Sunshine Fund

Most schools have Sunshine Fund so that a gift can be bought for a staff member after a new baby is born, or if a loved one passes away. The STA also has a sunshine fund, and this is a great way for any teacher, but especially TOCs, to share the love.

If you know a TOC who needs a little sunshine, contact Lorna Sheh (sheh_l@sd36.bc.ca) to request the Sunshine Fund form.

Here are the guidelines:

1. Injury at work (hospital stay) –up to $50;

2. Maternity/paternity– up to $50;

3. Illness of an active member – extended medical leave (minimum 20 days or longer)

4. Death of an active member – up to $75;

5. Death of an active member’s spouse/child – up to $50.Flowers / fruit / gift basket / gift card / donation to charity

TOC in the school library

TOCs wishing to take on call library jobs need to complete a training course on the Destiny computer system. Nicolette Olson, Systems Trainer at Info Management Services holds Destiny training several times a year.

Email olson_n@sd36.bc.ca to inquire about dates or register. There is no fee to participate.

Please note that this training does not make you eligible to apply for temporary library assignments, but just to accept TOC call outs in that area.

The next date is April 17 @ 9:00. Register by April 12, 2012.

Teaching Certificate Fees

Every teacher should have received a letter from the Ministry of Education (dated March 15) which reads,

“On April 30, if you are employed by a school baord, section 168.2 of the School Act mandates that employers payroll deduct the annual fee from your earnings and remit on your behalf to the Teacher Regulation Branch. If you are employed by more than one board or authority, please liaise with your employers and elect one employer to pay the fee on your behalf. If you will not be employed by a board or authority on April 30, please pay your annual fee directly to the Teacher Regulation Branch.”

If you have any further questions you should contact payroll at  604-595-6115.

What’s Expected of a Teacher On Call?

Recently, Surrey TOCs shared their opinions on this subject through the First Class TOC Sharing Conference. The conversation started when I posted an outline of expectations, from my own perspective.

• Stick to the day plan.

• Leave the room tidy.

• Leave a detailed note explaining how the day went.

• Complete the marking.

• Leave a day plan for tomorrow.

What a TOC is expected to mark and how to plan for the next day were the two hottest topics in our discussion. Some of the concerns were around the challenges in marking assignments when there is no criteria listed, especially in secondary classes. Perhaps, it was suggested, teachers will be frustrated by an assignment being assessed incorrectly?

As for leaving a day plan, this can be very challenging when you do not know the class well or if it is not your level or subject of expertise. Some TOCs wondered if this is just a waste of time. However, it was pointed out that a different TOC may be teaching the class tomorrow. Twenty minutes spent photocopying after school saves someone else a frantic morning the following day.

When you prepare for a TOC, do you make your expectations clear? Being proactive and providing a TOC folder to help guide a fellow colleague is the best way to make sure your expectations are met. A TOC should never be considered just a “filler.” We are real teachers, and should be expected to do the job of a real teacher.

Written by Glynis Cawdell and originally published in the April 2011 Advocate Newsletter

Preferential Call Out

The debate continues in Surrey and across the province. To request, or not to request? I’ve spoken to many TOCs and contract teachers on this issue and yet I still struggle to know what’s right.

The truth is, there are some good things about preferential call out. When you’re one of the 800 plus TOCs in Surrey, and you can be dispatched to any of our 120 school sites (at 5:30 AM no less) it’s no wonder TOCs love to get requested. Being called back to the a school allows you to make connections and feel like a member of the staff. The students already know your expectations so less time is spent on behaviour issues. For special needs students, who require more consistency, this is especially true. As job requests often come in days or even weeks in advance TOCs know where they’re going ahead of time and can communicate with the classroom teacher beforehand. You feel prepared. You feel confident.

That’s not to say requesting is without its dark side. Should teachers really be acting as the employer and choosing who gets work and who doesn’t? Is it ethical to evaluate a TOC you have never seen teach? If a teacher legitimately felt a TOC did an inadequate job they have an obligation to contact that teacher and give them feedback. Unfortunately what happens more often is that the teacher just chooses not to request that TOC back, even telling colleagues to do the same. Sometimes teacher’s request TOCs just because they chatted in the staff room at lunch and the TOC was outgoing and friendly. Is this fair?

I can’t blame teachers for wanting to call back the same TOC so that their students have a familiar face greeting them in the morning. I understand that Secondary school teachers want to leave their class in the hands of a specialist trained in their particular subject. My request to teachers is that you carefully consider your motivation for requesting. Is it because of student learning or are you making TOCs participate in a popularity contest?

