new teacher q & a

Am I entitled to a duty-free lunch?

Jan 18, 2007 5:14 PM

Is it mandatory for me to meet with “coaches” during my lunch periods on a weekly basis? Am I entitled to have my lunch period made up? What prep periods am I entitled to? What should I do if I am assigned a coverage? Am I entitled to be paid for prep periods that I did not receive?

A: All teachers have the right to a duty-free lunch period every day. You should get no assigned work during this time, including meeting with a coach. Such an assignment cannot be mandatory. However, if you wish to meet with your coach during lunch, there is no problem. But you may not “make up” your lunch period by switching it with a preparation period.

Your prep is a specific period each day that gives you time for lesson planning, reviewing student work and performing other activities essential to teaching. That’s why the UFT fought for years for the right for all teachers to have a daily preparation period. Teachers may not be assigned to meet with a coach during a preparation period, with two exceptions, though a teacher may agree to do so. Those exceptions are: 1. first-year teachers with no previous teaching experience and 2. uncertified second-year teachers who are being mentored. In these cases, teachers may have two preparation periods per week designated for professional support.

You can certainly meet with your coach during your professional period or at other times when you are excused from classroom duties. Your professional period is the time for professional activities such as coaching and curriculum preparation, as well as a limited number of administrative assignments. See articles 7A6, 7B8 and 7C4g of the UFT contract for the menu of activities that may be performed during the professional period.

As for class coverages, you may be assigned to cover a class during a preparation period only in a legitimate emergency, which Art. 7N defines as “the unavailability of a teacher to cover a class.” You may be assigned to such a coverage without pay only once a term. After your first lost prep, you are entitled to coverage pay — currently $32.95 per coverage. Make sure your school’s payroll secretary has a record of your lost prep periods.