Dear Colleagues,
Hello and greetings.
For those of you that I don’t know let me introduce myself. I am Tod Critchlow, your VTA President. I am looking forward to a great year and to working for you and with you to help make Vista an even better place to be. As summer comes to an end and thoughts turn back to the classroom and our students I wanted to share some information about the first couple of days that I hope you will find helpful.
The first day for teachers is Monday, August 15th. This is now called a Professional Development Day, formerly a mandatory "Staff Development Day". This day is a normal non-student work day and you must sign in and sign out; there will not be a make-up day. If you are unable to attend due to illness or personal necessity you do not need to report this absence via the SmartFindExpress sub finder system. Report the absence to your office manager and be sure to check the monthly attendance reports at your site to make sure the day is recorded correctly.
50% or less certificated staff are obligated to attend as per their contract hours or as per customized calendar. If less than full time certificated staff want to attend professional development in excess of their contract or customized calendar, it would need to be pre-approved by the supervisor with a funding source identified. A time sheet would need to be completed by the teacher and a PR processed by the site.
Tuesday, August 16th is a teacher prep day. This includes an opening staff meeting at the beginning of the day that may not be longer than 90 minutes The rest of the day is yours to prepare your room and curriculum.
Wednesday, August 17th is the first student day of school.
See you on August 15th.