Written by Glynis Cawdell and originally published in the January 2011 Advocate Newsletter

Moving up the Salary Grid

After working 185 days at scale pay in Surrey, TOCs move up one step on the salary scale. Check the bottom of your pay stub to see what step you are on now. Payroll only updates your salary level in January and September. So even if you reach 185 days on scale in mid October, you won’t see the increase until January, and there is no back pay. You can find out how many on scale days you have by looking in the TTOC Seniority List, which is published on March 31st and November 30 of each year. A copy of this is at the STA office.

Payroll has made mistakes in the past. If you have a concern regarding your pay, for example, you were expecting an incremental increase but didn’t get it, call the STA for clarification around the concern, then email payroll to outline the concerns. This sets up a time line and documents the concern.

Following this e-mail set up a meeting with payroll to discuss the issues. Most often this resolves the issue. STA officers can support you in this meeting.

Once we meet with payroll, if the issue is not resolved, the STA can meet at the Joint Salary Review Committee. If it is not resolved at the Joint Salary Review Committee, we can file a grievance.

When your dispatch changes

“I accepted a call for grade 7 but  ended up teaching Kindergarten!”

Has that ever happened to you? After accepting an assignment and arriving at school, the secretary tells you that you are being redirected to another assignment. Sometimes the new assignment is something you would never have accepted in the first place. You should know that our collective agreement states:

B.2.8 DUTIES OF TEACHERS-ON-CALL

a. Teachers-on-call and those teachers whose assignment is that of a permanent teacher-on-call, shall be required to perform only those duties that are appropriate to the assignment of the teacher they are replacing.

b. All information which is available about the nature of assignments will be provided to teachers-on-call when they are called by the dispatch centre. Where a teacher-on-call has reasonable cause to do so, a call-out may be declined.

If a you are re-directed you should follow the “work now, grieve later” policy. This means you accept the re-direction, but then you call the STA and ask to speak to a grievance officer because your contractual rights have been violated. Remember, both the employer and the union have agreed to every clause in our contract. It’s the STAs job to make sure the employer upholds these rights.

Getting a Contract

A TTOC must work 72 days, uninterrupted in the same assignment to earn a contract. According to the Collective Agreement, if the job is expected to go 72 days when you first start, you can sign your contract right away. Originally the rule was 75 days, but when the District went to a two week Spring Break the union negotiated the 72 day rule.

If you cover for a teacher with a part time position, for example Monday and Tuesday only, you would be owed a .4 position after 72 school days (approx. 15 weeks) have passed. Stats and holidays do not count towards the 72 days, but Pro-D days do. If you take a sick day it will not count towards your 72 days but it will not be considered a break in service either.

Other School Districts have different rules in their Collective Agreement. In Langley, for example, a TOC is considered to be in a “temporary contract” after 20 days in the same classroom. At this point the TOC is eligible for Employer paid medical benefits and would receive their salary over winter and spring break (provided the assignment goes before and after the break). A Langley TOC needs to accumulate 15 months worth of these temporary contracts within a 4 year period. At that point they convert to continuing status.

There is no such thing as a temporary contract in Surrey. There are “Long Term TOC Positions” which are assignments anywhere between 4 and 71 days. A Surrey TOC can never get salary over spring or winter break nor receive Employer paid medical benefits. As a side note, no TOC in BC can get paid over statutory holidays.

Sick Days

In order to get sick pay you must have “actively taken up an assignment.” This  translates to having taken morning attendance. If, after taking attendance, you become ill, call the secretary to advise that you will be leaving. It is the school’s responsibility to find a replacement for you. If you are feeling ill before school, do not arrive early with the hopes of signing in and leaving before school starts.

If you are booked for the same teacher for more than one day in a row, you can call in sick on the second day. You must have worked the first day of your assignment to receive pay for the second day. To call in sick, contact dispatch early in the morning.

Look on the bottom of you pay stub to determine how many paid sick days you have. All teachers accumulate sick days at a rate of 0.078 sick days for each day worked. So, after 20 days worked you will have accumulated 1.56 sick days. Sick days continue to collect throughout your entire career. They are considered an “insurance policy” and cannot be cashed out at retirement. You can port up to 60 sick days if you leave Surrey for another district.

Free counseling- E.F.A.P

Did you know that all Surrey teachers, including TTOCs, pay into the Employee Family Assistance Program, which is a comprehensive counseling service? The school district pays 80% of the cost and your 20% portion appears as E.F.A.P under deductions on your pay stub. Through the E.F.A.P you can receive treatment for a full range of personal and family-related issues including, but not limited to:

Grief and bereavement

Marital issues

Parenting

Anger management

Sexuality

Stress

Addiction

Domestic violence

Separation/divorce/custody

Depression

E.F.A.P can also help you locate Child Care, Elder Care and Legal advice. You just need to go to http://www.homewoodhumansolutions.com and Log In as an employee of Surrey School District #36. You can start accessing the benefits immediately.