Combined Grades. The School Staffing Committee will explore alternatives to minimize the impact of combined grade classes.
Combined Grades. The parties recognize the additional burden of teaching combined grades. Where reasonably possible, split grades should be avoided. Although it is recognized that it will not always be possible to strictly follow these guidelines, the parties agree that in keeping with the fair distribution of workload, the following guiding principles will be used in staffing procedures: • Cross-divisional combined grades should be avoided; • Combined grades should be avoided in testing years; • A careful consideration of class composition, class size, teacher experience, and the grades taught by the teachers, shall be undertaken when assigning combined grades; • Combined grades should be smaller than straight grades; • Assignments to combined grades shall be rotated with straight grade assignments and rotated equitably among all those teaching the grades involved. The Principal, along with the School Staff Advisory Committee shall consider these principles in addressing the Staffing Procedures. In keeping with the above noted principles, the Board agrees as follows: • The above noted principles will be incorporated into the Board's Staffing Procedures; • There will be a specific inservice for combined grade teachers annually; • A network of combined grade teachers will be established; • The Superintendent of Schools will review all combined grade assignments; • The timing of decisions about combined grade staffing, including size and class composition will be made in accordance with the Board's Staffing Procedures; • In keeping with Article 13.02 concerning fair and equitable workload, teachers in combined grade assignments shall be given priority when determining the following schedule of distribution of any additional planning time (after additional planning time has been allocated in accordance with Letter of Intent #1), case conferences, and resource allocation.
