Change at the Helm

The executive committee of the UFT paraprofessional chapter has unanimously elected Shelvy Young Abrams as the chapter’s acting chair. She succeeds Chapter Chair Maria Portalatin, who has retired.

Abrams will serve as acting chair until a membership election in May. Previously, she had served for nine years as first vice chair of the chapter.

Abrams takes over for Portalatin, who was first elected chair in 1980, and before that had served as a UFT special representative for six years.

Doreen Raftery has been elected by the executive committee as the chapter’s acting first vice chair — replacing Abrams — until the election in May.

Dear Paraprofessionals,

I’m happy to serve as your acting chair and I want to assure you that we are making a smooth transition here at UFT headquarters. As many of you know, I have worked very closely with Maria Portalatin and others to address working conditions for paras for more than a decade.

As you are no doubt aware, there has been vast inconsistency in the implementation of the new tutoring sessions in our schools. Many of you have had questions about this and other aspects of the new contract. Below are some answers you should find useful:

What are my rights during the new, extended
37 1/2 minutes sessions?

Our new contract makes clear that paraprofessionals will have their workdays extended in the same manner as teachers. Therefore, paras are to assist teachers in the classroom. The student-teacher ratio must not exceed 10:1 in a general education class, or 5:1 in a self-contained, special education class. The student-teacher ratio should not change when a para is assigned to work one-to-one with a student. An assignment of 10 students to one para would violate the contract.

Do I have to do lunchroom, bus or hall duty?

Circular 6R changes in the contract do not refer to paraprofessionals; therefore, you should not be assigned to administrative duties. If you work AM or PM bus duty, you should continue to be additionally compensated for that assignment. However, paraprofessionals assigned to work one-to-one with a student must accompany that student to lunch when this responsibility is clearly identified in the student’s IEP. Paras who work with Pre-K children must accompany them to lunch. Paras should not be picking up children for dismissal.

Do I have to attend monthly staff conferences?

Paraprofessionals should not be mandated to attend monthly staff conferences. We do, however, suggest that they consider attending the meetings in order to stay abreast of the ever-changing educational mandates. Nonetheless, there should not be disciplinary consequences for non-attendance. As for the scheduling of such conferences, the union maintains they should happen during the regular school day, which is defined in the contract as 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Do“Letters in the File” changes pertain to paras?

Yes. Changes to those regulations affect all titles, including paras. Every member has a right to review his or her file and to have any material therein removed after three years if it has not been used in further disciplinary proceedings. All staff should speak with their supervisors to make an appointment to view files and should identify those letters that he or she would like removed by marking each with a Post-it and should request the originals. If a member does not receive the originals, he or she should file a grievance under the Memorandum of Agreement Section 10.

The union is challenging the Department of Education over its interpretation of certain aspects of the new contract. If you are asked to perform tasks that are not in accordance with the union’s position, I encourage you to utilize and pursue the grievance process.