Episode 27: Article 7: Instruction—Part 3

Krista and Jeri continue with their discussion about all things instruction as outlined in Article 7 of the Contract. Today, the focus is on paraeducator time, elementary specialists, and secondary preps. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hello, welcome to REA Union Voices. I'm Krista and I'm Jerry. And we're the president and vice president of the Richland Education Association. And we hope if you listen to last week's episode, you got to learn more about our vice president-elect, Becky Peterson, who I got to go have lunch with or dinner with after. And it was really fun. Okay, you know, talking to somebody who's wanting to grow in their role and do take on more and more and the exciting things. You know, the excitement, the nervousness, the you know, the jittery feelings, you know, the fear of um making a mistake. Which it's gonna happen.

unknown 0:46

It's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Or feeling like you don't know all the answers.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Right, which you don't, you never know all the answers.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, I had a building rep um email me and she goes, Thank you for answering these questions. I hope to get to the place where I just know the answers. I said, That'll never happen. I said, I don't know all the answers. I have to go look it up, I have to talk to Jerry, I have to contact Kindle. Yeah, you know, and then and then even when you think you know the answer, you still double check because and there's always different nuances too.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Like, okay, I think this is it, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Or somebody asks it in a little bit different way, and you're like, Well, hold on a second, I just told this person that and right, yeah, yeah. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

I know you're constantly second-guessing yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yes. Well, how are you doing, Jerry?

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Good. I just I think I was telling you, I did my new, you know, my month schedule up on the board, and I'm like, I'm to the end of May already.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Yeah, it's scary. I know, yeah. When you're putting it was always a lovely feeling, though. You know, a little bit of panic too when you know how much you want to try to cover until the end of the year, but it is kind of nice when you put that last thing in, and it's kind of the last yeah, you know, uh like what was it? I had something where I don't remember what it was, but something had occurred. I'm like, oh my gosh, that'll be the last time this year that I have to you know write this report or yes, that would be nice.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

It's this time of year is that panic, like, oh my gosh, it's almost over. Oh my gosh, it's almost over.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

I know. And then you're looking forward to summer vacation and you know, plans and and just being ready to take a break because teaching is it you need a break.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

You need to mentally be able to like shut down. Yeah, it's it's it's a much needed because it takes forever too to get into the break mode. Yeah, you have this like anxiety for the first week, oh my god, what am I supposed to do?

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Okay, exactly. So we have been talking about article seven, which is all about instruction. And the last time, I believe we talked a lot about workload, which is basically your class sizes, um, how many students you should have in a class, and then how um overload is calculated if you have students that go beyond. Right. Um, so you know, and I'm happy that we actually have a language. Yeah, you know, um, it's certain things that you know, I think in Washington state we forget really how lucky we are with the collective bargaining rights that we have in this state. But you do go, man, you know, we could do better. Yeah, always. You know, we could do better than that, or I can't believe that dude, I'm only making this much. And then you look at I was just like reading something where it was like a question, it's like, so if teachers only work nine months out of the year, which is really not true. Yeah. Um, but how come how why should we pay them sixty thousand dollars a year? And I'm like, oh no, I'm glad I don't work in that state.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Well, because we work uh we get paid for 180 days or 180, however many days. People don't realize that either. Yeah, we get paid all year because it's broken up.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

But we don't get vacations like we were at Christmas. It's dope, those are unpaid days. And so I think people understand that a lot of times. They just look at like, oh, you work nine months and you have to go.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Right, like you get all this vacation time. And I even said it, I called it summer vacation. But no, but you know, yeah, uh and it is. It's in the summer, our pay is just broken up over 12 months. And I feel now being at the top of the pay scale, and with all of the gains that we have made after a lot of fighting at the state level, at the district level, I feel like I am fairly compensated.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

You know, um, but a lot of us have master's degrees, yeah, you know, and this is not an easy job. And I think people, because they've gone to school, think they know how to teach.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Not until you get in the room. Well, and I tell you, one of the huge things is teacher starting pay has increased. I mean that shoot, I don't know, but like when I started, it was half of what they get now. Yeah, and so that's huge because yeah, so many people come out with a master's and you should have a better wage than what I did when I came out. Yeah. So yeah, I feel I feel good where we're at right now.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Yeah, well, good, good. And so now we're gonna talk about section 7E, which is all about elementary and secondary paraeducator time. And there's not a whole lot in here. This one's pretty easy. Um, really, right now, I think this is primarily just elementary because uh unless, yeah, really all we have is kindergarten and library paraeducators um will be staffed at the minimum of amount, which is two hours per day. So all of our kindergarten teachers get two hours. And a question came up just a week or two ago where a kindergarten teacher said, So when I get my two hours of paraeducator time, does that mean that it's when the principal decides when the paraeducator is coming and when they're doing the intervention groups and you know the things that more of the instructional specialist is planning? And I said no, because it does say in here that the kindergarten and library employees um shall dictate the duties of the paraeducators. So if somebody's telling you the pair is coming at this time and they need to do this, then that's not with our language. Yeah, we're gonna argue that that should be in addition to your two hours.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yes, yes. If they're giving you somebody specifically for like intervention, that's on them. That's not my choice as the kindergarten teacher, unless that's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Exactly. And what I would say too is um I and I know I've heard you know kindergarten teachers talk because I think early on when Washington went to full day kindergarten, I think they had six hours to six or four to get them um going with the full day. And then we dropped it to three, and then we were able to get, I think, an additional, I can't remember all of it, but I know it's it's it's been a battle.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

