Next week, Tuesday, November 10 is one of the five “Accountable Days” in our Agreement. The other remaining ones for this school year are January 29, March 22, and May 28. (The first day was Oct. 9.) These are work days for most NESPA members. (Employees who work Monday thru Thursday need only work on 2 of these five days. Employees who work Tuesday thru Friday need only work one of these days.) March 22 is the annual NESPA Day, a day of professional development for all NESPA members, so be sure to put that on your calendar. (Wednesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day---one of 11 paid holidays that NESPA members get. Teachers get no paid holidays.)
Under our Agreement, “Variations may be allowed in this schedule based on individual employee or building needs, as long as an equivalent amount of time is worked.” This means that if you and your Principal agree, you can work other days and hours instead of working on these days. Consult with the teachers you work with, examine your own work, check with the Principal, and decide what works best. Then, if you want to work alternative times, get Principal approval of this in advance.
Some staff “trade” this time so they can have department meetings on a regular basis. Or time to confer with the teacher they work with. It’s work time. You may wish to make a written record of any agreement to change days, in order to avoid a later dispute—though there is no requirement that this be done.
On our timesheets, we record our hours on the Accountable Days even if we trade them. These are the instructions per the “NESPA Additional Hours Matrix.”
There are always a couple of teacher work days that are NOT NESPA work days. This school year, the remaining ones are January 4; April 2; and June 21. You can, of course, with the approval of your Principal, change the “Accountable Days” so that you work on these days instead. Note, though, that the January 4 District-wide training for teachers is not open to NESPA members; we have checked with the Deputy Superintendents, and there is no room left at the 2 locations for the training.
Kraig Peck
