Colleagues,
As you have just been informed by Superintendent Strickland, the Rochester Teachers Association and the Rochester City School District reached an agreement through the Living Contract negotiations that RTA members need not report to work on January 29 (Lunar New Year). Our newly negotiated Memorandum of Agreement recognizes January 29, 2025 as a day off for teachers and students. We needed to wait until the Board of Education acted on it this evening before announcing it.
There will be no make-up day necessary. Instead, the half-day of instruction on May 22 will now be a full day of instruction. But this, in itself, is an improvement for students and teachers since half-days of instruction entail extraordinary student absenteeism (more than 50%).
I am pleased that we were able to finally resolve this issue in a way that is good for students and fair to teachers. I commend Dr. Strickland for his important role in breaking the impasse and making this agreement possible.
Please contact us at the RTA if you have questions or need additional information. I also urge you to respond to the RTA’s negotiations survey if you have not already done so. If you have not received a survey, please contact RTA Secretary Matt Lavonas by calling the RTA (585 546 2681) or by emailing him <mlavonas@rochesterteachers.com>.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President