It has been. Well, I remember teaching halftime kindergarten and I had two hours, which was amazing. And so it was really frustrating when they went full time and had two hours.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Wow. Okay. Yeah, we have yeah, that's the good news is I don't think we have any language anymore in here where it's tied just to this contract. So we should at least have the two. I don't think so. I think we finally got that, you know. So we don't have a sunset this time. But one thing I will say um, you know, the reason why we've been able to advocate and get any kindergarten paraeducator time is because we talk about the kindergarten teachers needing that time to implement the curriculum and have be able to do the small group work. Um, and so I just I don't want to tell kindergarten teachers what they should do with their para. But if your principal's coming in and they're seeing the paras actually working with students, not necessarily putting up a bulletin board.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah, we talked a lot about working with students and having them in your room when you have students, not when your kids are at a special.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Exactly. You know, that helps us to, like I said, I'm not telling you what to do, but that helps us to advocate for the need for the paras. Um, and then library, um, you know, our elementary libraries, of course, get paraeducator time. And now we had to fight to keep any of that library paraeducator time, and so there is kind of a weird formula based upon how many sections you have, but um, we're hopeful to be able to get that back to regular to two hours, yeah. Um, and again, and the librarians get to um dictate the duties of the paraeducator as well. Yeah, is there anything you want to add about that?

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Nope. Yeah, just paras are super important. Yes, and that's I miss having our just our general ad paras.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Oh, I know. I know, and yeah, and we do need to support our PSE unit, um, public school employees when they go to their bargaining, because I think a big part of why we're having difficulty finding paras and keeping them is uh they are not making a living wage. Yeah. Um and B, it's a tough job.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

It is a tough job. And they're kind of not at will, like job-wise, but like position-wise, they seem to get moved around a lot and end up in places that they didn't sign up for, and they just don't get treated maybe as respectfully as they should. I think they feel that, and so because they don't make a living wage, they go look for something else, and right, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

And so then the next section has to do with our specialists, elementary art, library, music, and PE teachers, and it just defines that um 25 classes, um, formerly sections, right? I know I refer to it as both, but but 25 classes per week uh makes up a 1.0, which is essentially the same as what uh yeah, we based it off of like secondary.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, because we would teach five classes.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah, there's six class periods during the day that students attend. Teachers teach five, and they get one of those that's a planning period, and it's the same with our elementary specialists, and so um language that I know is challenging sometimes for our specialists is when you have fewer than 25 classes because what ends up happening, Jerry?

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Well, you end up having to fill your schedule with other things, and a lot of times that is doing small groups and doing, you know, going in and helping another teacher do things.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, it does talk about how um other duties as assigned, um, but but also too, we hope that the work that you're doing outside of teaching your art library, music, or PE classes um is benefiting the school. I remember at White Bluffs, I was teaching that it was called CIA, and kids had to be in partners. And I had a music teacher who came in, I think, three times a week. And it all I did was have her kind of sit in between these two kids who had difficulty just focusing. And I'm like, all you need to do is when we do turn and talk, just help them. Right, right. You know, when they're supposed to write something, just you know, and so she would just sit there and she would engage in the turn and talk with them and help them do their writing. So there was no planning or anything, but it helped me greatly.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Well, that's how, yeah, and it is nice when they can just kind of come in and be another pair of eyes, even.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Yeah. And then the the next section, and Jerry can probably talk about this better than I can, all about multiple preparations. And so, because at elementary, we think of planning time. Yeah. Because we teach everything, right? Jerry's taught elementary too. We teach everything at elementary, except for our music library, and PE. Um, and so we just get a planning period. But Jerry, can you explain what does it mean like by preparations, especially for maybe our elementary folks who might not be familiar with that term?

