Recognizing the needs of all stakeholders in the Syracuse City School District, the Association and the District agree that an extended summer program may be beneficial. Providing increased learning opportunities for both students and teachers is central to this idea. The Urban Teacher Calendar (UTC) provides for an additional 20 workdays (100 hours) beyond the negotiated 184-day School Calendar for Unit 1 members. Components of the Urban Teacher Calendar are as follows:

A.             Design and Implementation of the UTC Program:

1. The Curriculum Committee for Professional Development (CCPD) will determine the professional time, instructional program and staffing parameters.
2.  Based on those parameters, the SLT at each eligible school will design a program that best meets the needs of students and staff. The program will incorporate a student time/professional time ratio of between 60/40 (sixty percent/forty percent) and 75/25 (seventy percent/twenty-five percent). The program plan will be submitted to the CCPD for approval prior to March 1 of each year.

B.             Member Eligibility and Length of Commitment:

1. Non-instructional and non-core subject area members will be eligible as determined by the School Leadership Team (SLT).
2. The UTC is volitional for current eligible Unit 1 members and will be a five-year commitment for those who opt-in
3. Will be mandatory for Unit 1 members hired after the ratification of this contract to begin as soon as practicable based on their hire date
4. Current summer school teachers will be guaranteed equivalent positions under the UTC program.  The parties agree to negotiate compensation for Unit 1 members performing as summer school administrators or coordinators.
5. A current summer school seniority list will be developed prior to implementation in order to place members back into those positions should it be necessary.
6. Members will be able to opt out of the program only if they can demonstrate life-altering events requiring them to do so.

C.             Building Eligibility

Buildings with small staffs may be required to combine their programs with another school. Staff wishing to participate in the UTC, but working in schools not offering a summer program, will be assigned to another site. Teachers may be assigned to work with students outside of their certification area if no assignment in their certification area is available at the building level.

D.             UTC Timeline and Performance Benchmarks

The UTC will begin after July 1, 2009. The SCSD and STA will meet prior to December 1, 2013 to determine the UTC’s continuation beyond June 30, 2014 based on the following criteria:

1. If 90% or more SCSD schools are off the federal and state accountability lists (SURR, SINI, etc.), the program will automatically be renewed.
2. If less than 70% of SCSD schools are off the federal and state accountability lists, the program will automatically be cancelled.
3. If 71-89% of SCSD schools are off the federal and state accountability lists, the SCSD and the STA will meet to negotiate the future of the program.

E.             Compensation and Additional Funding:

1. The following hourly rates will apply to Unit 1 members working in the UTC:

2. If the UTC program is automatically renewed per D1 of this article, Unit 1 members will be paid their hourly per diem rate as determined by their contract salaries. Per diem hourly rate is contract salary divided by 200 days divided by 6.5 hours. The minimum hourly rate for Unit 1 members working in summer programs will be $50.00 per hour until their per diem hourly rate rises above that amount.