Board of Education evaluates recommendations to improve school day

Changes in workplace conditions might be in the future for local teachers.

During day one of a two-day planning conference, members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education discussed recommendations to improve the working environment for its teachers.

Hazel Gibbs, executive director of human resources, reviewed individual recommendations drafted by a task force, asking for feedback from the board along the way.

The task force came up with a total of 10 recommendations, and work groups delved into each recommendation individually.

The first recommendation dealt with the teacher workday.

“Teaching is more than just the contact time in the classroom,” Superintendent Neil Pedersen said about the hours teachers commit.

Establishing the hours of the school day was a topic that sparked discussion among members of the board.

“What is the start and stop of the day?” Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth Carter asked.

She said there needs to be a clearer definition of when the schools assume responsibility for students.

Board member Pam Hemminger also emphasized the need for teachers to have a duty-free planning period. But when teachers would find planning time is less clear.

One possibility, recommended by one of the work groups, is to create one early-release or delayed-start day each month to give teachers --more planning time.

Board member Nick Didow said he supported having an early-release day for elementary schools and suggested looking into having these days weekly rather than monthly.

The work group recommended early-release days for elementary school and late-start days for high schools.

But factors such as child care and transportation costs would have to be considered in this decision.

A second option calls for a daily 45-minute block for elementary school teachers to plan, as well as a reorganization of special classes such as music or art to make time for the planning block.

“These seem to me to be very reasonable targets,” Didow said.

Another recommendation from the task force is for the school board to establish a communication guideline for parents when contacting teachers and other school officials.

Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey will head the committee for this recommendation.

Stuckey said that in the past, the district has seen parents interacting with teachers in a way that has not always been productive.

Other recommendations included looking into the role of resource teachers, technology resources available to teachers and a clear statement of the skills expected of teachers.

Gibbs said the feedback from Monday’s conference now will be processed, and the appropriate recommendations will come back to the board for approval.

Board members expressed appreciation for the work involved in drafting these recommendations. Some noted the effectiveness of having specific suggestions put forth by the work groups.

“This is particularly helpful because there are ideas put forward about what to do,” Didow said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.