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Yeah, so in secondary, you usually like you're an ELA teacher or you're a history teacher or a science teacher, so your schedule is usually full of that one subject. But sometimes you have to teach either a one-off, like I have ELA, but then I have a health class because that's what they needed to fit in the schedule. Or I would teach maybe seventh grade ELA and eighth grade ELA. So that would be two preps because I'd be teaching two different subjects. And then if I was teaching a health class, that would be three different preps I'd have to prepare for. And then that would be where I should be able to just be like, I've got three, that's enough.

unknown 13:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yeah. Because that's all you're doing all of the planning. Yeah, you're doing the planning separate with different curriculum resources.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Yes. So if I'm teaching seventh grade ELA, I have different standards that I have to teach and a curriculum to follow. Then I'm teaching eighth grade ELA, I have standards in a different curriculum. And then I'm teaching health that has different standards in a curriculum. So I'm teaching three different classes with three different standards and curriculums. So that's what that planning time is for.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Okay, and so and in our contract, it talks about how you're supposed to only have three preps. So t help me in case I say it wrong. So, like if I am a high school math teacher and I'm teaching two sections of 10th grade geometry. Okay, it's the same curriculum, it's you know, same subject. That's going to be considered one prep. I'm just teaching it two times during the day. Yes. So that's my one prep. And then maybe I have a trigonometry. I have, you know, whatever trigonometry. And I realize now it's not 11th grade trigonometry. Now it's whoever needs to take it, but then I have a trigonometry class. So now you have two preps. That would be my second prep. And then maybe I have so that would be three, and then maybe I have three sections of like freshman algebra or whatever algebra. That's your three preps. That would be my three preps. Okay. Yeah. So that makes sense. Um, or like you, if you were teaching three different classes of seventh grade English language arts.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

Yeah, that's one prep.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Okay, yeah. That would be one prep. And then you had like a health class and then some like a mythology class. Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

So just throw something in there. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And they usually, yeah, they try to keep, you know, they try to keep it, I think, as narrowed as they can, at least in your subject area. But, you know, due to schedules, sometimes you have to teach something else, which is kind of a nice break.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Well, and I can imagine too it happening even more so at the middle school level, because so many middle school teachers have a K-8 endorsement, which allows them to teach. I mean, you can pretty much teach almost all middle school classes, except for probably a credit bearing. Yes, yes. I could, yeah, gosh. And what we mean by that, for people who might not understand, like there are times where kids can take, say I used algebra as an example. Maybe they're taking an algebra class in eighth grade that is the same class that high school kids would take.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

And they'll get a credit for that.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

They could get a credit, they can get a high school credit for that.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Um, and I think we used to have geometry. I'm not sure. Oh, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

I just put algebra in. I don't know how they I don't know how they schedule the math anymore. It used to be algebra, then geometry, then trigonometry. That's why I went 9th, 10th, 11th from you know, 30, almost 40 years ago. I think I shouldn't say that. But but and then what happens, Jerry, if during the scheduling, what happens if, let's say it this way, what happens if you are excited? Like, let's take that mythology class. And like maybe there's a break in your schedule, like, oh, I really want to teach mythology, and you go ask your principal and you say, Can I can I take on mythology as well?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

And have a fourth prep. What happens if you ask for that?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

If I ask for it, then it's just a fourth prep for me.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

I I volunteered to do it, I asked for it.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Now, what if they come to you and they say, Jerry, we really need to you to take on this mythology class.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

In addition to health and eighth grade and seventh grade.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

So that would be my fourth prep. Um, I have a conversation with them. We have a conversation, and I get compensated for that.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yes. And what is the compensation? What is the compensation? I think it's essentially I think it's one hour.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

One hour of per diem multiplied by each week of the additional prep course and paid monthly. So I get an hour extra hour a week because of that fourth class, because that really is a lot.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

When you start looking at prepping for things, they know that you're gonna be spending time outside of your contracted day to plan for the class. So essentially they are paying you for additional planning time to take on. To take on that extra class. And I'm glad that it talks about for each, I think it says for each prep, they um of the additional, it's just additional. But it also says the additional prep course, not courses. Yeah. So we would say if you I don't know that too often they give people more than four.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Four, yeah. Because that would, yeah, that would be a lot.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yeah, that would be, yeah. But I would argue that if you are given more than four, you would get that another hour. You get an hour per the problem though is sometimes principal will come to you, and this is something to look for. Yeah, principal will come to you, oh, or maybe talk to your department. We really need somebody to take on um, you know, this class. It would be so great if we could have this mythology class, kids and parents are doing it, and then somebody goes, Okay, I'll go ahead and do it. Yeah, and then it's like, well, the person volunteered for it. So unless you really want to teach it, um, your principal should wait until they assign it or say you have to teach this or have the discussion, you know, or when the principal is saying, We really would like somebody, you know, to volunteer. It's like, so are you telling us that what what happens if nobody volunteers? Are you gonna assign somebody if nobody volunteers?

