All educators are expected to keep themselves informed of and abide by all Tenement Museum policies and protocols. The Education Associate for Educator Management will make all policies and protocols available to educators at the beginning of their employment. These include this document, the Emergency Response and Recovery Plan, the Code of Ethics, the Employee Handbook, and the Staff Manual. Educators who do not have copies of these documents should get them immediately from the Education Associate for Educator Management.

The key policies and protocols that are especially important for educators are outlined below.

1. Code of Ethics: Educators must review and sign the Code of Ethics prior to beginning employment. Key points in the Code of Ethics are below:
   1. Employment by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a public trust and involves great responsibility. In all activities, Museum employees must act with integrity and in accordance with stringent ethical principles as well as with the highest standards of objectivity, as outlined in the Museum's Code of Ethics. All educators must read and sign the Museum's Code of Ethics, a copy of which will be placed in their personnel files. No educators who have not signed the Code of Ethics will be placed on the schedule.
   2. Educators should not accept any fees, royalties, honoraria, or other payments, such as tips, for any presentations, materials, or items that they developed either alone or with other staff while carrying out their responsibilities as employees of the Museum.
   3. No person may use the Museum's collections, facilities, personnel, or services in any non-Tenement-Museum matter or context without express prior consent of the President.
2. Arriving to Work on Time: It is extremely important for educators to arrive to work on time. Educators should arrive to work fifteen minutes before their first tour is scheduled to begin and sign in when they arrive; educators will receive their regularly hourly rate for the wait time before their first tour (up to but no more than fifteen minutes.) If an educator is going to arrive late, it is essential to call the Education Assistant or, on the weekends, the appropriate weekend coordinator. If an educator is late for a tour shift more than twice, the educator will be subject to dismissal, at the discretion of the Education Associate for Educator Management.
3. Cancelled Programs: If a tour is cancelled before 5:00 PM the day before the tour and the educator is notified before 5:00 PM, the educator scheduled to lead the program will not be paid for the cancelled tour. If it is cancelled after 5:00 PM the day before the tour, the educator will be paid for the program. The Education Assistant will contact the scheduled educator regarding cancellations by telephone or email. When a program is cancelled on the same day, if the educator is on the premises s/he should report to the Education Associate for Educator Management to find out if there is training and/or other work for the Education Department that can be done during this time.
4. Dismissal: Paid and unpaid employment is "at will" and can be terminated at any time for any reason, determined solely by Museum management. Staff may be immediately discharged without notice for violation of the Museum's rules or other reasons deemed appropriate by Museum management. Alternately, the Education Associate for Educator Management may choose to put the staff member on probation for a specific period of time if s/he determines that the problem with an Educator's work performance may be correctable and prefers to work with the Educator to resolve the problem. During this probationary period, the Education Associate for Educator Management will determine, at his/her sole discretion, whether or not the Educator should remain on the schedule. At the end of the probationary period, the Education Associate for Educator Management will determine whether or not the Educator's employment should continue.
5. Dress code: The dress code for the Museum is "business casual." As educators are the face of the Museum, they must always wear professional attire. The dress code is as follows: "Staff, volunteers, and interns must be neat and sober, reflecting a respect for the visitor and the families whose stories we tell. They must also make sure not to wear shorts, blue jeans, sneakers, flip flops, undershirts, military garb, revealing clothing, ball caps, sunglasses, or clothing bearing large or excessive slogans, advertisements or commentary." If an educator's attire is not in compliance with the dress code, the educator may be asked to leave and will not be paid for the remainder of the day. Violating the dress code on more than one occasion is grounds for termination, at the discretion of the Education Associate for Educator Management.
6. Emergencies: Educators should review the Museum's Emergency Response and Recovery Plan for detailed instructions about what to do in the case of an emergency.
7. Evaluations: After passing the initial tour evaluation, all educators are evaluated periodically by a representative from the Education Department. Evaluations take place several weeks after the educator's first tour, and at least twice a year thereafter. The evaluator will give the educator a written evaluation form with recommendations for improvement. The educator is expected to make the recommended changes to her/his tour right away, and to let the Education Associate for Educator Management know if there is additional training/support s/he needs.
8. Guidelines for Dealing with the Press:
   1. Educators should never assume that the PR and Marketing Department knows that a reporter is on a tour. If an educator learns that a reporter is a member of his/her tour, s/he should tell the Visitors Center staff to let the PR and Marketing Department know so one of their department members can meet the press person after the tour. On Saturdays, educators should notify the Saturday tour coordinator (Education Associate for Contemporary Immigrant Perspectives), and on Sundays, notify the Sunday coordinator (Education Associate for Access). Educators should not single out the press person for any reason on the tour; they should be treated like the other visitors. Educators should not announce to the other visitors that there is a press representative on the tour.
   2. No one is allowed to film or photograph in any of our properties without the permission of the PR and Marketing Department. All film and photo shoots are to be scheduled in advance. Educators should check with a representative of PR and Marketing if in doubt, and never allow anyone to take photographs on a tour unless someone from PR and Marketing has given permission. Regardless of what the would-be photographer says, if the educator has not spoken with either the Director of PR and Marketing or the PR and Marketing Coordinator, s/he should ask the would-be photographer to refrain from taking pictures and to contact a member of the PR and Marketing Department to obtain slides or digital images or to schedule a photo shoot.
   3. Educators must not agree to participate in an interview as a representative of the Tenement Museum without the permission of the PR and Marketing Department. Educators may answer questions that fall within the scope of the tour scripts and general information about the Museum's ticket prices, tour times, and location, but should not discuss or answer any questions relating to the Museum's past eminent domain issues or any other legal issues. If it's a weekday, please contact the PR staff so that they may answer these questions. If it is a weekend, the educator should get the reporter's contact information so that the PR and Marketing staff can follow up during the week.
