Get It Right Time Away Policy & Procedure

Milestone Democratic School’s school calendar includes generous vacation time for employees of Get It Right. As such, there is not additional paid time off that can be accrued. Knowing that emergencies, mental health days, and commitments may require the occasional time away from school, the budget holds the possibility of 10 days with substitute coverage per 1.0 FTE (based on work hours scheduled out of 40/week, not based on pay percent) and a proportional amount for EC members with a reduced FTE. Please remember that time away from school does come at a cost to the school and other GIR members; that said, we trust our member’s discretion as to when a day is needed. There is also a possibility that people can donate days to a bank, and if an employee is in need of days exceeding 10, they can make a request for those days. 

A few things to note:

1. All staff with instructional duties are required to have a syllabus and emergency lesson plans on file with the Director of Learning & Teaching. All staff with supervisory (non-instructional) duties are required to have their duties and protocols on file with the Director of Operations. 
2. Any absence day(s) (or partial absences) that are known about in advance need advanced notification to the Get It Right Manager (responsible for tracking benefits including absence days) and the Director of Operations (responsible for scheduling, including substitute coverage). Please, when possible, give AT LEAST one week’s notice. It is not easy to find licensed substitute teachers, so please reduce the burden by notifying as far in advance as possible. Notice may be given to both parties by email, Google Chat, and/or text. Please request confirmation that both the GIR Manager and the Director of Operations have received your request. 
   1. If you have used fewer than your 10 allotted absence days, the GIR Manager and Director of Operations will approve your request at their discretion. If they have reason to believe that the request will cause harm to the co-op or the school site, or they otherwise have concerns about the absence, they may request collective approval in an EC Leadership Circle chat thread, with clear instructions and deadlines for approval.
   2. Once approved by the GIR Manager and Director of Operations (or the EC Leadership Circle members have approved the request via chat), the Director of Operations or the GIR Manager  will begin contacting subs.
   3. If no sub has been able to be scheduled for the requested absence 48 hours before, the request will be returned to the requester so they find coverage for their own absence.  If they cannot find coverage, the request is denied.
3. When an emergency occurs and you cannot give notice, the GIR Manager and Director of Operations must still be notified by 5 p.m. the night before the request, and an explanation for the short notice will be included with the request (otherwise the request will be denied).
   1. In this event, you are responsible for starting the process of requesting subs for any instructional and/or supervisory positions you may have that day and notifying the GIR Manager and Director of Operations of any steps taken to obtain a sub.
   2. The GIR Manager and Director of Operations will notify other staff of the requested absence in the chat channel, and will keep everyone updated with any changes to job duties for the day.
   3. If the requestor, the GIR Manager, and the Director of Operations are all unable to find a sub, then the other staff scheduled to work that day will need to find a way to accommodate the emergency time off need.
4. If an emergency occurs between 5 p.m. and the start of the next school day, or during a school day, you must SPEAK WITH the Get It Right Manager, Director of Operations, or another staff member by phone or in person as early as possible to notify them of your absence and any supervisory or coverage expectations they will need to delegate. An explanation for the short notice will be included with the request (otherwise the request will be denied). 
   1. Again, you are responsible for starting the process of requesting subs for any supervisory positions you may have that day and notifying the GIR Manager or Director of Operations of any steps taken to obtain a sub.
   2. The GIR Manager or Director of Operations will notify other staff of the requested absence in the chat channel, and will keep everyone updated with any changes to job duties for the day.
5. Non-emergency requests to alter your work schedule during the school day (i.e. to leave the building for any reason) must be approved by the Director of Operations.
6. Once a team member exceeds their 10 days (or proportional), they will need to make a request to the entire team for someone to donate days to the “bank”. This will need to come with a specific ask. 
7. If a member takes more than two consecutive days OR exceeds their number of days, refer to the Habitual Absenteeism definition in the Discipline and Termination Policy.
8. This policy IS NOT inclusive of requested days due to a positive COVID test, exposure to COVID, or experiencing of COVID symptoms. IF a team member has a positive test, exposure, or symptoms, they will need to refer to the COVID Health and Safety policy and procedure to notify the appropriate people so that procedure can get underway.
9. This policy is also NOT inclusive of any requests for extended leave (i.e. parental leave, worker’s compensation, etc.). That process and procedure occurs directly with the Get It Right Manager.