Job Discussion Forums

[rioux]

In the past two contracts I have signed sick days were not discussed. When I happened to get sick I was told I would have to make up the classes. At my first school they never got back to me about making them up but now it's different.
So I am curious to know if others have sick days mentioned in their contracts.

[kev7161]

We get 3 paid sick days per semester and 3 unpaid personal days per semester. (Personal days must be preapproved.) Also, if we have a longer term illness or malady, the school will keep you on, unpaid of course. They will reimburse for major medical (a lengthy stay in a hospital, for example) with proper receipts. One of our teachers broke his neck last year (not fatally, thank goodness) and was out for 3 months. The school welcomed him back with open arms.

Caveat: They may not be so welcoming to a teacher who is not such a good egg as we tend to get from time to time.

[WLamar]

A sick day does not mean a day off.

It means you are allowed to go take care of yourself and not be fired for not going to class.

You are obligated to make up missed days - to achieve the required teaching hours per week/month.

Sick days are not a free pass to do nothing and still get paid for it.

[Bud Powell]

Most contracts I've signed allow for x number of actual sick days without penalty. Regarding make-up days, it varies from school to school, even if you sign a supposedly-official SAFEA contract. I've rarely been sick and I've never made up a class except for the idiotic weekend exchanges during the major holidays.