DO YOU ALLOW COACHES TO USE WORKSHOP DAYS TO ATTEND THE
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS?
1. We do. You may be the only one.
2. Head Coaches get two days and asst. coaches 1 day for professional
development. They choose to utilize these days in any document able
fashion...either clinics, state tourney, etc.
3. I always went like that as a coach at my old district. My current one has
the same policy.
4. I have worked in districts where personal days must be used and others
where professional days were granted. Personally, I don't see where we
must give professional days because watching a tournament doesn't seem
to me to be under the school improvement umbrella. What you could do
is require they provide professional feedback about how being there
enhances their skills as a coach. Bottom line - coaching falls under extra
curricular activities: meaning not part of the regular curriculum and
therefore NOT professional development.
5. We allow the coaches to use a professional day for the state basketball
tournament.
6. I have a middle school but the coaches are paid a stipend, I do not send
them anywhere during the school day.
7. I would not be giving my head coach professional leave. He or she would
be taking personal business. My question is how does attending the state
basketball tournament improve his or her teaching or for that matter their
basketball coaching.
8. Our coaches get these as professional days.
9. I approve personal leave, not professional leave.
10. I allow them to go on a professional day for any sport. This has been my
experience in every school that I have worked. The difference is, we
don't allow other staff members to go that aren't coaches, because the
amount of subs would hurt us.
11. This a by-product of a good ole boys network of days gone by. This was
done at my last district and I have heard of many districts doing this so I
would say this is still a common practice. However, you are 100% correct
in not allowing this. Why should basketball coaches be any different than
any other coach? Do coaches who coach VB, wrestling, Cheer, Dance,
swim, Cross Country...etc. etc. get to take "professional days" to attend
the state events of their respective sports when their teams or players
don't make it? Hang in there and stand firm.
12. When I was AD & coach in another district our district's practice at that
time was that if we were taking our team with to watch the tournament,
we could take professional leave. If we simply wanted to go watch
without taking the kids we had to take a personal day.
13. I may be retired but I feel that professional days are limited by contract
and should be used for area of direst instruction. Teaching does come first
or at least should. If a coach desires to use a personal day to go one day
that is their choice. I do know that many coaches are at the tournament. I
believe that is a Board of Education decision relative to contract language
and to allow them to attend as professional days could be in violation to
the collective bargaining agreement. They should not be treated any
differently as to the contract of all other staff. I am well aware that
basketball does have priority in many districts I still believe that all staff
should be treated the same and if not the Board of Ed should be the one
to approve. It could be that they would be required to pay the sub for the
days they desire to miss to attend the tournament. Contracts and
bargaining may influence the decision you should make as well as the
opinion of the Supt. and the Board of Education. Strictly my opinion. Be
careful in what you do. It might bite you in the butt down the road. They
are not the only coaches you have. Who should go? Do all coaches get to
go for each respective sport? This could be costly to the district if you
consider the cost of the subs. Good Luck.
14. That is what we do at ______________High School not for just bb but for
track, wrestling etc. We look at it as the same as taking a day to go to a
clinic.
15. We do provide professional days for the boys and girls basketball coaches
to attend the state tourney for their respective state tournaments.
16. I have a few unhappy coaches as well. In the past our head basketball
coach has requested to go to state to watch. If he wants to go he has to
take a personal day, or go there as a participant. I do not allow assistant
coaches to go. I guess that makes me a tyrant. Oh well, I will get over it.
17. We allow all coaches (4) to go and do not charge personal/sick leave.
Workshop/clinic leave is how we view it.
18. We would only allow our coaches to take it as a professional day if they
were accompanying students who were participating in the tournament in
some way (i.e.--3-point contest). If a coach/teacher wanted to go to
watch the tournament, they would have to take personal days.
19. It is a common practice in most schools to classify state tournament
attendance as a professional day--at least in the schools with which I've
been affiliated. Taking the team and calling it a field trip sounds more
legitimate to me. My feeling is that professional days should result in an
opportunity to collect Spuds.
