Osceola Teachers, know your contract language regarding collaborative planning.

5.08-5 Collaborative Planning

  • Classroom teachers may be required to meet for the purpose of collaborative planning during regular contractual work hours on early release Wednesdays or times outside of individual teacher planning time that do not conflict with other contract language.
  • Classroom teachers may voluntarily continue to meet as a group more often for multiple purposes. Voluntary shall be defined as arising from one’s own free will and acting on one’s own initiative. Voluntary shall be free of any coercion or arbitrary and capricious act.
  • Deliverables of collaborative planning (e.g., lesson plan, unit plan, formative assessment, data analysis, professional development, etc.) may be required to document that the collaborative planning time is beneficial and reduces teacher workload. Meeting minutes shall not be required.
  • “Data chats” shall not be scheduled during individual teacher planning times but may be scheduled during collaborative planning times on early release Wednesdays. Classroom teachers shall not be required to transpose student data to recreate information that already exists in a currently available state or School District data report.
  • Classroom teachers who are the sole classroom teacher of a subject area may participate in a professional learning community at the school or a School District virtual professional learning community online.
  • District Assistant Superintendents for Curriculum and Instruction and school principals shall provide opportunities to classroom teachers for the purpose of re-training and clarifying the role and functions of higher-functioning PLCs throughout the school year.
  • The Director of School Improvement with the cooperation of the District Assistant Superintendents for Curriculum and Instruction and school principals shall survey classroom teachers regarding collaborative planning and PLC’s at least once per school year and share the results with OCEA.
  • If individual classroom teacher planning is affected beyond the above exceptions, then classroom teachers shall be given an equivalent amount of time for individual classroom teacher planning on an early release Wednesday within the same month or the immediately following month.