In the last sessions for the negotiated agreement (2007-2011), discussions were held on the possibility of other employee groups receiving the “additional compensation” for their national certification. A “Memorandum of Understanding” was struck to “review the criteria and the requirements necessary to achieve national certification,” and the committee came together in January of this year. The groups specifically mentioned in the “MOU” were nurses, music therapists, Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists.
On April 29th, the committee reviewed the research the various groups had done and executed a report. Each group consisted of one member representing WEA and one member representing the district. Tom Stauss, Assistant Superintendent – Human Relations, and Chuck Fletcher, WEA UniServ Director, co-chaired the committee.
Each of the groups was charged to find out how the certificates were issued, the criteria, minimum eligibility requirements, the process with emphasis on “rigor,” cost and period of validity. These categories were compared to the current groups who receive additional compensation.
The complexity of the comparisons and questions did not present a “crystal clear” picture. For instance, while the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is totally optional, the OTs and PTs must have their national certification in order to be hired in WCSD. While the NBPTS and others clearly include a comprehensive assessment of the candidate before national certification is earned, some relied primarily on an assessment, prior training and a written “endorsement.”
For this reason, the committee chose to issue their findings in the form of a spreadsheet with the comparisons and a list of issues that need to be addressed and some ideas for resolution.These were forwarded to the negotiation teams for both sides, but due to the budget crisis, most likely will not be addressed until the next sessions.