Q&A
Explanation of incidental teaching provisions for health education
1:14:11
ยท
127 sec
Despina Zaharakis explains the incidental teaching provisions for health education in NYC public schools. She clarifies the requirements for different grade levels and discusses challenges in implementing health education.
- Elementary school health education can be taught by classroom teachers or certified teachers
- Secondary level requires certified teachers, but incidental teaching allows for some flexibility
- Zaharakis notes that programming space, time, and competing priorities are often bigger challenges than teacher availability
Despina Zaharakis
1:14:11
Under the incidental teaching.
1:14:15
I I know that in elementary school, it can be a classroom teacher or a certified teacher.
1:14:20
The state requires a certified teacher at the secondary level.
1:14:23
However, if a, if a school can afford a particular, teacher for one content area or another, or there's a shortage, or there is the ability to sort of work with, a principal to work with their superintendent to get a teacher to teach a maximum of 5 periods a week, out of license.
1:14:45
I have not done the analysis, and I have not, and not too many principals, tell us that the reason they're not programming kids is for teachers.
1:14:56
I can tell you anecdotally.
1:14:58
It's really about programming space, time, competing priorities, etcetera, etcetera.
1:15:04
But I can't, respond to that.
Rita Joseph
1:15:07
But earlier you said this was a priority.
1:15:09
So if it is a priority, why we're not prioritizing it?
Despina Zaharakis
1:15:14
That's what we're working on.
1:15:15
That's the video.
1:15:16
That's, you know, the what we shared with you.
1:15:18
That's that's part of our job.
1:15:21
We have to sort of you know, there was such a focus on ELA and math, right, with standardized testing, etcetera, that, you know, we're moving away from that now.
1:15:30
We're moving sort of portfolio work, and we're moving to sort of broader literacy, But there was such an emphasis on testing, frankly, that we fell off.
1:15:42
You know, the arts have the same issue.
1:15:45
PE has the same issue.
1:15:48
So part of, you know, communicating the importance of health education because of the skills the students learn for the rest that will support them the rest of their lives, right, is part of the job that we do every day.
1:16:02
And part of why we're so thankful to be here with you today, and part of why we're so thankful that you're saying the same thing.
1:16:10
And so schools are hearing it from multiple, sources and reading it from multiple sources.
1:16:16
So thank you.
1:16:16
They also have to hear it from you.
1:16:17
Sources.
1:16:17
So thank you.