Professional Documents
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TSU Notes
V O L U M E 3 / I S S U E 2 A P R I L 2 0 1 2
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(NOTE to f: Department Heads do not assign courses but will review the tentative course selections with their department members in a collaborative and collegial manner as per the requirements of the Collective Agreement. All department members must have collective input with respect to the decision-making of course assignments, including those on leave. Discussions and decision-making can be done in a variety of ways and should be growth based and not evaluator.) The LSSAC discussed the criteria that should be considered during the course assignment process. The following are the criteria agreed upon. While qualifications are the most significant item, these items should be considered collectively where possible: 1) QualificationsTeachers with qualifications should be given first opportunity at course selections. Anyone who is teaching a subject for which they do not hold qualifications must sign a mutual consent form. These forms will be reviewed by the LSSAC in September.
2) Teacher wish listDepartment heads may have sent out their own wish list to get an idea of where their members interest lay. 3) Past experience 4) Availability of a course in the schedule 5) Professional development/ growthIt is understood by the LSSAC that there is no ownership of courses. All members should be given the opportunity to teach courses which will enhance and promote their professional growth. Such decisions should be discussed and determined in a consultative and collaborative manner. 6) Total number of preps Where possible, no teacher should have more than 4 preps per year, that is, two per semester. An additional criterion for the Administration may be succession planning, also known in some schools as building capacity. This should not be forced upon members. It is to be developed in a prudent, collaborative and consultative fashion for the future staffing
needs of the school. If necessary, discussions and decisions should be brought to the LSSAC and/or SSSAC. It is understood by the Board and the Teachers that not everyone will be happy with the final scheduling results. Every teacher should feel they were heard and involved fairly in the process. It is imperative that consultation must have occurred with each member and that the goal is to achieve the best possible results in building a staffing model and schedule for the school. If necessary, discussions can be brought to the LSSAC and/or SSSAC for assistance and to ensure that the process is transparent.
Its primary goal is to oversee and advise the Administration on staffing and workload issues. The following is a detailed breakdown of the points outlined in Article 5 of the Collective Agreement. 1) To advise administration on staffing and workload issuesWhile management has the right to make final decisions on issues for the staffing of the school, these decisions must be made in consultation with the LSSAC and compliance with the Collective Agreement. Consultation must occur with transparency in a collaborative and collegial manner. 2) To inform staff of LSSAC proceedingsthe LSSAC has an obligation to be transparent with staff regarding discussions and decisions while at the same time maintaining respect and confidentiality concerning individual members. Issues and decisions are to be reported out to staff but not necessarily
the specifics of the conversations. 3) To review dataThere are many pieces of data to be reviewed for staffing and workload issues as outlined in the Collective Agreement. Documents include the Form 106 which outlines the number of teachers assigned to a school. It also provides the breakdown of teachers assigned to each area of focus such as Section ARegular credit bearing subjects, Section BLibrary, Section CGuidance, DChaplaincy and so on. LSSAC also reviews the Form 107 which outlines the Section assignments for each teacher for the year, the Department Head model, the Master Schedule, the LSSAC Staffing Report (which lists the courses and class sizes for each teacher and is used to determine cap piercings), Monthly Oncall tallies, and Mutual Consent forms (which must be signed by teachers teaching outside their area of qualification).
During the scheduling process, the LSSAC will review the assignment of teachers to departments and the development of timetables. (Refer to the criteria and timeline for scheduling outlined in this issue). Each of these pieces of data was reviewed for each school during their inservice and any issues were discussed at that time. Members learned how to access and interpret the information for each piece. 4) To be the local extension of SSSACThe SSSAC reviews the data for the whole Board and monitors the schools regarding staffing. In the event that a school does not have an LSSAC, a member of the SSSAC would represent the staff in discussions with the Administration of a school.
The OECTA Representative in each school is the advocate for the Collective Agreement. The LSSAC Teacher members represent the teachers of a school. All three partners are obliged to uphold and function under the parameters of the Collective Agreement which is for both the Board and the Teachers. No party should endeavour to violate the Collective Agreement. Once the review of Article 5 was completed, individual schools issues could be raised and discussed. Administrators were welcomed to attend but it was left to the LSSAC Teacher members in each school to extend the invitation to their Administrators. Many Administrators accepted the invitation and joined us for the inservice.
In each school, the in-service was deemed a very valuable experience. Comments like, Ive never seen that form before, or this was extremely helpful, were heard from both teachers and administrators alike. It was exciting to see our Teacher members become empowered by the information we provided. As a result, the number of issues that had required the attention of the SSSAC was greatly reduced. Other issues were brought to light and addressed on the spot. LSSAC members were empowered by the knowledge of their role and the expectation of their duties. Knowing what to look for and how to address issues made all the difference. It was well worth the time and effort.
