A group of about 50 teachers in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 is locked in a grievance procedure with the administration over the quality of online college courses. The classes were taken through the Albion Center at Idaho State University.
Lauren Dejon, a 10-year teacher in the district, said she took the courses both to make her a better teacher and to gain additional compensation for teachers who take a sufficient number of graduate-level courses.
“I took these advancement courses to try to pour a little bit more into my own life and back into my students as well through my teaching,” she said. “I did so much reading and so much writing, and read so many articles, because I took these classes seriously and was told they would be taken seriously.”
District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia said in November she is concerned because some of the submissions from teachers, “reflect levels of coursework that would traditionally require multiple semesters to complete.” She and her staff wanted to take a closer look.
“We are conducting due diligence to ensure that all credits meet the standards outlined in the teachers’ contract and board policy, while also being aligned with expectations for accredited, graduate-level study,” she said.
Dejon and six other teachers made the grievance filed by the Waukegan Teachers Council union against the district public during a meeting of the District 60 Board of Education on Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan.
Plascencia said Friday the administration and the board are currently working with the union to arrive at a resolution.
Union President Andy Friedlieb said in a text Friday that the teachers who spoke at the meeting did so to let board members know how they felt about the administration’s failure to give them credit for the professional development they undertook.
“The Union members who spoke Tuesday night during public comment exercised their right to speak directly to the board members on this issue,” Friedlieb said. “The Union supports their right to do so as it continues to address this issue in accordance with our contract procedures.”
Beth Paglia, a teacher for 32 years in the district, said at the meeting she was assured by the human resources department that initially she would be paid for the 30 hours of coursework she took last summer. Then, she learned her new rate of pay was not forthcoming on Oct. 31.
“I took these courses because my senior credit recovery students were struggling last year emotionally and academically,” Paglia said. “They were anxious and scared during their last semester of school while anticipating life after graduation and dealing with the uncertainty and chaos around them.”
Trying to understand the complexity of the Idaho State coursework, Amanda Milewski, the district’s associate superintendent of strategy and accountability, said she took one of the online courses to learn its complexity.
Milewski said it took her 24 minutes to complete the course and take the eight multiple-choice quizzes to earn three credit hours, which is equivalent to spending three hours a week in class during a 16-week semester.
With four master’s degrees to her credit, along with her undergraduate degree, which earned her a teaching certificate, Milewski said she wanted to get a sense of how challenging the Idaho State courses were. They are listed as professional development through the Albion Center.
“After participating in this class, none of my prior graduate-level experience was mirrored,” she said. “I didn’t have to think deeply, write anything or read anything. It raises some wonderings about the differences (of) my prior graduate-level courses, and the teachers are saying this is graduate-level work.”
While Plascencia does not dispute that the teachers took the courses, she said in November they differ from graduate-level courses elsewhere, “which typically follow 16-week semester-based schedules that are several months long and involve more extensive academic expectations.”
“To earn 30 credits in a more typical graduate level experience, it would normally take between one to two years if attending school full-time, or three-plus years if attending part-time,” she said.
Plascencia said in November, more than 50 teachers submitted Idaho State credits. Several of the teachers said the credits would result in higher pay because they reached a higher level of academic achievement. Plascencia said the pay hikes totaled more than $190,000 annually.
Levels of education and years of experience make a difference in teacher compensation. Teacher pay for the current school year ranges from just over $52,000 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree to more than $151,000 for a teacher in their 35th year with a PhD, according to the contract. Raises are based on steps, or years worked, and lanes, or levels of education.
