Philadelphia teachers demand an end to sick policy that disciplines staff

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- About 100 members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers rallied outside the School District of Philadelphia's headquarters in the city's Spring Garden neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, demanding an end to the 3-5-7-9 occurrences policy.

Educators said the policy punishes them for using a certain amount of their contractual sick days.

"It's really not fair," said Maeve Rooney who is an art teacher at Mitchell Elementary School. "The work that we do is really hard and exhausting, and we deserve to have our sick time."

Teachers said the third occurrence can result in an informal meeting, and then additional occurrences can lead to a warning memo, suspension and even termination.

"It's a black cloud that really hangs over teachers," said Adam Blyweiss who is a teacher at Jules E. Mastbaum High School. "It just makes us have to make real difficult choices about coming to work sick, caring for family, caring for ourselves, making sure we're there for the students we have to teach."

After the rally, teachers attended the school board meeting to deliver a petition with nearly 2,000 signatures and express their concerns.

"I'm afraid to call out because I'm sick, but then I'm teaching kids," said Blossom Kaleo, who is a teaching assistant at Clara Barton Elementary School. "I'm a survivor of the Pennypack Park rape...Everything coming up, it's like all the memories-- so mental health. We really need a district that supports us in these times."

Superintendent Tony Watlington said he doesn't expect teachers to go to work if they're sick or have a family emergency, adding that discipline for poor attendance is extremely rare.

He said if teachers feel like they've been treated inappropriately, they should make it known in writing to supervisors.

"The board and superintendent values our teachers, and I want to commend our teachers again for improving regular teacher attendance last year," said Watlington.

"I just hope that what he (Dr. Watlington) says, and what he does, align," said Peter Pijanowski who is a teacher at the Franklin Learning Center. "I think if he really wants to prove to his teachers that he wants us to be healthy and take time for ourselves and working to the best of our ability, this policy needs to go."

The superintendent said they'll review the current policies after the school year to identify areas of improvement.