SPS Proposals
Summit’s team presented all of their proposals again in a big document — look for the words in blue to see changes in their proposals.
Assignment and transfer
We have reached a tentative agreement with SPS for Assignments and Transfers! Summit has agreed that there would be no involuntary transfers and has created a system to allow for teacher advocacy and input into teaching placements. Before May 1st, EDs should notify teachers of which courses will be offered and teachers will know by the last day of instruction what they will be teaching for the following school year.
Evaluation
SPS proposed a tiered system of evaluation where a teacher with a poor evaluation may have compensation withheld. We fundamentally disagree that evaluation should be tied to compensation. However we do think that both Summit and our union agree that there should be a fair and clear process for teachers to be let go for poor performance. We are continuing to work on the details of that process.
Discipline and Dismissal
SPS streamlined their list of actions that would result in discipline. SPS also proposed that a teacher receive at least a written warning before being fired except in egregious circumstances
Unite Summit’s Proposals
Compensation and Class Size Package Proposal
We are mostly aligned with Summit on class size, though we are still advocating for smaller mentor group sizes. We also want a mechanism to enforce class sizes, whereas Summit’s proposal is really just a guideline. We agreed to Summit’s proposal for a 1.08% across the board salary increase for the upcoming school year, but believe that the school years after that should include raises that reflect the rising cost of living in the Bay Area.
Hours, Work Year, and Job Duties
We made significant movement on this proposal today and added four extra work days by adding back in February PD. We asked that February PD follow a similar format to what happened this year, offering remote and diverse PD options. We agreed that the work day should last until 4pm but want to continue to allow sites to have autonomy on creating bell schedules.
Did you know that Summit will receive substantial federal and state funding which must be used to address the extra supports students need as a result of the pandemic? We proposed that for the next two years, every campus is given funds for mental health clinicians, English language development teachers, or other certificated staff depending on the needs of the school (2 new positions for high schools, 1 for each middle school).
We think this is a sensible use of the money, which the government has designated to spend on things like mental health counseling and mitigating learning loss of homeless and other heavily impacted student groups like English Learners. Even before the pandemic, teachers expressed frustration with Summit’s bare-bones staffing and the lack of student supports. Now, as we prepare to return to in person school next year after 18 months of being virtual, we know these needs will be even greater. We believe it’s extraordinarily important to invest this additional federal and state money into more staff so that our students can have more caring adults in our schools.