Upper School Schedules
In the “Agreement between the Tuxedo Union Free School District and the Tuxedo Teachers’ Association” dated July 1, 2021-June 30, 2024, there is a section under the Teacher Load and Teaching hours Article VIII, it reads:
A.(6) Nine Period Day Schedule
b. Period Schedule
In a nine (9) period day, in addition to five (5) classes of instruction, a sixth period of a duty will be assigned six days out of a six day cycle. An additional period will be assigned as follows:
Two (2) duties, Three (3) Preparation Periods and One (1) ATT or Duty at District’s Discretion.
The remaining two periods in the nine period day will be Prep and Lunch. At the end of the day there will be a 30-minute block called Period X. This period shall be used for teacher assignments including AIS, enrichment, additional assignment, etc. as determined by administration. No replacement class will be further negotiated at that time.
This is a straight carry-over from the previous contract between the District and Teacher Union—July 1, 2017-June 30, 2021.
There is no reference to a Period X in Greenwood Lake, North Rockland, Monroe/Woodbury, Suffern, or Warwick contracts. Tuxedo seems to be the only District to have such a period.
In all fairness, Period X does not appear in this years (2021-2022) student schedules on the six (6) student schedules that I have seen. But, the schedules I have seen have a majority of “Study Hall” or “Enrichment” or “Resource Room” periods. 21 of 49 scheduled periods (minus lunch) are Study Halls, Enrichment, or Resource Room. Some argue that “Enrichment” and “Resource Room” are glorified Study Halls.
Within the teacher contract, in the beginning stage, it states:
The primary function of the District and its professional staff as represented by the TTA is to endeavor to provide each student attending the Tuxedo Schools with the highest level of educational opportunity possible.
One has to question if having this much time spent in study halls is the best educational strategy the District can provide to students for the highest level of education possible.
To read more on the upper school schedules: https://kbfortheboe.com/taboo-subject/
Whether the Union opts to use Period X or not, it is now at the Unions discretion and not the Board or Administrations discretion. The Board has approved this approach which implies that the Board feels the Union has a higher authority than the Board or the Administration as to how schedules or classes will run.
While we are on the topic of schedules, it is also stated within the contract “The matter of scheduling the student instructional day shall remain an open subject of bargaining following agreement upon a successor collective bargaining agreement to the parties’ agreement that expired on June 20, 2021.” Does this mean that the Union has the final say on scheduling? If so, then who is really in charge, the Union, the Board, or the Administration? There is no mention of this in the Greenwood Lake contract, there is a mention of a committee in the North Rockland contract but it is not mentioned that it is part of a collective bargaining agreement. There is no mention of this in the Monroe/Woodbury contract, the Suffern Central School District contact, or the Warwick Valley Teachers’ Association contract.
These are two examples of what is within the Union contract. Good for the Union as they have strong leadership and negotiating skills, possibly bad for the Board and Administration as they have lost their control and leverage for the District.