The daily schedule for 2015-16 is back on the table, after Principal Bob Celebrezze announced what was thought to be the final schedule for next school year on March 25. But now, teachers have voiced their concerns, and will vote on April 13.

The staff will be voting on their choice of two schedules: the current modified block, and Celebrezze’s schedule announced last month. In order to retain the current schedule, staff must approve it by at least 60 percent.

That’s because the current schedule is a deviation from the current bargaining agreement, since teachers only receive a preparation period four days per week under the current modified block schedule. The contract requires a preparation period every day.

Yesterday, Wenatchee High School staff met for a regular union meeting, and several teachers talked of not participating in the vote on Monday. “If staff choose not to participate in the vote, they are choosing to vote for Celebrezze’s proposal for next year,” Wenatchee Education Association President Kris Cameron said. “If the whole staff decides they don’t want to vote, they will be living with [Celebrezze’s] schedule for next year.”

In February, teachers voted to move away from the current schedule by three votes (51-48) in favor of having their prep period every day. That’s when Celebrezze was directed to come up with the new schedule by Superintendent Brian Flones.

According to an email sent to WHS staff Tuesday by English teacher Neil Zobel, one of WenEA’s high school representatives, Celebrezze was “advised to include the teaching staff in the process” of creating the 2015-16 schedule. Celebrezze “asked a select few to participate in his process,” which, according to Zobel’s email, did not include WHS department heads or the Learning Improvement Team (LIT).

“Most teachers feel that they don’t know everything that’s going on,” Zobel said. “They don’t know the reasons why.”

Celebrezze asked for the staff’s support of the current modified block schedule in an email sent this morning. “My views have not changed and I stand behind this rationale,” he wrote. “I again ask that you vote in favor of maintaining the current Wenatchee High School 2014-15 Daily Schedules for the 2015-16 school year. This, in my opinion, is in the best interest of the students of Wenatchee High School.”

He wants to stick with the current schedule for the following reasons:

• A new schedule will likely have to be implemented with CORE 24, which means students could have three different schedules during their four years.
• It hasn’t been in effect for even a whole school year yet.
• The opportunities for student engagement are greater with it.
• With CORE 24 looming, there could be complications for students and staff, so the next school year is needed to determine the best “course of action,” and changing the schedule for next year “would not allow for best practice to occur.”

“I like them both, but I like the that we currently have better, because it’s the one people are used to and we have the most experience with,” Flones said this morning.

Cameron was consulted on the 2015-16 schedule proposal — but only to see if it met the bargaining agreement’s language, she said, adding that the proposal does meet the agreement.

Zobel said teachers would like the opportunity to vote on more options than the two offered. “A lot of people are concerned that this is a non-working schedule,” he said. “The teachers would rather be in the loop than just given two options that they don’t feel comfortable with.”

Flones said some staff wanted to move back to the daily schedule where all six classes met every day. But, that isn’t an option at this time. “We’re not going to take a step backwards,” he said, adding that the modified block is a good preparation for the future with CORE 24.

Since the option to maintain the current schedule includes a deviation from the contract, staff is being given the opportunity to vote. Ultimately, though, it’s administrators who can set the schedule. “If [the schedule] doesn’t violate the contract, there’s no requirement that staff votes on it,” Flones said.

Concerns that teachers have expressed over the proposed schedule, Zobel said, include:

• It’s difficult for teachers to teach two or three classes in a row when they have to plan for a 40-minute class, then a 70-minute class during the same day.
• With different class lengths each day, tests and lessons might have to be split up or staggered.
• Running Start and Tech Center students might have difficulty with the schedule proposal because of the different lengths each day.
• Classes like art, P.E., science, and band usually require a setup and teardown time, which could be hard to have in 40-minute classes.
• There is a need for communication and collaboration between teachers and administrators.

“Our district has prided itself on collaboration, and that’s what we want to foster among our teachers,” Zobel said.

In his email to staff, Zobel said Cameron has talked to Flones and Celebrezze “on several occasions in an effort to give voice to [staff] concerns.”

“It would be fair to say that the majority of the staff is upset that they didn’t have any input in next year’s schedule [proposal],” Cameron said.

If more discussion time is needed after Monday’s meeting, the union will utilize it, Zobel said. Teachers will continue discussions as long as they need to, but he said staff and administrators don’t want to see this continue through the summer.

When Cameron requested the vote, Flones did not set a firm deadline, but did ask for a decision as soon as possible, Cameron said.

“They need to move on and make some plans — it’s already late,” Cameron said. “I think Monday, the path forward will be much more clear.”

Orchard Middle School changed its daily schedule about two years ago, Cameron said, to include longer class times and daily collaboration for teachers. That change didn’t require union involvement because the contract agreements were all met. She said it’s possible that some elements of that schedule would work well at WHS, if another option became available.

Flones said a new committee will be put together this year to begin work next year on building a daily schedule for 2016-17 that accommodates CORE 24.