. 7738. If you believe your need this training, and are denied, please contact NESPA staffperson Kraig Peck at kpeck@washingtonea.org.
· As a result of an agreement between NSEA (teachers) and administration, teachers will be writing a District Safety Procedure Handbook addressing common problems.
· Later this year, each school will be preparing a crisis response plan that outlines procedures to be followed when a student engages in dangerous behavior.
· Severe and Profound students cannot be sent to the nurse’s office without another adult staying there with them.
· A new eSIS (computerized student records) system is to be piloted that will include DOCUMENTATIONOF ALL INCIDENTS, so that the next staff who work with a student will have complete information, and can avoid injury .
How can we use our 40-55 Professional Hours?
Our professional hours are for, “…Activities such as MDT meetings, IEP meetings, grade level meetings, staff meetings, field trips/community access trips, open house functions, duties at other after school events, building site-development meetings, preparation of assigned state/federal reports, adaptation of instructional materials for specific student needs, collaborative preparation with certificated employees, building based activities or projects for implementation of action Plans, and professional development activities.” These are “optional” hours. (From Article 11.20 on page 7 of the Agreement) Professional hours are to be turned in on a monthly basis, on your time sheet, with a brief description of the activity.
2008-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement
Do I need PRE-approval from my Principal or supervisor? No. Keep in mind, though, that the Principal will need to sign off on your time sheet to approve payment, thus approving the use when you do your time sheet. If your activities are not clearly one of those listed above---or if they have legitimate questions about whether you performed these activities---they may not want to sign off on your time sheet. Then we’d have a problem that we’d need to solve. To avoid such a dispute, NESPA suggests that you get pre-approval for any activities that you are unsure are covered, or are unusual. If you intend to use a big block of these hours for something, and know in advance, it’s probably best to discuss this with your Principal.
Can I be directed to use the hours for staff meetings or specific events? No, you cannot be directed to use these hours in any particular way. They are optional hours. You cannot be told how to use them. The uses for which you can choose to use them are described above. You cannot be scheduled for staff meetings, for example, and told you must come and use professional hours. However, we encourage you to collaborate with others at your school on the best ways to use hours that you are not using for your own work-related professional development. They are a resource to benefit our schools and students.
Can I use the “pool” of professional hours? In addition to our own professional hours, there is a pool of 1,650 hours (last year was 650 hours) for all 500 NESPA members to access when we have used up our own allotment. The can be used for the same purposes. Please keep in mind that these pool hours are not a way to increase our limited earnings, but are to be used considerately when our own professional hours run out. Many nurses, for example, use up their own allotment at IEP and MDT meetings before and after school, and may need access to these hours. NESPA leaders and Human Resources review the use of these hours every month, to ensure that no one is “hogging” them---that the NESPA membership as a whole is benefitting from them. See Article 11.30 on page 8.
To use the pool hours (only after your own hours have run out), put “pool hours” on your time sheet with a brief description of the activity. These must be turned in on a monthly basis. (NESPA members who are elected to their school’s Leadership Team may use pool hours for Leadership Team meetings held on non-work time---not their own allocation.)
2008-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement
Do I need PRE-approval from my Principal or supervisor? No. Keep in mind, though, that the Principal will need to sign off on your time sheet to approve payment, thus approving the use when you do your time sheet. If your activities are not clearly one of those listed above---or if they have legitimate questions about whether you performed these activities---they may not want to sign off on your time sheet. Then we’d have a problem that we’d need to solve. To avoid such a dispute, NESPA suggests that you get pre-approval for any activities that you are unsure are covered, or are unusual. If you intend to use a big block of these hours for something, and know in advance, it’s probably best to discuss this with your Principal.
Can I be directed to use the hours for staff meetings or specific events? No, you cannot be directed to use these hours in any particular way. They are optional hours. You cannot be told how to use them. The uses for which you can choose to use them are described above. You cannot be scheduled for staff meetings, for example, and told you must come and use professional hours. However, we encourage you to collaborate with others at your school on the best ways to use hours that you are not using for your own work-related professional development. They are a resource to benefit our schools and students.
