Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K 12 Instruction Calendar topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Burlington teachers ask school committee to limit after-school meetings and expand elementary planning time
Summary
The Burlington Educators Association urged the school committee to negotiate language limiting before- and after-school meetings, provide monthly professional development and reconsider an elementary early‑release schedule tied to the district contract.
Chrissy Shepherd, vice president of the Burlington Educators Association, told the school committee on March 25 that elementary teachers want changes to a proposed early‑release calendar and protections for planning time.
Shepherd said the BEA’s counterproposal was developed from educator emails and representative discussions and reflects teachers’ needs. "We ask the school committee to accept BEA language to limit the number of meetings scheduled by the building principals or assistant superintendent to no more than 2 before or after school meetings per week, or up to 30 minutes in length," she said. The BEA also asked for monthly professional development and regular before‑and‑after‑school planning time to remain available to classroom teachers.
The BEA representative said teachers need dedicated time to plan for four hours of daily ELA, math, SEL, morning meetings and embedded science and social studies, and raised concern that compressing professional development between October and December would leave teachers without sufficient time to plan and reflect: "A stretch between October and December's professional development will likely lead to educators having to forge ahead without the proper planning and training necessary in November."
Shepherd reminded the committee that the elementary early‑release topic had been tabled during contract negotiations last June and that negotiators had agreed to resume that discussion in the fall. She said the BEA received a proposed calendar and additional conditions from district leadership a week after the last school committee meeting and responded with the counterproposal now before the committee.
The comments were delivered during the meeting’s public participation period; the committee did not take a formal vote on the BEA proposal that night. Shepherd closed by asking members to consider the counterproposal with "open eyes, open ears, and open hearts" and offered to answer questions or provide clarification at a later time.
The school committee acknowledged the public comment and moved on to the next agenda item without immediate action; the BEA’s requests will remain part of ongoing contract and calendar discussions.
