ROCKWOOD NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
AND ROCKWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT
NEGOTIATIONS ISSUES 2011-2012
- Rockwood National Education Association #1
Given the outstanding work of Rockwood teachers, librarians and counselors, how can we compensate
them at a level that is competitive with other St. Louis County school districts? - Rockwood National Education Association #2
How can we better support, educate and communicate our current maternity leave options for teachers? - Rockwood National Education Association #3
How can we establish counselor expectations that will best meet the needs of our secondary students
given the current student/ counselor ratios in RSD? - Rockwood National Education Association #4
How can we improve the personal day policy to respect the professionalism of the Rockwood School
District's staff? - Rockwood National Education Association #5
How can we ensure equitable assignments of teachers during their 6th responsibility time while
working to maximize student achievement? - Rockwood National Education Association #6
How can we support or eliminate the assignment of administrative duties to teachers? - Rockwood National Education Association #7
How can we better protect plan time while maximizing the instructional potential for all teachers? - Rockwood National Education Association #8
Given the potential for financial constraints for the Rockwood School District in the coming years,
how can we treat all staff in a fair and consistent manner should a reduction in force be necessary? - Rockwood National Education Association #9
How can we provide support for teachers and students and ensure consistency across the district as
standards based grading and common grading practices are implemented? - Rockwood National Education Association #10
Regarding bereavement leave, what is the best policy to ensure Rockwood teachers feel supported in
their time of need? - Rockwood National Education Association #11
How can we improve parent/teacher communication in regards to anonymous, continuous and/or
irrational complaints? - Rockwood National Education Association #12
How could the Rockwood Community Education Department be utilized to increase staff morale and
provide flexible and supportive programs for staff and students?
ROCKWOOD NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
AND ROCKWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT
NEGOTIATIONS ISSUES 2011-2012
-
Rockwood School District #1
How can the RNEA and the District clarify language regarding the notice of and payment for the Sick
Leave Award for Retirement? - Rockwood School District #2
Should there be a "black-out" period for Personal Day Leaves during the first week of student
attendance? - Rockwood School District #3
What is the appropriate committee for zero hour discussion and review? The Current Agreement states
that the ECA committee will be charged with reviewing zero hour stipends. Is this the appropriate
committee to review zero hour stipends? - Rockwood School District #4
How can we develop an equitable change in the administration of the District's 403(b) Tax-Sheltered
Annuity Plan and 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan that will maintain the integrity of these plans as
well as adequately meet the needs of our employee/participants? - Rockwood School District #5
How can the RSD and the RNEA gain more time for PLC collaboration at the beginning of the school
year? How can we use the time more effectively in order to provide schools more collaboration time
during the teacher work days? - Rockwood School District #6
How can we clarify the confusion around grade recording time and provide the most timely grade
feedback for students and parents? - Rockwood School District #7
How can we clarify that all administrator scheduled conferences do not require a silent observer, only
those that are disciplinary in nature? - Rockwood School District #8
Some language in our Current Agreement is time specific or refers to programs / departments that no
longer exist or have changed titles. How can we review language to reflect the current reality? - Rockwood School District #9
Is the section on Enhancing the VICC Program needed in the Current Agreement, or should we
consider removing it? - Rockwood School District #10
A pilot review committee was formed from the last negotiation process, but appears to be nonfunctioning.
Could this process be discussed and updated, or the item removed, to reflect the impact
that the District Vision Scorecard might have on this process?
Rockwood National Education Association Scholarship Programs
As one way of affirming our belief in the importance of education, Rockwood NEA offers up to $4,000 annually in individual scholarships of $1,000 each.
The Rockwood NEA scholarships are designed to encourage and assist the best and the brightest high school students to continue their education and enter the honorable field of teaching.
Rockwood NEA Scholarship for any graduating senior from a Rockwood high school.
RNEA General Membership Meeting
A HUGE thank you to the 200+ members able to make it to the meeting on Saturday, September 17th as your support is invaluable. In the event you were unable to make it to the meeting or would like a copy of the presentations, they are provided below:
- Handouts - Sept 17 General Membership Meeting
- Local Elections
- State Issues PAC
- 2011-2012 Negotiations
- Reclaiming Your Profession
Tenets of the Rockwood NEA
Committed to providing a quality educational experience for students by ensuring educational professionals are respected and supported in their crucial work with students
- Protect Members’ Careers and Student Programs: The core of quality education is the relationship between the student and the professional educators with whom they interact on a daily basis. This core is enhanced by the myriad of opportunities students have to choose from as they explore their interests, compliment their strengths and enhance their opportunities for improvement. Students need a meaningful relationship with certificated staff (e.g. classroom teachers and counselors), supported by reasonable class sizes. Students also need access to a wide range of experiences that compliment them as individuals. As such, the jobs of educational professionals working to maximize student learning need to be protected from further budgetary cuts.
- Competitive Compensation: It is the rightful expectation of the Rockwood community that our students excel academically. Rockwood students routinely score in the top five of St. Louis County school districts. In parallel, it is the rightful expectation of Rockwood educators that they receive competitive salaries, placing them in the top quartile of county school districts. Research establishes that the quality of a student’s educational experience is directly related to the quality of the classroom teacher. To ensure that Rockwood recruits and retains quality educators that make possible the achievement of high expectations, the district needs to prioritize its financial model to provide competitive salaries to current and future employees. The current financial model that endorses a high fund balance and Triple-A bond rating above quality educators is an insult and in contrast to the primary task of a public school system: to provide a quality educational product to students and families.
- Supportive Instructional Processes: Students and teachers require meaningful curricula aligned to state and national standards. In addition, educators require the professional development and instructional materials necessary to deliver that curriculum. To ensure student learning is relevant in our rapidly-changing world, the curriculum and supporting materials, including technology, need to be revised in a timely manner with teacher input.
- Professional Dialogue: The practical wisdom of the counselor, teacher and librarian must be honored in conversations regarding the direction of a school, department or the district as a whole. Involving educators in short and long term planning greatly enhances the opportunity that those plans will be successful in implementation. While the expertise of administration is necessary to create overall vision and direction, the considered perspective of the classroom practitioner will ensure that vision and direction is meaningful in the day-to-day experience of a student.