UFT wins guidance counselor grievance
BY MICAH LANDAU | PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
The UFT in August won an important grievance filed on behalf of
guidance counselors at a Queens middle school who were forced by their
principal to cover for the teacher assigned to their school’s SAVE
room, instead of meeting with students that they were supposed to be
counseling.
According to the decision of arbitrator Jay M. Siegel, the actions of
MS 210 principal Rosalyn Manning, who in October 2009 announced that
all guidance counselors would have to cover one period in the SAVE room
each week while the teacher normally assigned there took his lunch,
violated an article in the guidance counselors’ contract that, among
other provisions, guarantees that “counselors shall not be assigned to
cover classes, represent the school in lieu of a teacher or supervisor
or perform other duties normally performed by classroom teachers.”
While there was no retroactive remedy for the counselors who covered
the SAVE room, the arbitrator has ordered the school to cease this
practice moving forward. Union leaders say that because arbitration
decisions set precedent, his decision should prevent similar situations
from arising at other schools.
“If counselors in your school are being told to cover the SAVE room or
any other class without a teacher present, you should speak with your
chapter leader or UFT district representative,” advises Ellen Gallin
Procida, the director of the UFT’s grievance department. “It is
critical that counselors are not hindered from doing their work with
students.”
“This victory is fantastic because it makes clear, once and for all,
that counselors cannot be used to cover the SAVE room or any other
class,” said Rosemarie Thompson, the chapter leader of the UFT’s
guidance counselor chapter. “Principals across the city are being held
accountable for properly staffing their schools’ SAVE room and other
classrooms with a teacher. This decision is important for both
counselors and our students.”