Did You Know Teachers Can't Be Required to Stay Past 2:30?
Did you know the ATF's contract caps the teacher workday at 6.5 hours and makes asking for more feel like requesting a kidney?
Gather ‘round, New Mexico parents, because we have some exciting news about the adults who are contractually responsible for your children’s futures!
The APS-ATF Negotiated Agreement — a document we will be discussing at length in this series, because God knows someone should read it — limits the teacher duty day to six and a half hours. Six. And. A. Half. Hours. That’s shorter than a flight to New York. It’s shorter than some people’s commutes. It is, to be precise, the amount of time the contract says the adults need to be present before they are legally entitled to go home.
Now! Should a principal have the audacity to need more than that — because, say, 87% of their 8th graders can’t do grade-level math and perhaps some intervention time would be useful — the contract says the duty day can only be extended a maximum of two hours in any 20-day period. With 48 hours’ advance notice. In writing. Probably notarized, we assume, though we checked and it’s just the 48 hours. Small mercies.
Many APS teachers are hardworking, dedicated professionals who stay late all the time because they love their students. We know this. We salute them. This post is not about them. This post is about the fact that the contract treats their workplace like a factory floor with a whistle, and then everyone acts confused when the system can’t respond to kids who need more help than a 6.5-hour day allows.
The ATF will tell you this is about protecting teachers from overwork. Sure. And we’re sure that’s part of it. But here’s the thing about protection: it only works if you’re protecting the right thing. A shorter contractual day protects teacher time. It does precisely nothing for the kid sitting in the back row who still can’t read.
New Mexico is 50th in the nation in education outcomes. The contract says the people responsible for changing that can be home by 2:30. We’re fine. Everything is fine.