As part of a locally negotiated contract, teachers in the Las Cruces Public Schools are allowed ten sick days and two personal days. But following pressure from the New Mexico Public Education Department- during the last school year. Las Cruces teachers were marked down on their evaluations for taking any more than two days off. One Las Cruces teacher recently told the school board how this policy affected her evaluation.
Mayfield High School biology teacher Alexis Black is in her 16th year of teaching. Black says this year her father’s lung disease meant she had to take some time out of the classroom to care for him in Alamogordo.
“They called me and said he was doing poorly they were not sure he was going to make it through the night so I got up and I drove over there I got there at 11:30 in the ICU. I stayed up until 2 am writing sub plans.” Black says.
In Las Cruces, attendance usually makes up 10 percent of the teacher evaluation.
If a teacher takes more than 2 days off it begins to affect the performance evaluation. And that’s what happened to Black who saw her rating drop to minimally effective as a result of being penalized for taking her contractually-guaranteed sick days.
After hospital staff told Black her father was on his death bed- Black says she ended up spending a total of 5 and half days out of the classroom.
“It was kind of a miracle that he made it. If he had died the days that I took off would have counted as bereavement. They would not have counted against my evaluation but he survived which I am very happy about, but 5 and half days on your evaluations was I think enough to just undermine me to get me to minimally effective” Black says.
Taking time off for a personal or family issue is not uncommon. New Mexico’s Chronic Disease Prevention Council says 1 in 4 people over the age of 45 has multiple chronic health conditions.
We asked the public education department about the logic in penalizing teachers for missing work due to family and personal illness. In a statement the department said New Mexico school districts have discretion in extenuating circumstances to exempt teacher absences from evaluations. Under the Family Medical Leave Act, sufferers of some illnesses or their caregivers can also get exemptions.
Black says teachers should not have to jump through hoops to get their contractually-guaranteed leave.
“We are good teachers we don’t like to take days off. We want to be in our classroom. It is a lot of work to plan for a sub. So whatever it takes we have to get attendance off of our evaluations” Black says.
The Las Cruces School Board has vowed to protect teachers’ 12 days of leave this school year and is currently assessing the impact the teacher evaluation model is having on assessment and morale.