Can I use the “pool” of professional hours? In addition to our own professional hours, there is a pool of 1,650 hours (last year was 650 hours) for all 500 NESPA members to access when we have used up our own allotment. The can be used for the same purposes. Please keep in mind that these pool hours are not a way to increase our limited earnings, but are to be used considerately when our own professional hours run out. Many nurses, for example, use up their own allotment at IEP and MDT meetings before and after school, and may need access to these hours. NESPA leaders and Human Resources review the use of these hours every month, to ensure that no one is “hogging” them---that the NESPA membership as a whole is benefitting from them. See Article 11.30 on page 8.
To use the pool hours (only after your own hours have run out), put “pool hours” on your time sheet with a brief description of the activity. These must be turned in on a monthly basis. (NESPA members who are elected to their school’s Leadership Team may use pool hours for Leadership Team meetings held on non-work time---not their own allocation.)
Is Friday, October 9, a work day?
Friday, October 9 is a non-student work day. It is one of the 5 non-student work days we call “Accountable Days”. They are days for which we are accountable for working, but we may instead---with agreement by our Principal—work on other days/times instead.
This year, the 5 “Accountable Days” are October 9, November 10, January 29, March 22 (NESPA Day), and May 28. Be sure to put Monday, March 22 on your calendar for NESPA Day’s professional development classes, organized by NESPA.
The contract (Memorandum of Understanding on Length of Work Year and Scheduling of Non-Student Days on page 55) states, “Variations may be allowed in this schedule based on individual employee or building needs, as long as an equivalent amount of time is worked.” NESPA members cannot be required to work on any other days, but you can agree to do so if you wish.
This year, the 5 “Accountable Days” are October 9, November 10, January 29, March 22 (NESPA Day), and May 28. Be sure to put Monday, March 22 on your calendar for NESPA Day’s professional development classes, organized by NESPA.
The contract (Memorandum of Understanding on Length of Work Year and Scheduling of Non-Student Days on page 55) states, “Variations may be allowed in this schedule based on individual employee or building needs, as long as an equivalent amount of time is worked.” NESPA members cannot be required to work on any other days, but you can agree to do so if you wish.
Challenges, Collaboration and Cooperation
As the 2009 - 2010 school year begins, Northshore School District has been hit with budget cuts and layoffs. No one likes this situation. So....just how are we going to cope with all of this?
First, we have to realize that each employee is one person. Cloning is not a possibility, yet. We must continue to work to the best of our ability. We need to keep in mind "working to the contract". This is always a difficult balance.
Cooperation is a big part of this equation. This includes working with other employees, administrators, students, parents and community members. Your first reaction may be "this will never work". With a little patience and a "give it a try" approach, things can improve and success can happen.
Be sure to access resources though the NESPA union. If a situation is a problem for you, it's likely someone else is having the same struggles. A union member can help support you in a meeting with a colleague or administrator. There is mediation available through the union. Kraig Peck, the union rep, is available for information and support.
The NESPA union is here to work for its members. Support is not limited to contract negotiations.
Get involved with NESPA. The more ideas and energy we gather, the more support and strength we create.
Marge Mitchell
NESPA Co-President
First, we have to realize that each employee is one person. Cloning is not a possibility, yet. We must continue to work to the best of our ability. We need to keep in mind "working to the contract". This is always a difficult balance.
Cooperation is a big part of this equation. This includes working with other employees, administrators, students, parents and community members. Your first reaction may be "this will never work". With a little patience and a "give it a try" approach, things can improve and success can happen.
Be sure to access resources though the NESPA union. If a situation is a problem for you, it's likely someone else is having the same struggles. A union member can help support you in a meeting with a colleague or administrator. There is mediation available through the union. Kraig Peck, the union rep, is available for information and support.
The NESPA union is here to work for its members. Support is not limited to contract negotiations.
Get involved with NESPA. The more ideas and energy we gather, the more support and strength we create.
Marge Mitchell
NESPA Co-President
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