Greetings BHEA member,
This is the first of several opportunities to provide additional prep time for BHEA members. While we cannot address a single, one-size-fits-all prep time solution, this is only a starting point. Other communities may advocate for their own custom requests for additional prep time to the district in the future.
Voting YES on this MOA means that you support the staff identified in the MOA to receive one additional grading day per quarter. Traditionally, these members have used personal or sick days to complete this grading. Voting YES will not take anything away from you.
Voting NO means that you do NOT support certain members receiving additional prep time.
A likely consequence is that the district will be reluctant to consider future proposals for additional prep time. Please feel free to correspond with executive leaders using the voting tool if you have questions or concerns.
To vote YES or NO on the proposed MOA, please look for an email from OREGON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (OEA) in your PERSONAL EMAIL. It will say "VOTE".
If you do not receive an email, please ensure your personal email address is correct by emailing bheasecretary@gmail.com
More information can be found on our NEW WEBSITE by typing the URL: bhea.info.
In solidarity,
andy
I think this is a very unfair proposal. I don't think it is reasonable to give something to one group that everyone cannot have. As it is now, with our Union being wall to wall, we rarely have the needs of everyone addressed. This is just another example of unfairness that I have seen time and time again after being in this association for 29 years.
Every teacher I know spends countless hours outside of contract time grading and planning. Further, every elementary teacher must not only plan for and grade every subject, but we have other clerical duties that secondary teachers do not have to do.
On the grading day we are responsible to grade students in every subject area, print report cards, print DIBELS and math reports, write individual comments about each student's progress and then stuff envelopes before we can do any kind of additonal preparation. I would like to see all teachers receive an additional grading day, not just those at the secondary level.
Secondary teachers give final tests at the end of the semester and thus have long periods of time to grade these longer assessments. In contrast, as the semester draws to a close, elementary teachers are having to plan large engaging projects to keep students engaged in their learning through the last day of school. There is no down time at the end of the school year,
Secondary teachers who teach senior students get even more grading time as graduation occurs a week before the rest of us are done.
On the last grading day of the year, elementary teachers have all of those previously mentioned clerical diuties and then have to fill out paper cumulative cards and print reports to be placed in student files to be sent to the middle school. In addition to a laundry list of cleaning and organizing that has to be done in the one paid day we are given.
While an argument can easily be made in favor of elementary educators having additional prep and grading time versus secondary educators, that is not what I am advocating.
I am simply stating that elementary educators in any event deserve at worst, equal prep and grading time as secondary educators.