School CFY Hours

[laforshey27]

I will be graduating in 2 semesters and am planning to begin my CF in a school. The school year is 180 days (36 weeks) working 7 hour days. Working every single day for the 7 hours would give me the exact minimum hours required for a CF (1260). How do sick days factor into these hours? If I missed one day during the year and the hours don't count, would I just not be able to finish my CF until the following school year? 

[lexical_gap]

Are students in session 180 days or is the entire school year for staff 180 days?  There will likely be days (if not a full week) before students arrive where you are working full time doing things like: setting up your room, reading IEPs, consulting with teachers about those students, etc.  Likewise at the end of the year, many districts have staff reporting for a few days after the students' last day to clean rooms, finish report cards/progress notes, etc.  There will also be hours outside of your regular work hours, such as back-to-school night, parent-teacher conferences, etc.

Once you get hired, the actual contract times might be more than 7 hours.  At my school, staff are required to be at work for 8 hours (students are there for just under 7 hours).  In that extra hour, I am conferencing with teachers, planning therapy, billing, analyzing assessment data, etc.  Depending on your principal, he/she may allow you to schedule IEP meetings before or after school based on the needs of your students' families; which would extend your work day and add more hours.  There may be days where you choose to stay late to finish writing that IEP that is due the next day.

I wouldn't be too worried about not meeting 1260 hours in a school. There are built-in buffers within the school calendar to make up some of those hours if you are sick.  One day here, one day there won't make a big difference.

Edited August 6, 2018 by lexical_gap