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Because you know, I'll take it if you're gonna assign us. But it's an assignment, I'm not volunteering.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Yeah. I think people are getting better about that.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

I think they are too.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Just because everything just seems to be getting harder. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

So I do know though that it does talk about various levels of elective courses, such as art, PE, um, it says foreign language. I think we refer to it as world languages now. Oh, yeah. Uh, music and CTE, which is career technical education, because sometimes in those, like for a music teacher, um, there may not be enough classes, not sections, enough classes for to round out a full 1.0 FTE without them adding additional preps. Yes. You know, um, you know, same with like an art class. And I hope I'm not wrong, and you can email me if I am, but I've also heard that like certain like art teachers, they want to be able to offer different classes for students to take. And I'm hopeful that you know, if you're an art teacher, art is a huge passion of yours, and you want to, you know. Um, so those don't they can be assigned more than three. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Um, I think this was one that was hard too. Like high cap and honors courses within a subject area also don't constitute a distinctive prep. And that was a that was one that we struggled with because you really do have to do different things for those classes.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

And but they said because it's under the same umbrella, yeah, and it's the usually it's the same grade level you're teaching, or at least the same subject area, but well, and I think, you know, and I don't know what it looks like now, but the only experience I have with that was when I was a student. I think the only class that was considered like an AP class, because I could have gone and taken the AP exam, I believe, would have been um like my fourth year of French that I took. Oh but third, third year and fourth year were in the same yeah. So I took two years of third-fourth French.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

Back then I don't really remember it being a lot different. Uh but maybe, you know, I but I also don't know what the teacher was doing, right? With regard to, you know, looking at okay, this is a fourth year student, I expect a higher standard.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Who knows? You know, um here in these in these situations, they're um different classes, yeah. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Anyway, so yeah, so there are some teachers, the people who teach the specialist type classes, art, PE, music, and then our world language and CTE, they could have as many as five preps. Um, and I guess if they were to take on a sixth prep, that would be just a six-period contract, which at some point we will get to. Yes. But yeah, so that's um really how we you know kind of protect our secondary folks so that they are not being required to teach five or six different subjects, similar to the elementary folks. This is true. This is true. But some of the elementary things that we teach, it might only be, you know, 15 or 20 minutes ago. Yeah, a little bit. And and I would say as an elementary teacher, I I'm not necessarily speaking for anyone, but the majority of my planning was with um ELA and math.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

And then science when there was a science kit. The other stuff was kind of the icing on the cake, and you tried to integrate it as much as possible into everything else. Yeah. But can you think of anything else to add, Gary?

SPEAKER_01 22:22

I can't. Just that, yeah. Yeah, sometimes I love ELA, but man, some like we're doing essays right now. Oh gosh. I'm like, whose idea was that? Because then you have to read them. I know. So it's kind of nice to have those. If I have like I have a one-off class, I'm so happy because otherwise I'd have five glasses of essays to read.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

That that is a benefit of being a primary elementary teacher, you know, reading the second grade uh little writing that they do. And I'm going, okay, I've got 10 minutes before, okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Hey, I will tell you, I'm glad I taught elementary, specifically kinder and first, because I'm just gonna say it. The handwriting is deplorable.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

I know when I um go to represent students, um, or not students, but teachers, when you know there's an investigation, and sometimes the principals at the secondary schools will have the students write like a statement. Oh, yes. And then I get copies of the statements, and I'm like, wow. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

It's I often will kind of raz my kiddos sometimes, and I'm like, you guys are lucky I taught kindergarten. Yeah. Otherwise, I would not be able to read your eighth-grade handwriting.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

There was one recently that I think, based on all of the evidence, the statement from the student seemed a little embellished. I will say though, when I read it, I'm like, the student had excellent penmanship and wonderful writing skills. And I remember talking to the teacher about that. They're like, well, there is that, you know, but some of the things that they added to the the paper might have turned it more into creative writing. Yeah. I think there was one one little glimmer of an event that had occurred, and then this long drawn out. This story behind it that didn't quite follow with what everybody else said, but it was kind of fun to read it and you know. Yeah, when I get good handwriting now, I'm like, oh my gosh. Oh my god. So thank so thankful for this. I know. All right, well, this was a fun one. And yeah, and next week we'll talk about grading and promotion, probably covering classes, ooh, classroom visitations, and then maybe get into um class certificated employees responsibility around um like paras, student teachers, and then I'm sure student discipline will probably be one in particular. But all right, so Jerry, what do we say?

SPEAKER_01 24:50

In union there is strength.