Feb. 25, 2004

For years, many school districts have not complied with state regulations for those who help teachers with student instruction in the classroom.

Throw a dart at the map of New York state and you're likely to hit a district that has hired workers and given them the title "teacher aide" when the title they were due was "teaching assistant."

That's changing as unions and districts across the state come to terms in different ways with new state and federal requirements.

Compromise

Ann Gentilin was hired 10 years ago to assist special ed kids at an elementary school.

"Since then, whatever the teachers need to have done, I've done," said Gentilin, president of the Onteora Non-Teaching Employees Association in Ulster County. "Sometimes that means grading papers. Sometimes it means working with small groups of children. Sometimes it means one-on-one tutoring."

As Gentilin became more involved in her local and her statewide union, New York State United Teachers, she knew she was not appropriately assigned.

Barbara Boyce, director of pupil personnel services, agreed. "The district had always planned to phase in teaching assistants, but it's always been a balancing act of what we could afford so that kids still get the services they need," Boyce said.

As president of her local, Gentilin started negotiating with the district on possible solutions. A compromise was finalized in January when all teacher aide positions were abolished and 80 employees became teaching assistants.

The union succeeded in gaining additional pay for the teaching assistant positions because of the additional requirements for that job. Compensation will be phased in as the district, like many across the state, faces a tight fiscal climate.

"It's a substantial amount of money that we realized the district didn't have up front," Gentilin said. The compromise was that 20 percent of the assistants, those highest on the seniority list, will receive an extra in pay this year. For the next four years, the next 20 percent will receive the increased pay.

"This took a lot of trust and cooperation to hammer out," Gentilin said.

"It's been confusing and, frankly, it still is," Boyce said, adding that the most clear information she has received has come from NYSUT. "This is a small community and we wanted to keep the quality people we have and still meet the standards."

Layoffs expected

In the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk district in rural Albany County, administrators are making plans that may result in 30 aides being laid off at the end of this year as the district converts a number of aides to teaching assistants. Since the teaching assistants will make slightly higher salaries, the district says it can no longer afford as many staffers.

"I love working with the kids," said teacher aide Josepha Abba of her work with second- and fourth-graders at RCS. "It's fascinating to see all the different perspectives they bring and how eager they are to learn.

"I don't how how they are going to meet these kids' needs when we have fewer people to help out," said Abba, who has worked in the district for five years.

Kathy Mertz, president of the RCS local that also represents monitors, has been negotiating to save those vital jobs. As New York Teacher went to press, the district planned to convert 52 aides into teaching assistants who will get additional pay raises in September. Twenty-two aide positions would remain. Some employees may become bus attendants, but it unfortunately appeared 30 jobs will be cut.

"The children of the community will lose much of the attention and support they deserve to help them succeed," Mertz said.

There are other financial considerations for the district, where the major businesses include a railroad, General Electric, Owens-Corning and cement plants, all of which have cut jobs in recent years.

"A large majority of our local's members are district taxpayers and many have children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews who attend the district schools," said Mertz. "These cuts are going to impact families and the community."

Nanuet

Just as at RCS and Onteora, the Nanuet district in Rockland County hired teacher aides to do the work of teaching assistants.

"We've been pointing out the inequities for many years," said Nanuet School-Related Professionals local President Fran Flynn. She praised the NYSUT publication, What every para should know, for clarifying the repercussions of certification requirements that took effect this month.

"I heard from district administrators that that's when they realized they needed to do something about it," Flynn said. "Since then, the district has become extremely cooperative." Aides who became teaching assistants are now being represented by the Nanuet Teachers Association, led by Lee Cutler.

"These members were doing teaching assistant work before, so now it's just being recognized," Flynn said. "They deserve the recognition for what they've been doing all along."

Flynn also praised NYSUT for setting up an undergraduate program to help members get college credits they need. Many members took courses through the Rockland Teacher Center.

- Betsy Sandberg

NYSUT.org. Copyright New York State United Teachers. 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, New York, 12110-2455. 518.213.6000. http://www.nysut.org.