Personal Appearance All teachers shall maintain dress, grooming and personal appearance consistent with their area of teaching.
Professional and Education Leaves (a) Leave of absence with pay or without pay may be granted to employees to attend professional and educational meetings, courses, or other events which may be judged beneficial to the employee's professional development, especially as it relates to her responsibilities with the Employer.
PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY 1. Teachers shall, within the bounds of the prescribed curriculum, and consistent with effective educational practice and the Evaluation Criteria, Local Appendix A, have individual professional autonomy in determining the methods of instruction, and the planning and presentation of course materials in the classes of pupils to which they are assigned.
Personally Owned Professional Material The employer shall reimburse an employee to a maximum of $150 for loss, damage or personal insurance deductible to personally owned professional material brought to the employee’s workplace to assist in the execution of the employee’s duties, provided that:
a. The loss or damage is not the result of negligence on the part of the employee claiming compensation;
b. The claim for loss or damage exceeds ten (10) dollars;
c. If applicable, a copy of the claim approval from their insurance carrier shall be provided to the employer;
d. The appropriate Principal or Vice-Principal reports that the loss was sustained while on assignment for the employer.
Professional Improvement Leave A teacher may be granted leave to be used for the teacher's professional improvement. Professional improvement days may be approved by the superintendent and used for the purpose of:
1. Visitation to view other instructional techniques or programs.
2. Conferences, workshops, or seminars conducted by colleges, universities, or vocational schools. The teacher planning to use a professional improvement day shall notify the principal at least one week in advance of the proposed absence. The teacher shall be required to file a written report with the principal within one (1) week of attendance at such event. Also, the teacher may/shall be requested to return with materials and/or information to be shared with other teachers. The expense of attending such visitation, conference, workshop, or seminar will be paid by the Board when the proper reimbursement applications are sent to the district office. In cases where attendance at a convention, workshop, seminar, or other educational activity is deemed to be of value only to the individual teacher, leave may be granted for attendance with either no expenses or limited expenses being underwritten by the district. In these cases, no written or verbal reports will be required.
Training and Professional Development 11.1 The Employer will develop and maintain an employee training and development plan and provide such plan to the Union upon request. Staff training is intended to provide an opportunity for classified staff employees for training sponsored by the University Training and Development and the UW Medical Centers Organizational Development and Training. Education/Professional Leave is intended to facilitate employee access to continuing education opportunities. Training and educational/professional leave may be used for the purpose of improving job performance, maintaining and increasing proficiency, preparing staff for greater responsibility, or increasing promotional opportunities within the framework of staff positions available at the University.
11.2 Any release time for training for employees accepted for such classes shall be in accordance with the Executive Order (currently No. 52) governing this matter. In the event that two or more employees request the same training period and supervision must limit the number of persons who may participate at one time due to work requirements, the selection will be made on a mutually agreeable basis within the department.
11.3 The training program is a proper subject for discussion by either departmental or University-wide Joint Union/Management Committees.
11.4 If the Employer requires an employee to receive training, reimbursement will be provided in accordance with the University travel rules. Employee attendance at Employer required training, either during or outside working hours, will be considered time worked and compensated in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
11.5 Employee attendance at training not required by the Employer and not covered by Executive Order 52, either on approved leave from or outside of working hours, will be voluntary and not considered time worked.
Elements Unsatisfactory Needs Improvement Proficient Exemplary IV-A-1. Reflective Practice Demonstrates limited reflection on practice and/or use of insights gained to improve practice. May reflect on the effectiveness of lessons/ units and interactions with students but not with colleagues and/or rarely uses insights to improve practice. Regularly reflects on the effectiveness of lessons, units, and interactions with students, both individually and with colleagues, and uses insights gained to improve practice and student learning. Regularly reflects on the effectiveness of lessons, units, and interactions with students, both individually and with colleagues; and uses and shares with colleagues, insights gained to improve practice and student learning. Is able to model this element.
PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT The parties’ support the principle of continuing training of teachers, participation by teachers in professional organizations in the areas of their specialization, leaves for work on advanced degrees or special studies, foreign travel and participation in community educational projects.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT A. The Board of Education agrees to pay the actual tuition costs of courses taken by a teacher at accredited colleges or universities up to three courses per two (2) year fiscal periods from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008 and July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010 respectively, except as follows:
1. No teacher may be reimbursed for courses taken during the first year of teaching in Vineland.
2. Teachers taking courses in the second and third years of employment in Vineland will not receive remuneration until tenure has been secured. The remuneration will then be retroactive and will be paid to the teacher in a lump sum within sixty (60) days after the teacher has secured tenure.
3. All courses must be pre-approved by the Superintendent or his designee subject to the following requirements:
(a) A teacher must provide official documentation that he/she has obtained a grade of B or better;
(b) Reimbursement shall be paid only for courses directly related to teacher’s teaching field which increase the teacher’s content knowledge and are related to the teacher’s current certification, as determined by the Superintendent or his/her designee in his/her sole discretion; no reimbursement shall be paid for courses leading to a post graduate or professional degree in a field other than education or teaching. Further, effective September 1, 2010, all newly hired teachers shall not be eligible for reimbursement until they are tenured, and they shall not be eligible for retroactive reimbursement upon gaining tenure for courses taken prior to being tenured.