The Board was very receptive and cooperative in our efforts to be proactive in dealing with issues that the audit revealed. In 2010, the SSSAC expanded its scope by involving each school LSSAC in the development of the data analysis. An audit guide and revised forms were first presented to the OECTA Representatives at the Kingbridge inservice in October. For the first time, the Reps were able to see the results of the previous years data analysis. Many of them were quite surprised to see information they had not seen before. It was definitely an eye opener for them. SSSAC chair, Darrin Sciberras, and I then reviewed the process of analyzing the Form 106/107 and all the other pieces of the audit with the Reps. Following the Kingbridge in-service, packages of SSSAC audit guides, and the forms and materials needed for the audit were distributed to each school for the LSSAC to assist the Rep with the audit process. Workshops were held in both the west and east ends of the city to assist the Reps and LSSAC Teacher members with the completion of their
school audit. It was a very useful exercise and helped the OECTA Reps and LSSAC teacher members to understand the staffing issues at their schools. Once again, I compiled the summaries and submitted them to the Board. This year, the SSSAC implemented phase 3 of the data review process that had been introduced in March of 2011 at the Joint SSSAC meeting. SSSAC welcomed a new addition to our committee, Pete McKay, from Marshall McLuhan. Darrin, as Chair, Pete and I once again reviewed the data analysis process at the annual October in-service. Following that, the three of us divided the schools according to our geographic area of choice and arranged an LSSAC in-service at each of our schools. Administrators were welcomed but it was left to the local LSSAC to extend the invitation. In many schools, Administrators did attend the meeting.
Once again, Teacher and Administrator members of LSSAC were heard to say, I didnt know that or Ive never seen that form before. All the pieces of the data audit were reviewed and individual school issues were discussed. It was a very worthwhile exercise as the results of the audits show. Whether it was the inclusion of the Administrators in the process or perhaps the repetition of the training, this years results have been extremely positive. For example, this was the first year that the SSSAC has received all monthly oncall tallies for every school. This is the first year that we have been receiving LSSAC minutes more regularly from many schools. This is crucial in allowing the SSSAC to address issues in a timely manner. The number of issues surrounding credit recovery, master
schedules and members on leave has been greatly reduced. Main issues still revolve around the completion of the Department Head model forms, the equitable distribution of on-calls/ supervisions, VP teaching sections and the breach of class caps and the negative sum of space (teachers having more students in their classes than the total allowed by the Collective Agreement). Many schools have much better aligned their staffing issues with the requirements of the Collective Agreement. On the other hand, this year, more than with the previous two audits, the more challenging schools are highlighted. On a positive note, this will allow us to work more closely with the Board in identifying and working through the causes of each schools issues.
Suffice to say, it is the hard work of each LSSAC and OECTA Representative that make our success with the Board possible. On behalf of the SSSAC and school staffs, I would like to offer our sincerest thanks for their hard work this year, as in years past. We continue to advocate with the Board for a full release day in November for all OECTA Reps and Administrators to work on their school data review with SSSAC. This would be a welcomed next step in our movement forward in preemptively addressing many of the issues in each school.
It must be based on volunteers. It must protect other staff from being disadvantaged by staffing those who volunteer. It must ensure curriculum integrity. It must recognize the additional costs and provide the financial resources and staffing required. It must allow for the PD and training. It must accommodate the additional workload associated with course development. We have clearly stated to the Board that to ensure the above, staffing must involve all teachers, it must involve genuine, informed and early dialogue with LSSAC, and it must have come through SSSAC. Fair process should never be circumvented by ambition, no matter how well intended.
Ask teachers, on an annual basis, to state their teaching preferences for the following school year. Take into consideration prior assignments to ensure that opportunities for professional growth, teaching subjects of interest are afforded to teaching staff fairly. Take into consideration teachers desire for future professional growth and how assignments may help them achieve their objectives in this regard. 2) Give special consideration to new teacher assignments to allow them the best chance of having a positive and successful teaching experience. 3) Provide developmental opportunities and consider professional learning. Teaching is recognized as one of the most effective forms of professional development. Teachers are continually updating their qualifications and engaging in professional learning to improve their practice. Their efforts should be considered when assignment decisions are being made. 4) Principals new to the teacher assignment role should seek out advice from mentors and peers. The key to successful teacher assignment is meaningful consultation throughout the entire process. All parties must be involved. All parties must have their voices heard. All parties must work together for the good of the entire community. All discussions must occur within the view of LSSAC/SSSAC.
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