The half-days teachers have for professional development will not be a part of the 2016-2017 school year.  Those student half-days built into the school calendar will be eliminated in the next school year.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff recommended a new teacher professional development schedule at the December 14th session.  The board approved the proposal 6-1, with Howard Stevenson voting no.

The new schedule calls for teacher professional development to be done for a 45-minute period on most school-day Monday afternoons.  This would be done by expanding the teacher work day by 25 minutes and reducing student time by 20 minutes.  For more details on the new schedule, use this link.

Dr. Bourff told the board several groups were surveyed, including parents and teachers. After looking at all the results, and other factors, the proposal was made for Mondays.

This will extend the teacher work day by 25 minutes each Monday when professional development is scheduled.  “I’m fully aware that there are some concerns about what you do in this length of time,” Dr. Bourff told board members.  “No one wants to have their day extended, mandated by a government body, but what I am suggesting right now is that we step out there and do this.”

HSE Education Association President Janet Chandler said her group has been talking to the administration for a number of months about this professional development schedule. Although she expressed appreciation for Dr. Bourff’s willingness to listen, the teachers making up the membership of her association clearly want to keep the current half-day system for professional development, based on a survey done last year.

“There are definitely feelings out there that, we bargained a contract, and then all of a sudden they (school officials) increase our hours, there’s no pay to go with that, and how does that work out,” Chandler told the board.

Chandler did thank administrators for making some modifications of the professional development times.  “I know that an afternoon time (for professional development) will certainly be beneficial to teachers with families,” Chandler said.

Board President Karen Harmer said this proposal “didn’t satisfy anybody, so everybody got little pieces but nobody got what they really wanted.”