Professional Development Program (a) The parties agree to continue a Professional Development Program for the maintenance and development of the faculty members' professional competence and effectiveness. It is agreed that maintenance of currency of subject knowledge, the improvement of performance of faculty duties, and the maintenance and improvement of professional competence, including instructional skills, are the primary professional development activities of faculty members.
(b) Information collected as part of this program shall be the sole property of the faculty member. This information or any judgments arising from this program shall not be used to determine non-renewal or termination of a faculty member's contract, suspension or dismissal of a faculty member, denial of advancement on the salary scale, nor affect any other administrative decisions pertaining to the promotion or employment status of the faculty member.
(c) A joint advisory committee consisting of three regular faculty members who shall be elected by and are P.D. Committee Chairpersons and three administrators shall make recommendations for the operation, financing and management of the Professional Development Program.
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 Development Plan Professional Development Plan (PDP) refers to plans developed by faculty members addressing the criteria contained in Article 22 and Appendix G.
Development Activities The Development activities referred to in item “b” of paragraph 3.1 include: studies and projects of implementation of the Production facilities; drilling and completion of the Producing and injection xxxxx; and installation of equipment and vessels for extraction, collection, Treatment, storage, and transfer of Oil and Gas. The installation referred to in item “c” includes, but is not limited to, offshore platforms, pipelines, Oil and Gas Treatment plants, equipment and facilities for measurement of the inspected Production, wellhead equipment, production pipes, flow lines, tanks, and other facilities exclusively intended for extraction, as well as oil and gas pipelines for Production Outflow and their respective compressor and pumping stations.
Independent Activities 14.1 Except as expressly provided herein, each party shall have the free and unrestricted right to independently engage in and receive the full benefit of any and all business endeavours of any sort whatsoever, whether or not competitive with the endeavours contemplated herein without consulting the other or inviting or allowing the other to participate therein. No party shall be under any fiduciary or other duty to the other which will prevent it from engaging in or enjoying the benefits of competing endeavours within the general scope of the endeavours contemplated herein. The legal doctrines of "corporate opportunity" sometimes applied to persons engaged in a joint venture or having fiduciary status shall not apply in the case of any party. In particular, without limiting the foregoing, no party shall have any obligation to any other party as to:
(a) any opportunity to acquire, explore and develop any mining property, interest or right presently owned by it or offered to it outside of the Property at any time; and
(b) the erection of any mining plant, mill, smelter or refinery, whether or not such mining plant, mill, smelter or refinery treats ores or concentrates from the Property.
Professional Development Committee There shall be a Professional Development Committee composed of two (2) members of the Association one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate and two (2) representatives of the Hospital one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and one human resources representative.
Local Professional Development Committee A. There shall be a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) to oversee, review, and approve individual professional development plans (IPDP) for course work, continuing education units and/or other equivalent activities.
1. The LPDC shall be responsible to recommend for the Superintendent’s approval, all in-service activities and workshops offered in the district during the school year for staff professional development.
2. Recommendations for District Workshops and In-Service activities should be submitted to the LPDC for approval and recommendation no later than the last school day of the year prior to the year it will be implemented.
3. The LPDC chair shall review and approve all “Professional Growth Reimbursement Application” forms.
B. The LPDC shall consist of three (3) teachers appointed by the Association President and two (2) members appointed by the Superintendent. One of the Superintendent's appointees will be a Principal employed by the district.
C. Appointments shall be for two (2) years with half of the committee members being appointed every other year.
1. Appointments shall be made on or before May 1.
2. The Appointments shall be made by each party outlined above, notifying the other of those appointed.
3. In the event of a vacancy, the committee members shall be replaced in accordance with "B." above.
4. The Association shall name a fourth teacher member and the Superintendent shall name a third administrative member to serve as alternates and attend trainings. These two (2) people shall act as substitutes when a committee member is absent.
D. This committee shall meet monthly.
1. The committee may also be convened by the request of two sitting members.
2. A quorum shall consist of five (5) members. When administrative licenses/certificates are reviewed, two (2) sitting teacher members will abstain and the decision will be decided by three (3) members.
3. If the committee determines it is needed, they will be provided two (2) professional release days to meet during regular school hours. Substitutes will be provided for the committee members on these release days.
4. Committee members shall be provided an additional annual stipend of $1,000 for meetings beyond the normal work day or year. This stipend shall be paid in two (2) semi-annual payments. Any member who fails to serve the full year shall have the above compensation prorated on a monthly basis for each month served.
5. Decisions of the LPDC will be made by consensus of the committee members present.
6. The committee minutes shall be prepared and maintained in compliance with the laws governing the operation of committees of public bodies.
Professional Development Fund Article 20
Professional Development Funds 23.1.1 Two Professional Development Funds, a Professional Development Support Fund and an Education Leave Fund, shall be established to support professional development activities as defined in 23.2. On April 1st of each year, the College will allocate an amount equal to no less than 0.9% of total faculty salary (exclusive of severance payments) to the Professional Development Support Fund, and an amount equal to no less than 0.6% of total faculty salary to the Educational Leave Fund. Any unused balances in these funds shall carry over to the next budget year.
23.1.2 The College agrees to provide the Association with the authority to administer the program on behalf of the College for those activities approved by the College in accordance with 23.2, 23.4 and 23.5.
23.1.3 Nothing in this Agreement prevents the College from funding professional development activities in addition to those activities supported through the Professional Development Funds (23.1.1) in accordance with the procedures described in this Article.
Professional Development; Adverse Consequences of School Exclusion; Student Behavior The Board President or Superintendent, or their designees, will make reasonable efforts to provide ongoing professional development to Board members about the adverse consequences of school exclusion and justice-system involvement, effective classroom management strategies, culturally responsive discipline, appropriate and available supportive services for the promotion of student attendance and engagement, and developmentally appropriate disciplinary methods that promote positive and healthy school climates, i.e., Senate Bill 100 training topics. The Board will conduct periodic self-evaluations with the goal of continuous improvement. New Board Member Orientation The orientation process for newly elected or appointed Board members includes:
