KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) – The Katy school board will hold a special meeting Thursday night to address teacher concerns that their state-mandated preparation time is being taken from them, complicating their professional and personal lives and putting the district at odds with state education codes.
Teachers say the district is filling their schedules with time consuming, less important items than planning for their classroom instruction with students.
"We have been told repeatedly that it's a campus and district expectation that we are to meet for grade level planning sessions, data digs, mandatory meetings, and the occasional district professional development session," fourth-grade teacher Allison Knight said at a recent school board meeting.
Knight says the district is leaving little time for preparing for classroom instruction.
Texas education code says "Each classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each two-week period for instructional preparation, including parent-teacher conferences, evaluating students' work, and planning."
"I started hearing from teachers at school board meetings and elsewhere with concerns about their planning time not being respected," School Board President Victor Perez told Covering Katy News.
Perez says he's been hearing these concerns for about three months and felt that the whole board should discuss the issue, so he scheduled a meeting for Thursday night at 5 p.m. in the Board Room of the Education Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane.
"Improving teacher job satisfaction, reducing burnout, and increasing teacher retention are important factors that affect students' success," Perez said.
"For one month, I had only four prep periods. Sadly, this is not uncommon," fourth-grade teacher Laura Johansen said during the public comments portion of a recent school board meeting.
Many teachers say lack of preparation time means they have to prepare for their classroom work when they should be caring for their families.
"The situation forces me to stay after school or to arrive early leaving me physically and mentally exhausted," said fourth-grade teacher Dana Watson. "While I am passionate about my students and I'm very dedicated to my role as a teacher, the demands of my job often overshadow my ability to care for myself and my family."
Teachers say they have complained to administrators and nothing has changed. Now they hope the board, being the group charged with district oversight, will act on their concerns.
Perez says it's possible more teachers will speak at the special meeting on Thursday, and he also expects to hear presentations from the administration as he seeks to guide and foster a solution.
"Students suffer academically when their teachers aren't given enough time to plan lessons," one teacher said.