There are fewer letters now, but yes, it is still a problem. Many agencies do have the ATS Computer System hookup with the Board of Ed. We will continue our talks with HRS in order to eliminate letters being generated at the school level.

Kindergarten students must be activated after their first attend date. Activate the students on the Preregister screen. First grade students will appear on the September register.

a) ATS admissions/Discharges/Transfer form b) Ethnic Identification form c) Home language Survey form (this form must be filled out completely, signed, and dated). d) Home emergency card (blue) e) White-boys/Yellow-Girls Class Card f) Cumulative Record Card - New Admits Only

No, the student must be present at the time of registration.

At least one (1) dose of Diphtheria, Polio, and MMR. The student will be provisionally admitted. A PPD (TB test) is required for all new students in grades 7-12.

Gas/Electric/Water bill/Cable bill or Bank Statement. Telephone bills leases, and rent receipts are NOT acceptable proof of address.

a) When a pending discharge notification appears on your ATS screen. b) After contacting the Parochial/Private school confirming a student admission c) When notification (request for records, letter, or postcard) is received from a school outside of New York City d) An Attendance Teacher’s investigation has gathered sufficient documentation to warrant a code 11 (discharge outside of New York City). A completed 407 form must be submitted e) Code 12 (Not Found) - Only use this discharge code after an investigation by an attendance teacher. The discharge must be authorized in WRITING on a 407 form. The 407 must be filed in the student’s cumulative record.

Upon notification of admission from another New York City public school. Only copies of records may be sent to Parochial/Private Schools or schools outside of New York City.

A no show has never attended class. The LTA student has attended class at least once.

Contact your district ATS liason.

It is the Attendance Teacher's responsibility to investigate 407s. The Attendance Teacher will close cases that he has investigated and he will data entry the informaton into ATS. If the case was not assigned to the Attendance Teacher, the school's Attendance Coordinator closes the case and may be the one designated for inputting the information into ATS. In some cases, it is the School Secretary who keys in the information. In any case, make sure that you have a hard copy of the closed 407 with the signature of the Attendance Teacher or the Attendance Coordinator before you data entry the information into ATS. Attendance procedures have become a "hot item" because of the tragic deaths of children who attended the city's schools and the school's attendance procedures were faulted. Never give your "password" to anyone for any reason and, if you have, change it immediately. This is an important issue.

In general, there is an attendance aide assigned and trained to do the daily attendance gathering and scanning. In fact, when the attendance program was first introduced on ATS, the Board had suggested that this function not be given to School Secretaries because they realized that it would add tremendously to their already heavy workload. Not every school has an health aide but Evelyn is working to get the City to provide funds so that every school will have one. We will keep you posted in the Relay and on the Web. Jackie Ervolina

Hi Charelea, Not many schools have only one Secretary, thank goodness. There are some districts, however, that still think that they can save money by decreasing the secretarial allottment or refusing to provide schools with additional Secretaries. In some instances, school aides and paras are working in the office doing the job that is rightfully a School Secretary's position. The school/district is able to save a substantial amount of money that way because these employees are paid far less than a Secretary. When the Secretaries in such a school call our Chapter Leader,Evelyn Berg, she has been successful in gaining additional Secretarial positions in that school by going to grievance. No other title, i.e., school aide of para should be doing your job. If you are in such a dilemma in your school, don't hesitate to call Evelyn or your Borough Secretary Coordinator at your UFT Borough office to discuss your situation. All information will be kept in strict confidence and no action is taken without your permission. In addition, at Evelyn's insistence the UFT and the Board have agree to jointly investigate the workload situation. Schools in each district which have been identified as having a particularly unmanageable workload will be visited by representatives of the UFT and the Board and the secretaries will be interviewed and the workload situation assessed. This is the first time that the Board has agreed to take this kind of action to try to come to some resolution of our tremendous workload situation. We will keep you posted in the next Relay and on the Web. Jackie Ervolina

The Official Change of Attendance form (RCAL)is provided on ATS and can be printed to record changes to a student's attendance which are then entered online. The form is signed by the person submitting the change and by the person who is processing the change. The form is kept on file. According to ATS, attendance reports are legal records and serve as evidence in court. School Secretaries are cautioned to make no changes to a student's attendance without written authorization from the person taking the attendance, i.e. the classroom teacher or someone assigned to take the attendance when the teacher is absent. Jackie Ervolina

Once attendance has been scanned you need to make a correction by providing a change of attendance form (RCAL) to the person who takes attendance. They must indicate the correction, e.g., from absence due to illness (A) to religious observance (05). This sheet must be accompanied by a written note from the parent advising the school that the child was absent due to rel. obs. Then the person who does attendance must bring up the change individual attendance screen on ATS (CIND from the main menu). Enter the child's ID#, red enter, you get another screen with that child's attendance. You then tab to the date you want to change and enter the codes 05 (that's zero five) in both AM and PM. F2 to save. Keep copies of everything and be sure the changes are signed by the person authorizing the change. These are legal records and may serve as evidence in court. As we have advised before, school secretaries are cautioned to make no changes to a student's attendance without written authorization from the person taking the attendance.

