Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Teacher Plan Time/Non-Contact Time

    Posted 06-01-2019 10:30 AM
    Greetings from Toledo, Ohio,

    I am looking into changing classroom schedules for next year. A topic I hear on a regular basis from my team is the lack of plan time teachers have in my division. Our teachers eat lunch with their class and supervise their classroom's recess time every day. Teachers have 50 minutes a day to themselves when children are at specials (or when they have break coverage for nap time). This time is their only time without children. I count this time as plan time and they count it as a break time. My question to you is, do your teachers have a separate break and plan time? What is your teachers' daily non-contact time? An additional piece of information is that our teachers are paid for an 8 hour day but are allowed to leave 30 minutes earlier (at the end of the day) than the other faculty (we are a PS-12 campus) meaning they are only working 7.5 hours. 

    Any advice or sharing your PS-K non-contact time would be helpful as I try to get creative in creating a new schedule.     

    Warmly,

    Michelle

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    Michelle Thomas
    Director of Early Learning
    Toledo OH
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  • 2.  RE: Teacher Plan Time/Non-Contact Time

    Posted 06-01-2019 07:12 PM
    Hi Michelle, 

    Most of the teachers at my school are given an hour's worth of planning time during the week when other teachers in the room are performing enrichments. I have two days when I am planning for an hour, but I can also use naptime as planning time when all the children are settled/or sleeping by using our lap top computer. 

    Unfortunately, planning time does not always work out because other teachers may be using our one lap top or one desktop computer during my planning time. Oftentimes, other teacher's planning times overlap with my own. 

    Since I only work part-time, I am not given a break. 


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    JenniferUnited States
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  • 3.  RE: Teacher Plan Time/Non-Contact Time

    Posted 06-02-2019 09:32 AM
    You might want to check the law to find out how much and when you are required to give breaks.  In MA I think a break is required for every 6 hours of work.  A break cannot be defined as a time to do other work related to your job or leaving early.  I may be wrong on the details but that's the gist.  After fulfilling the legal requirements I wonder if there would be a way to build in planning time once or twice a week.  The centers that I consult with who have paid planning time have teachers who are less stressed and curriculum that is more supportive of children than those in centers where there is no paid planning time.

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    Aren Stone
    Child Development Specialist
    The Early Years Project
    Cambridge, MA
    she/her
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  • 4.  RE: Teacher Plan Time/Non-Contact Time

    Posted 06-03-2019 07:06 PM
    Hi Aren, 

    Thank you for your message. My state also follows the 6 hour rule for breaks. I do not get a break because I only work approximately 5 1/2 hours each day. Depending on ratios, I may go home at 5:30 or earlier. 

    My planning time is paid, but if someone is using the computer or laptop, I will create my lessons during nap or at home. 


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    Jennifer United States
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  • 5.  RE: Teacher Plan Time/Non-Contact Time

    Posted 06-02-2019 10:15 AM
    Hourly teachers at my school get a b one-hour if break if they work an 8-hour shift; their planning and cleaning time is during nap. I'm salaried and work 7 hours/day, which includes one hour of planning and a 15-20 minute break. If I choose to stay late for conferences or to get something finished, that just counts as working through my break, but that's my choice. Either way, I get paid for 40 hours/week.

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    Amy Latta
    Lead NC PreK Teacher
    "All that is gold does not glitter; not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
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