Herald News -
PLAINFIELD – School District 202 teachers delivered a message to the school board last week that they want a lighter workload and more pay.
Contract negotiations are set to continue on Wednesday.
Teachers and administrators at the Plainfield-based school district have been negotiating a new agreement. Negotiating teams came to a tentative deal Oct. 7. But teachers rejected the agreement Oct. 22, several days before the school board was set to vote on it.
Several teachers spoke out at last week’s board meeting, citing an increased workload from several new programs including Common Core state standards, as well as increased paperwork.
“It’s the Common Core and a lot of other initiatives, especially at the elementary level,” said Dawn Bullock, president of the Association of Plainfield Teachers. “There seems to be a new initiative every single year. Teachers are having to do more realigning, making resources, making concepts.”
Bullock said the district has also made personnel cuts, shifting paperwork and other responsibilities to teachers.
“It’s big reductions that have things falling on teachers,” Bullock said. “Teachers have to focus more on the reading intervention program, Guiding Reading Plus, data collection, Common Core implementation. That’s a lot of hats the teachers are wearing.”
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