20. You might be the only one. They get one clinic a year paid for by us and
they get to go to the tournament as well as professional days. Sorry!
21. Yes, that is on our contract. They are given a professional day.
22. We provide 1 day for the head coach only. Assistant coaches must take
personal time. We do not pay for room, meals, or travel.
23. ______ changed it this year to personal day based on a local survey of
schools.
24. Do you value coaching as teaching? From an ex-coach...I very much
appreciated the district allowing me a day to just enjoy and spend time
with others from my profession. Coaches are undervalued and
underappreciated enough...
25. I have the HS basketball coach in my building so I just asked him. If the
team is competing or if he has an athlete competing in individual events
the district allows him to go but if he would like to go it is a personal day.
26. Does the coach need to miss school to the schedule for the game at
state? I would tend to give them professional leave because they are
being paid by the district to do a job, coach. The success of his/her
performance has advanced them to the state tournament. It is hard
enough to get coaches let alone good ones and if we don't provide some
benefits other than the "huge" salary they receive, it will be hard to keep
them. Although this is not an academic duty it brings tremendous
excitement and school spirit which can impact learning in a positive
manner. We give our coaches professional leave to attend clinics to
improve their skill level, so why wouldn't we give them leave to use these
skills in the state tournament. I would not grant leave for regular season
games, but we wouldn't schedule games that require leaving school more
than a few minutes early.
27. We allow our coaches to attend the state tournament to watch using
school business days. This includes cheerleading, baseball, etc....
28. If they wanted to attend, which I would discourage, it would have to be
personal leave. I coached for twenty years and often attended the HS
tourney but it was never a professional day. How much are they going to
learn at the bars after the games anyway?
29. Can't help but respond here. We are a Middle School so extra-curriculars
may be seen as different but having said that, this is what they are
EXTRA. I would not give an on staff coach a professional day to go to any
state tournament. If they want to go they need to get their team there. I
would grant a personal day if that is what they wanted to use it for. What
professional development are they going to gain from going? I might
grant a day for a workshop or a coaching clinic if I saw the benefit to the
students and the program. I don't see any benefit to this type of
professional day for either. Just some more thoughts to ponder.
30. We provide professional days for the Coach, Asst. Coaches, A.D. and
Principal if they wish. The A.D. and Principal as a perk for all of the work
involved in organizing and supervising for the season.
31. We give our coach professional days for the state tournament. (Boy's and
Girl's)
32. I have taught and coached at the middle school and high school levels.
33. As high school coaches we were allowed to attend as a professional leave
days. We would pay for everything. We would go with our entire HS staff
and meet as a staff to plan for summer and the following year. At times
we would have some of the MS staff would attend also, some of the time
they were in season, so they did not attend.
34. At my current school, all coaches get one conference as professional
leave, if you were to attend either teaching or coaching, the school would
pay for admission costs. If you wanted to attend another you must use
your personal days to attend.
35. It is great for middle school coaches to attend, but this is more an
exception than the rule. There may be a number of middle school
coaches that may attend, but I would tend to say they are not getting any
professional development out of the experience. If it was mandated by
the Head Basketball Coach at the High School then I would say than
professional development would be reasonable. Let me know if you have
any further questions.
36. It sounds like a district policy issue to me. The answer, I think, is that
you may send them and use professional leave, but you are not required
to do so.
37. Sounds just like the kids doesn't it.....I am familiar with two high schools,
they let the coach take a personal day or a comp day (if they have comp
time accrued), but not professional day. I believe all of the coaches are
teachers--professional days are for teaching, not extra curricular events.
Although, the coaches do get to go to training events/workshops.
38. I had just the Friday of the Class A tourney because I was a Class A
coach...reasonable?
39. As a follow up, we allow all of our coaches and sponsors one clinic day
and one day at their respective state tournament. So I guess it doesn't
end unless you consider that you only have a limited number of school
activities.
40. It is to my surprise that was the standing policy here too....I originally was
going to have them take a personal day, but was informed that has not
been past practice.....