Hello,
 
As a small non-profit, WAITT House has always made the efforts to maintain  financial and programmatic stability.  We have been able to accomplish some stability by keeping the needs of students and staff in the forefront of our administrative decisions.  
 
If there are increased costs for rent, postage, and other items each year, then we as an agency have aimed to increase salaries each year.  When this was not financially feasible we gave staff members additional vacation days.  
 
When health insurance costs were rising rapidly, we connected to an insurance brokerage firm to access the same health insurance larger companies offer their employees at better rates.  By employing this firm, we saved costs and simultaneously expanded our fringe package to inclued dental and disability.  All of our employees who work 25 hours or more a week can receive health, dental, and disability.  Those who are employed 35 hours a week or 25 hours a week receive the same coverage and pay the same for their dental and health insurance.
 
We also ensured that professional staff members receive a significant amount of vacation time from a stressful work environment.  We follow the Boston Public School Calendar except during the summer.  Staff members who have been employed more than two years at WAITT House receive four weeks of vacation during the summer.  We budget for substitutes to cover the classes when some teachers are on vacation during the summer.   
 
We are a small and lean non-profit organization which endures much of the financial heat from funding limitations and when funding cuts happen, small non-profits are usually the most vulnerable, yet we are still here!
 
We have aimed to keep staff members full-time; and when it has been financially impossible to keep professionals full-time, we have always offered the same benefit and vacation package to part-time employees. These agency positions have allowed us to remain programmatically stable.  Thus, we have avoided many management and service delivery problems, such as  high staff turnover, too many vacancies to be filled, continuously reorienting new staff members to the philosophy of "We're All In This Together", inconsistencies in instruction, higher attrition rates, and students not feeling comfortable because of a high turnover rate among teahcers.
 
Something that you need to know is the DOE' ABE Rate System supports the same fringe rate for part-time as well as full-time employees. If you are DOE funded, I do not know why a part-time employee cannot receive some fringe benefits.
 
Stephen 
WAITT House
 
-----Original Message-----
From: mjean at communityactioninc.org
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 8:17 AM
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 666] Re: Career pathways - what doesourfieldhave to offer?


I'm with Ya Wendy...Grrrrrr!!!     Martha Jean 

-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Wendy
Quinones
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 3:31 PM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 664] Re: Career pathways - what
doesourfieldhave to offer?

Hi colleagues,
I get so angry over working conditions in our field that I can hardly
see straight!  Part-timers are abused, in my mind, in everything from
space to work in to benefits to salaries to respect.

I am right now one of the fortunate ones to be full-time, although I
worked part-time for quite a few years both at my present center and
others.  I came in teaching mostly life-skills type things in a family
homeless shelter, and moved on to teaching GED.  Then I came part-time
to my current center, which posts all openings for full-time slots, so
part-timers are always aware of them and usually have the upper hand in
getting them, if they're qualified.  However, at least on the ESOL side,
part time, or at least subbing and huge amounts of it, WITH US doesn't
count, if you can believe that.  They have to have experience elsewhere
to bring to us. 
Sounds crazy to me, but there you have it.

As far as benefits are concerned, we are part of a city bureaucracy. 
Part-timers can't get health insurance, even at pro-rated costs,
although a few valuable perks are available -- highly subsidized rapid
transit fares, extremely cheap garage parking, some tuition
reimbursement.  But what really irks me is that health insurance.  It
seems to me that state or even regional advocacy organizations -- in
Massachusetts it's MCAE -- ought to be able to put some kind of plan in
place for the hundreds if not thousands of people who work their tails
off for not very much.  But people who have tried to get this going just
get stonewalled.  Grrrrrr.


Wendy Quinones 


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