Speak Up for Specialists! Vol. 40

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Speak Up for SPECIALISTS

July 2021 Vol. 40

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Finding Our Place

Click on the chart to see an overview of specialist deployments.

Equitable Work Loads

Any useful system has wiggle room in order to maintain flexibility. The healthy singing voice has a natural vibrato - slight variations in tone and pitch that give the voice character. These variations flicker around a core frequency/tone. If they lose their center or become too widely spaced, the listener loses track of the tune and hands go over ears.* We've broken down the variances in class loads within and between schools. Click on the chart to see the results. You decide if this is a pleasant vibrato or the dreaded elderly soprano wobble.

*Equal-opportunity analogy: A gymnast on the beam needs balance and form to perform a routine with strength, flexibility, and elegance. Free motion is required, but must happen with the beam as the center. At what point do counter-balancing arm motions become panicked "winding down the windows" and falling off the beam?

Scheduling Guidelines

What's Best for Kids?

In the above common scheduling expectations,

"Students will have the same Music and PE teacher for both sections per week."

We are in agreement that this is what's best for kids.

Though this is clearly stated, at least 14 Music and PE educators are scheduled .2 at a school. The only way the single teacher expectation can be honored is if schools are allowed to work together to schedule half days so that the .2 person can see the same students on different days.

Students having consistent instruction should be a priority, whether it means the mental gymnastics of sorting out specialist schedules between multiple buildings, or the district commitment to fully support specialist instruction.

Tacoma Online

Many of us have been assigned classes at TOL, with the idea that this will be a part of our regular schedule. While this enables us to stay in one building, there are questions about the logistics of this.

How will scheduling be coordinated?
Is planning for yet another prep included in this allocation?
Are these synchronous or asynchronous classes?

Ask TEA to seek Clear Contract Language for Specialists

As TEA continues to work on behalf of only some members, many specialists have been asking themselves whether or not to continue their membership in TEA.

We hope that you will stick with TEA for one more year so that we can work within the union during the 2022 open bargain. This year we have increased specialist representation in TEA-RA and have raised awareness of the issues of equity that we face. Change takes time. If we are NOT members, there is even less reason for TEA to bargain for better working conditions for us.

Please contact the TEA executive board and urge them to work on adding these points to the contract.

One Job, One Educator. When this is not possible, co-teaching language should apply.
Staffing Formula -- How many classes support 1.0 FTE? This is an issue of equity and access to quality instruction for both students and staff.
Caseload limit --There needs to be one. Currently we can be asked to serve over 250 students in a single day. This is more than anyone in the district.

*To be most effective, we suggest sending all correspondences to the entire board.

Here is an easy clickable contact list for TEA, TPS Administrators, and the School Board for use in keeping the lines of communications open.

Advocacy Contact List

One Job, One Educator

Equitable Access to

Quality Instruction

Open Positions

PE interviews have been canceled twice due to lack of candidates interested in positions split between multiple schools. PE positions are in the process of being reposted.

There are currently 4.4FTE worth of Music positions open. All are split positions.