Colleagues,
As the summer recess is coming to an end, we are continuing to address with the District a number of unresolved long standing issues. We are making progress on some of these issues and will report to you as soon as we reach agreement. But new issues are just being communicated by the District for the first time during this last weekend of the summer break – such as additional hours of Vector Training. We’ll address these immediately, as well. Meanwhile, we want to update you on the following:
– First Fifteen Minutes of the Day. Especially for Elementary school teachers, and understandably so, this is a key concern. The customary practice has been that the fifteen minutes between teachers’ reporting time and the beginning of instruction was unencumbered time for teachers to prepare for instruction. That remains the position of your union. The District, however, decided unilaterally that these fifteen minutes now could be encumbered for non-teaching and non-instructional assignments. They are basing their right to make such a change in the teachers’ working conditions on their own interpretation of a 2014 arbitration case that affected School #7. We are challenging the District’s decision to extend an arbitration outcome for one school and to apply it to all schools. Until we resolve this matter, either through litigation or through Living Contract negotiations, we have produced the attached Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs on First 15 Minutes) document on how to best try to manage in the interim. The information in our FAQ document is consistent with the District’s guidelines communicated to school principals. The guidelines require that each school’s specific protocols be designed and approved by that school’s RTA Building Committee. Please see your RTA Faculty Representative, who have been briefed about this issue at a Special Meeting of the RTA Representative Assembly last week, if your school is not adhering to the provisions outlined in the attached FAQ document. Your RTA Faculty Representative will then contact us and we can provide further guidance and support to any Building Committee that requests it.
– Auto Insurance Deductible Reimbursement. As you already know, RTA and the RCSD reached an agreement last June that teachers whose vehicles were damaged or stolen while parked at or near their work location premises, between September 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, will be reimbursed for their insurance deductible up to $500 limit. The signed Memorandum of Agreement is attached below and here’s the link to the claims application which can be completed and submitted to the RTA electronically <https://forms.gle/vzzvDQYAGvFh9ZACA>. Affected members must submit claims by no later than September 15, 2023. Please contact either Matt Lavonas <mlavonas@rochesterteachers.com> or Martha Keating <maskerade6@aol.com> with any related concerns or questions.
– Teacher Leaders Program. RTA is looking to develop future leaders through a local version of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Teacher Leaders Program. Approximately a dozen teachers will be selected to participate for the 2023-2024 school year. Selected applicants will meet one Saturday per month between October and June. Each participant will engage in action research on an issue that the participant considers timely, relevant and important. Participants who complete the program will receive a modest stipend of $1500. Here’s the link to the program’s application that must be completed no later than September 24, 2023 <
Application to RTA’s 2023-24 Teacher Leaders Program
>. For more information, please contact the RTA’s Teacher Leaders Program facilitator Corrine Mundorff <cmundorff@rochesterteachers.com>.
– RTA Educational Dinner Seminars. After three years of hiatus due to COVID, we are resuming the monthly RTA Educational Dinner Seminars. The September 13th session will feature a presentation by Superintendent Peluso and will be followed by an open forum with him to accept feedback and respond to questions. The October 5th session will be dedicated to a presentation on restorative practices and the presenter will be Dominic Barter – an internationally acclaimed expert on this topic. Interested RTA members can sign up for RTA Educational Dinner Seminars on TrueNorth Logic. Admission and dinner are free and participants will receive 2 PD credits per session.
– Labor Day Parade. Tomorrow’s Labor Day Parade begins at 11 a.m. and we’ll be lining up before then on North Union Street between East Avenue and Charlotte Street. Please wear your RTA t-shirt, if you have one, and bring your family and friends to join us. Along the way, we will be giving away pencils to children. Hope you’ll be able to participate.
We will continue to advocate for the best possible teaching conditions for you and for the best possible learning conditions for our students. And, as always, we will also keep you informed about the progress of our efforts on your behalf.
Wishing you a Happy Labor Day and a successful new school year.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President