From the beginning SESIS was a nightmare.
We didn’t get any real hands-on training when it was implemented in 2011 so there were all sorts of mistakes and glitches. Computers would shut down in the middle of inputting and you’d lose your work. Meanwhile our supervisors were putting the pressure on to get the work done.
SESIS was supposed to make it easier to consolidate special education students’ data in an online system but instead it made matters worse. It monopolized every minute of our free time as my colleagues and I tried to keep up. I took my laptop home to work on it, and I even took my laptop on vacation to catch up.
We were thrilled when the UFT came to our rescue. As the assistant chapter leader at PS 92 in Harlem at the time, I encouraged colleagues to fill out the union surveys asking members to detail the amount of time we were spending beyond the school day. Those surveys were used to build the case for arbitration.
After the arbitrator ruled in our favor in January 2013, we didn’t know how much we would get in back pay until we received our checks. I couldn’t believe the $10,000 I got. I was ecstatic.
A colleague was thrilled to receive $36,000, but said the work she had to do at home put her marriage on the line.
We’ll never get back all the time we lost, but it meant a lot to us to finally be compensated for those lost hours. The UFT is still fighting to get us relief since SESIS continues to be a problem.
Sandy Robinson is a speech teacher at PS 92 in Harlem.
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