21. Alternative Education and WIA Teachers
21.1: Alternative Education
21.2: Alternative Education Teachers
21.3: WIA Program
21.1 ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION GUIDELINES
A. Alternative education is a commitment District 186 has made to the community of students and families in Springfield. As we face the ever growing concerns of mental and physical health, violence, trauma, poverty, and homelessness in our student population the education made available in our alternative settings continues to be an important part of how we provide instruction to our students. Alternative education will be provided for those students who qualify for it, following student review and placement, at the K-5th grade and 6th-high school levels.
B. In order for a student to be placed in an alternative education classroom, he/she must be approved by the District Student Review team. Student Review is convened monthly by the Director of School Support. Principals referring a student to student review must provide evidence of multiple interventions including the building’s RTI/Problem Solving process and proof of a student behavior plan which has been unsuccessful. Completed forms shall be supplied to the alternative site administrator so that staff at the alternative site can plan for student entrance into their program. It is understood that violent or emergency situations may not follow these guidelines.
C. All alternative education sites shall have a class size limit of 15 students which shall be determined by the class average daily attendance which shall be taken on a daily basis and reported every Friday to the building principal. Any class which exceeds 15 students on any day will be immediately reduced to 15 by the hiring of a substitute. Three school weeks of average daily attendance which exceeds 15 students shall determine the necessity of an additional staff position for as long as needed. Students who are enrolled in an alternative classroom shall have their placement reviewed at least quarterly by the District student review team. Classes will be multi-aged but with no more than three grade levels per class.
D. In no instance shall the students referred to an alternative education setting become the responsibility of the building special education teachers.
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21.2 ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION TEACHERS
A. Certificated staff employed in alternative education work sites shall be considered covered under these provisions relating to Alternative Education.
B. Full-time alternative education teachers will be covered by all provisions of the contractual agreement except for those provisions expressly outlined below relating to the number of class preparations, the amount of staff preparation time, and staff attendance at in-service workshops (Sections 21.2D and 21.2E). The District will inform the Association in writing by the first day of each school year of the number of such positions and the names of teachers occupying those positions. Full-time shall mean 7.25 hours per day every day.
C. All other teaching positions in alternative education except for those covered in Section 21.2B above shall be employed on a contract-fulfilled basis and shall be subject to all of the provisions of the contractual agreement except for the items expressly outlined below
below relating to salary, terms of employment, the number of class preparations, the amount of staff preparation time, staff attendance at in-service workshops, and full-time employment. (Sections 21.2C, D and E).
1. Salary and Terms of Employment
a. Alternative education teachers shall be employed on an hours-per-day basis, including lunch and preparation period. For 1988-89, they shall be paid at an hourly rate based upon their placement on the teachers’ salary schedule at Step 1/Column 1, and the hourly rate on the salary schedule shall be determined by dividing the yearly salary rate by 1,305. For future school years, the teachers who were employed for a minimum of 500 hours in the previous school year will advance on the salary schedule in Column 1 for each additional year of experience.
b. The initial employment of all teachers new to the alternative education program of District 186 shall be for a probationary period of 20 working days.
2. Seniority
Alternative education teachers shall accrue seniority credit only in relation to other non-tenure part-time teachers. The seniority earned by these teachers shall relate to their recall rights in part-time positions as per section 5.6C.2 of the Agreement.
3. Recall Rights
Upon reinstatement of the alternative education programs at the beginning of each school year, alternative education teachers shall be recalled, vis-à-vis other non-tenure part-time teachers, to the jobs becoming available for which they are qualified on the basis of years of seniority in District 186.
4. Full-Time Employment
If a part-time alternative education teacher desires full-time employment, he/she will receive a re-employment form to indicate preference of grade level(s) and/or subject area(s). Such unit members will be considered for such available positions for which they are qualified and shall be granted an interview(s).
D. Number of Preparations and Preparation Time (All Alternative Education Teachers)
1. The provisions of the contractual agreement relating to the number of classroom preparations of a secondary teacher shall not apply to alternative education teachers due to the unique nature of the assignments of staff members in these programs. Such assignments shall be made by the appropriate program supervisor based upon the needs of the students served in alternative education programs. Alternative education staff members will be consulted to whatever degree possible by the program supervisor in the process of making these assignments.
2. The provisions of the contractual agreement relating to the amount of preparation time of teachers shall not apply to alternative education teachers due to the unique nature of the assignments of these staff members. The amount of preparation time to be built into the assignment of an alternative education teacher shall be determined by the appropriate program supervisor, with the input of the alternative education teacher, at the time of initial employment or program readjustment, based upon the number of students served and the needs of those students.
E. Attendance at In-Service Workshops (All Alternative Education Teachers)
1. On in-service workshop days in District 186 when students are dismissed for all or part of a school day, those alternative education teachers whose student population is available for instruction shall be excused from attending the in-service workshop and they shall provide instruction to their students in the usual manner.
2. Those alternative education teachers whose students are not available to them for instruction on teacher in-service workshop days shall attend the appropriate district in-service workshop identified by their program supervisor.
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21.3 WIA PROGRAM
A. Full-time WIA teachers will be covered by all provisions of the contractual agreement except for those provisions expressly outlined below relating to teacher attendance at in-service workshops (Section 21.3C). The District will inform the Association in writing by the first day of each school year of the number of such positions and the names of teachers occupying those positions. Full-time shall mean 7.25 hours per day every day.
B. All other teaching positions in WIA except for those covered in Section 21.3A above shall be employed on a contract-fulfilled basis and shall be subject to all of the provisions of the contractual agreement except for the items expressly outlined below relating to salary, staff attendance at in-service workshops, and full-time employment. (Sections 21.3B1-4 and C).
1. Salary: WIA teachers shall be employed on an hours-per-day basis, and they shall be paid at an hourly rate based upon their placement on the teachers’ salary schedule at Step 1/Column 1. The hourly rate on the salary schedule shall be determined by dividing the yearly salary rate by 1,305. For future school years, the teachers who were employed for a minimum of 500 hours in the previous school year will advance on the salary schedule in Column 1 for each additional year of experience.
2. Seniority: WIA teachers shall accrue seniority credit only in relation to other non-tenure part-time teachers. The seniority earned by these teachers shall relate to their recall rights in part-time positions as per section 5.6C.2 of the Agreement.
3. Recall Rights: Upon reinstatement of the WIA Program at the beginning of each school year, WIA staff members shall be recalled vis-à-vis other non-tenure part-time teachers to the jobs becoming available for which they are qualified on the basis of years of seniority in District 186.
4. Full-Time Employment: If a part-time WIA teacher desires full-time employment, he/she will receive a re-employment form to indicate preference of grade level(s) and/or subject area(s). Such unit members will be considered for such available positions for which they are qualified and shall be granted an interview(s).
C. Attendance at In-Service Workshops (All WIA Teachers)
On in-service workshop days when students are dismissed from school for all or part of the school day, WIA Program staff shall attend the appropriate district in-service workshop identified by their program supervisor.
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