(c) The maximum total payments to be made by the Board shall not exceed $130,000.00. Courses shall be applied for no earlier than the following dates: Summer Session - April 1 Fall/Winter Session - June 1 Spring Session - October 1 Courses must, as set forth hereinabove in this sub-article 18.A.3, be pre-approved by the Superintendent or his designee, prior to the teacher commencing the course(s); and
(d) Teacher taking courses shall sign a contract requiring them to reimburse the Board for all tuition paid for a course if the teacher shall voluntarily leave the employ of the Board within one (1) full school/academic year of completion of said course, except that reimbursement shall not be required when the teacher shall voluntarily leave the employ of the Board due to a significant, documented life change.
4. Tuition reimbursement costs shall be a sum not to exceed the actual cost of college credits charged in an accredited public State college/University of the State of New Jersey.
B. When the Superintendent initiates in-service training courses, workshops, conferences and programs designed to improve the quality of instruction, the cooperation of the Vineland Education Association will be solicited. Notwithstanding the above, the initiation of in-service training courses, workshops, conferences and programs shall be determined solely at the discretion of the Board.
C. One professional leave day may be granted to a teacher upon request, according to the following guidelines:
1. The professional day may be for attendance at a workshop, seminar or visit to another school for the expressed purpose of self professional improvement for the job.
2. The request shall arrive in the office of the Superintendent of Schools at least ten (10) working days prior to the date requested and shall be reviewed by the immediate supervisor prior to submission. The Board reserves the right to deny a professional leave day before or immediately following a holiday or on a day which by its nature suggests a hardship for providing a substitute.
3. No more than two teachers from any one elementary school or from any one department in the secondary schools may be granted a professional leave for a given day.
4. The teacher may be required to submit a report to the Superintendent of Schools, Assistant Superintendent, supervisor (s), principal and staff regarding the activity of the professional day.
5. Costs incurred by the teacher for the professional day authorized under this Section shall be the teacher’s responsibility.
6. A maximum of 90 professional leave days may be authorized for the school year which shall be apportioned as follows: elementary, 35; grades seven and eight, 20; and high school, 35.
D. If the Board initiates a teacher’s attendance at a professional workshop, seminar or visit, the expenses shall be the responsibility of the Board. Further, this day shall not be subtracted from the 90 professional leave days granted to teachers of the Association.
E. The Board agrees to pay the full cost of courses taken by secretaries related to skills and knowledge improvement when such courses are required and approved by the Board.
F. The Board and the Association agree that it is important to communicate when developing and implementing current and future learning technologies, including but not limited to distance and on-line learning.
PROFESSIONAL RECORDS You should be aware that, according to the rules of HIPAA, I keep Protected Health Information about you in two sets of professional records. One set constitutes your Clinical Record. It includes information about your reasons for seeking therapy, a description of the ways in which your problem impacts on your life, your diagnosis, the goals that we set for treatment, your progress towards those goals, your medical and social history, your treatment history, any past treatment records that I receive from other providers, reports of any professional consultations, your billing records, and any reports that have been sent to anyone, including reports to your insurance carrier. In addition, I also keep a set of Psychotherapy Notes. These Notes are for my own use and are designed to assist me in providing you with the best treatment, While the content of Psychotherapy Notes vary from client to client, they can include notes regarding the contents of our conversations, my analysis of those conversations, and how they impact on your therapy. They also can contain particularly sensitive information that you may reveal to me that is not required to be included in your Clinical Record. These Psychotherapy Notes are kept separate from your Clinical Record. While insurance companies can request and receive a copy of your Clinical Record, they cannot receive a copy of your Psychotherapy Notes without your signed, written Authorization. Insurance companies cannot require your Authorization as a condition of coverage nor penalize you in any way for your refusal. You may examine and/or receive a copy of both sets of records, if you request it in writing. Because these are professional records, they can be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to untrained readers. For this reason, I recommend that you initially review them in my presence, or have them forwarded to another mental health professional so you can discuss the contents. In most circumstances, I am allowed to charge a fee for copying records. The exceptions to this policy are contained in the Privacy Notice form. HIPAA provides you with several new or expanded rights with regard to your Clinical Record and disclosures of protected health information. These rights include requesting that I amend your record; requesting restrictions on what information from your Clinical Record is disclosed to others; requesting an accounting of most disclosures of Protected Health Information that you have neither consented to nor authorized; determining the location to which protected information disclosures are sent; having any complaints you make about my policies and procedures recorded in your records; and the right to a paper copy of this Agreement, the Privacy Notice form, and my privacy policies and procedures. I am happy to discuss any of these rights and/or issues with you. Patients under 18 years of age who are not emancipated and their parents should be aware that the law may allow parents to examine their child’s treatment records. Because privacy in psychotherapy is often crucial to successful progress, particularly with teenagers, it is sometimes my policy to request an agreement from parents that they consent to give up their access to their child’s records. If they agree, during treatment, I will typically provide them only with general information about the progress of the child’s treatment, and his/her attendance at scheduled sessions. I also may provide parents with a summary of their child’s treatment when it is complete. Most other communication will require the child’s Authorization, unless I feel that the child is in danger or is a danger to someone else, in which case, I will notify the parents of my concern. Before giving parents information, I will discuss the matter with the child, if possible, and do my best to handle any objections he/she may have.