Hi Charelea, The SBO Transfer Plan will be in schools any day now. It must be prominently posted. The application is part of the Plan and the deadline for delivering the application to the SBO school is Friday, May 5, 2000. The memo attached to the Plan explains eligibility and procedures for applying. Personnel Committees in the SBO schools select the most senior, qualified applicant. A less senior applicant may be selected if the Committee determines that the applicant possesses extraordinary qualifications. School Secretaries are not mandated to work summer school. Your contract states that you shall report to work on the Tuesday following Labor Day. Of course, you may apply for any advertised per session summer position in your license area for which you will be paid the current per session rate. Good luck! Jackie Ervolina

You will need to refer to Chancellor's Regulation A-150 for all the details. To sum up, any time a parent wants to change an address or claims the child is living with another relative, ask if the sole reason for living with a non-parent is to permit the student to attend the school. If this is so, then the student's residence may not be established there. They need to provide some evidence that the parent has transferred custody and control of the student to the individual with whom the student is living. The school may require affidavits from the parent and the custodian. In addition, they will need to provide you with proof of the non-parent's address such as a utility bill, a document from a City Housing Authority or Human Resources Administration; an unamended driver's license, a medical insurance card or a statement that verifies the address from an employer or a social agency. According to the Chancellor's Regs, in the absence of these, other secondary proofs may be acceptable. If you feel they are not telling the truth you can issue a 407 and the Attendance Teacher will investigate. You issue the 407 by entering I407 on ATS and put in the child's ID#. Remember to press F5 so the 407 will print. Make copies and send the original to the Attendance Teacher with your own note to explain the reason, i.e., address verification, etc. In the case of a non custodial parent, the Chancellor's Regs state that they are not required to present evidence of legal guardianship. Please read through the Chancellor's Regs for a very thorough explanation. It is 11 pages long. If you need a copy, email UFTSecy@aol.com and I'll send you a copy. Hope this answers your question.

The seniority transfer plan is the last transfer list to come out. It generally arrives in schools in June and must be posted. Good luck! Jackie Ervolina

Hi hawkeye sadie,(My email to you was returned) Regulation of the Chancellor - Student Records: Access and Disclosure, A-820, should provide you with the answers that you seek regarding student records. In the appendix, you will find the Board's policy on the retention and disposition of records. If you have questions concerning the release of student information and when you are concerned about the validity of court orders or subpoenas, you may call the Office of Legal Services at ll0 Livingston Street, (935-3636) for the correct procedure. Jackie Ervolina

Hi jssl0l8, Sorry about the delay in answering your question. I was having trouble with my computer. Accident reports for pupils, according to the "official records retention schedule," should be retained until student attains age 30. I am not sure what you mean about "unofficial accident reports." Every accident report that is written should be filed with the Board, district, school file because these accidents sometime result in law suits against the Board. Jackie Ervolina

Hi Mamita316, In general, Secretaries who work in the summer in posted positions are paid the current per session rate for the number of hours stated in the posting. Summer positions can vary as to number of hours needed and in the secretarial duties required. The posting will list the duties required. The posting may call for one School Secretary who will be resposible for payroll and pupil accounting, however, from the feedback that is given by Secretaries who work in the summer, their schedules and workload are not as heavy as during the regular school year. If you have had a problem this summer, please call your Secretary Borough Representative at your local UFT borough office when school begins, and explain your situation. Maybe she can help you for next summer. Good luck. Jackie Ervolina

Hi SC, The procedures for filing a claim for injury or loss of property by a child or adult (not a member of the pedagogical staff) while in school or in a Board of Education related incident are outlined on the form entitled "Claim Against The City of New York-Personal Injuries." The claim form or a claim letter,in duplicate, must contain the following information: l. name and address of calimant (and/or child). 2. Name and address of parent (or guardian) if relevant. 3. Nature of claim (personal injury, property loss, etc.) 4. Date and time when, place where and manner in which the claim arose. (Be sure to include number or name of school and borough). The claim must be filed within 90 days, notarized and forwarded by certified mail to: Office of the Secretary, Board of Education, 110 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. The claim will eventually be allowed or disallowed by the Comptroller of the City of New York. If the claim is disallowed, the claimant may take court action. Jackie Ervolina