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Two districts reward staff for finishing program
Wisconsin’s innovative certificate program for educational support personnel has again broken new ground.
Introduced just four years ago as the first of its kind in the nation, the program gives support staff their own unique job-related training opportunities leading to a certificate that recognizes their accomplishment.
Now, two Wisconsin school districts are taking the program to a new level by providing financial incentives to employees who participate in it.
Marge Rivard of Appleton (left) and Joyce Jones of Onalaska have been instrumental in developing and implementing the PDA’s ESP Certificate Program. |
“This adds a whole new dimension to this initiative,” said Debra Berndt, director of the WEA Professional Development Academy, which created and coordinates the program. “Now, educational support staff not only can earn a certificate to hang on their wall, they may be rewarded financially for their accomplishment. We expect other districts to follow suit and begin including these financial incentives in their contracts.”
About 2,900 support staff throughout the state are working toward earning a certificate by completing 40 hours of specified course work.
Since the program was launched in 1994, 65 people have earned certificates, and the program is growing in leaps and bounds. Courses are taught through districts, CESAs, universities and technical colleges.
This year, support staff in Marshfield and Milwaukee negotiated contract provisions that provide rewards or reimbursement to support staff who participate in or complete the program.
The Marshfield contract provides “additional payment for documented job-related coursework taken from any accredited educational institution or related organization.” In most cases, that will involve the PDA program. The contract increases pay by 15 cents per hour for each credit earned or for every 15 hours of instruction. The maximum extra payment is 90 cents per hour or $36 per week.
Mary Virginia Quarles, executive director at the Central Wisconsin UniServ Council-West, said a couple members of the Marshfield Auxiliary Personnel Association had read about the PDA program in WEAC publications and it intrigued them.
“They were determined to find out everything they could about it. Then they educated the administration on what a great program it was. When we came to the bargaining table, the administration already understood its value.”
Quarles said all CWUC support staff locals will try to include such provisions in their next contracts.
The recent contract negotiated by the Milwaukee Educational Assistants’ Association provides for a $100 payment to any support staff employee who completes the PDA’s ESP Certificate program. The employee can continue to receive $100 payments by completing an additional 6 credits through the PDA program or 1 eligible college credit or 2 eligible Milwaukee Public Schools inservice credits every three years.
The MEAA Bargaining Team was co-winner of WEAC’s 1998 Paul Bierbrauer Award for excellence in bargaining, in large part because of its inclusion of the training provisions in its contract.
For more information about the PDA’s ESP Certificate program, contact Debra Berndt at 1-800-362-8034, ext. 294 or e-mail her at berndtd@weac.org. Program information also is available in the Constituencies area of OnWEAC.
Posted December 3, 1998