The Harwood Union School Board's unanimous vote to uphold Fuoco's
dismissal followed a grievance hearing held December 9 that included
Vermont NEA representative Stuart Russo-Savage and Carla Bell from the
Harwood Educators Association.
Under the terms of her contract, Fuoco has the right to seek mediation
if the grievance wasn't resolved with the initial hearing; from there,
she may choose to submit the grievance to final and binding arbitration.
Fuoco said that at a meeting earlier this week, NEA and union officers
met and agreed "to move forward with the next step." The NEA has 30 days
to file for mediation from Tuesday, January 4.
The decision to uphold Fuoco's termination followed an executive session
December 9 and public comment from several concerned parents of special
needs students, Harwood faculty and staff who all spoke to Fuoco's
skill and high level of professionalism.
Fuoco was fired after she failed to take a federally required
standardized test to earn the "HQP" designation, a task made difficult
in her case due to her dyslexia.
She has worked in the Washington West Supervisory Union (WWSU) for the
past several years including seven years spent working at the Moretown
Elementary School prior to joining Harwood.
While at Moretown, Fuoco was allowed the accommodation of submitting a
portfolio of her work in lieu of taking the written test; she filed a
grievance with the Harwood School Board after she was told that the
accommodation would no longer be afforded to her and that she would need
to take and pass the federal exam.
Under section 1119(c) through 1119(h) of the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) the federal requirements for Title I, part A, "instructional
paraprofessionals" to achieve HQP status, paraeducators must have a high
school diploma or its recognized equivalent.
In addition, they must have completed at least two years of study
(defined as a minimum of 48 credit hours) at an institution of higher
education or obtained an associate's degree (or higher) or meet the
standard of quality and demonstrate it through a formal state or local
assessment.
According to the Vermont Department of Education, "The latter option
(II-C) may be fulfilled through standardized assessments such as Parapro or Paraeducator.net,
or through a locally developed portfolio process LEAs may also choose
to accept comparable HQP documentation from other school districts or
states."
Sheffert said that the portfolio standard is significantly higher and
would have to be implemented for all paraprofessionals in WWSU. In
addition, she said upholding the state and federal regulations is
essential to maintain funding directly tied to them.
{loadnavigation}
