Can I arrange my own occasional teacher when I am absent?

No.  There are two issues created when a contract teacher becomes involved in arranging their own occasional teacher.

First, an occasional teacher requires a job number to be employed at a school on any given day.  Only an administrator, Easy Connect or Human Resources can generate a job number.

Secondly, ETFO members are not to evaluate or report on the classroom practices of other members.  When a teacher chooses one occasional teacher over another, it is considered a form of evaluation as the teacher views one occasional teacher to be better than another.

Can I switch my planning time period(s) to another day so that I still get my contractual planning time when I am absent?

No.  The Occasional Teacher will be assigned only the regularly scheduled duties of the teacher being replaced. In the event that the assignment is less than one-half day or less than a full day, the administration may assign other teaching duties for the remainder of the instructional day.

Teachers on my staff often want to switch their yard duty so that it becomes the responsibility of the occasional teacher.  Is this okay?

No.  The occasional teacher follows the set supervision timetable for the teacher they are replacing unless directed by the administration.

What happens to before school supervision when I am away?

To enable the occasional teacher to get ready for the school day, an occasional teacher is not responsible for any supervision before the school day begins.  The occasional teacher may choose to do the supervision, however it is the responsibility of the administration to ensure that the supervision is covered should the occasional teacher not wish to do it.  Typically, the administrator will switch the duty such that the occasional teacher does duty for another teacher later in the day, and that teacher does the before school duty.  This is the only kind of switch that is permissible.

According to the occasional teacher Collective Agreement, “On the first day of a teaching assignment, the Principal will make every effort not to assign the Occasional Teacher supervision duty before the commencement of the morning assignment; or noon hour supervision, if an afternoon assignment only.”