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Bilingual teachers tell SFUSD they need pay, clerical support and release time for extra assessment work
Summary
Around 150 Cantonese- and Mandarin-track teachers presented a petition and described hours of additional assessment and reporting work tied to bilingual report cards; they asked the Board for 24-hour per-diem compensation, training, tech and clerical support, and release time; UESF said it filed a grievance.
A group of bilingual and immersion teachers, backed by the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), addressed the Board to describe increased assessment and report-card workload tied to biliteracy programs and asked for concrete supports.
Theresa Chen, a kindergarten Chinese biliteracy teacher at Monroe Elementary, said the additional district assessments and site-based report cards "take up at least, at least 7 hours of work time, and that's 3 times a year," and that the work reduces time for instruction, planning and collaboration. Other teachers described having to administer individualized oral and writing assessments, use rubrics, and manually enter subcategory scores into district systems.
Steven Lau, a kindergarten teacher in Chinese immersion, said the teachers had gathered a petition with 150 signatures and requested additional compensation, clerical help, training and release days. Marie Tang, who said 150 teachers had signed the petition, asked the Board for "24 hours per diem compensation for this additional overtime work" and offered to share examples and comparisons with other districts that have addressed the workload.
Susan Solomon, UESF executive vice president, said the union filed a grievance on the issue but emphasized that teachers want collaborative solutions: "In order for the biliteracy pathways to be successful, there is extra work that has to be done... We would like to see these bilingual and immersion program teachers get the clerical support, tech support, training, and release time so they can get their assessments and report cards done without taking time away from instructional time." She asked the district to provide resources and to negotiate remedies where appropriate.
Board members thanked the speakers and acknowledged the concerns; the record shows the union has filed formal grievance proceedings. Teachers invited district staff to visit Monroe Elementary and other sites and to continue conversations about staffing, compensation and workflow solutions.