   4. All interview requests for the Museum's President should go through the PR and Marketing Department. Reporters should contact PR to schedule an interview with the President. Educators may not give out the President's extension under any circumstances.
   5. In the event that an educator is asked about their work at the Museum as part of an interview outside the Museum on another subject, additional guidelines should be followed:
      1. The educator should inform either the Director of PR and Marketing or the PR and Marketing Coordinator that the interview will be taking place. If the educator knows in advance what Museum-related topics or questions will be covered, s/he should let them know this, as well, in case there are sensitivities of which the educator should be aware. If the educator is not able to let the PR and Marketing Department know ahead of time that s/he will be discussing issues related to the Museum, s/he should tell Alex or Nikia as soon as possible afterward.
      2. Educators may discuss with the press any factual information contained in tour outlines as well as basic information such as Museum ticket prices, tours times, and location. If asked any questions relating to the Museum's past eminent domain issues, other legal issues, or anything outside of the script of basic visitor information, the educator should get the reporter's contact information and let him or her know that the PR and Marketing staff will follow up as soon as possible. If an educator is asked about his/her work, s/he should make clear to the interviewer that any opinions s/he expresses are personal opinions not those of the Museum.
9. Illness: If an educator is sick, s/he should call the Education Assistant. If s/he can't reach the Education Assistant s/he should leave a message and also call the Office Manager or Administrative Assistant at 212-431-0233 ext. 210. On the weekends, the educator should call the Visitors Center at 212-982-8420. If a costumed interpreter cannot fulfill a program assignment due to illness, she must telephone the Education Associate for Access at least three hours prior to her first scheduled program.
10. Keys: Educators will be given a key to the front and back doors of 97 Orchard Street upon signing in. At the end of the day all educators must sign out and return keys to the Visitors Center.
11. Library: Per-diem staff members may borrow books from the in-house library after learning their third program. In order to maintain the availability of books, please observe the following procedures:
    1. Please borrow no more than one book at a time.
    2. Books may be checked-out for a maximum of three weeks, after which they must be renewed.
    3. Books can only be checked out by the VP of Collections and Education, Collections Manager, or Research Manager. Please bring the book to one of them. They will fill out the card in the back of the book and place it in the Book Circulation Box.
    4. When returning a book, please leave it with one of the people listed above. They will indicate the return on the book card and replace the card in the appropriate book. They will return the book to its place on the shelves.
    5. Please do not use "post it" notes or mark books with pen, pencil, or highlighter.
12. Material/Building Maintenance: Educators must leave the apartments in good order for the next tour. This includes closing doors and putting handouts and folding chairs back in their proper place. Educators should also remember to return any materials used during the tour, including Assistive Listening Devices and fans, to the Visitors Center. Please dispose of all trash in accordance with the posted recycling guidelines.
13. Nametags: Educators must always wear their nametags while working. Nametags located in a metal bucket in the Visitors Center. Please return it to the bucket at the end of the day. If you need a new nametag, please notify an Education Department member.
14. Reserving Tickets to Observe Tours: Ticket reservations for observing tours should be made through the person in the Education Department who has been assigned to guide the educator through the training process. This should happen no later than 10:00 AM on the day the educator plans to observe the tour.
15. Supervision: All per-diem Educators work under the direct supervision of the Education Associate for Educator Management or, on the weekends, the appropriate weekend coordinator. Costumed interpreters are supervised by the Education Associate for Access. Dialogue facilitators and Shared Journeys Educators are supervised by the Education Associate for Contemporary Immigrant Perspectives.
16. Schedule:
    1. Weekday Educator Schedule: The Education Assistant schedules educators for weekday public and private tours. Educators are responsible for sending him/her their availability for the following week by noon on Wednesday. Educators are scheduled based on availability, which tours they know, and the amount of tours being offered that week. The schedule is sent out by email by Friday for the following week (Monday-Friday). Educators who do not have internet access will receive a phone call by Friday letting them know when they are scheduled to work. If an educator cannot do one of his/her assigned tours, s/he is responsible for finding a replacement and letting the Education Assistant know immediately who the replacement will be so the schedule can be updated.
    2. Weekend Educator Schedule:
       1. Educators sign themselves up to work on the weekends. The sign up book is in the Visitors Center, and new time sheets are put in the book six weeks in advance (for instance, on January 15 for March). At that time, educators can sign up for six weekend slots. Four weeks in advance of the month, educators can sign up for any tour slots that are still available. A typical weekend tour slot is either four or five tours, one tour every 90 minutes. With permission of the tour coordinator for that particular day, educators may sign up for half of a slot.
       2. If all the slots are taken on day an educator wants to work, s/he should add his/her name to the wait list. S/he will be contacted if one of the people scheduled to work cannot come in.
       3. Once an educator writes his/her name on the sign-in sheet, s/he is responsible for coming in to work that day or finding a substitute and immediately letting the appropriate weekend coordinator know who the substitute will be.
       4. Educators who sign up for a weekend slot are expected to be "on call" in case a private group is scheduled in the morning. Private groups are usually at 10:00 AM. If an educator is needed for a morning group, the weekend coordinator will contact him/her at least one day in advance.
    3. Confino Schedule: The Education Associate for Access creates the schedule for the costumed interpreters on a monthly basis. Interpreters should submit their availability to the Education Associate for Access no later than the 15th of each month for the following month. Costumed interpreters will receive the schedule on the Monday of the last full week of each month. Costumed interpreters will receive hours based on their availability to work and the Museum's need for costumed interpreters. Costumed interpreters are responsible for all assigned programs; if a costumed interpreter cannot fulfill a program assignment, she is responsible for obtaining a substitute. If a costumed interpreter wishes to switch hours with or give hours to another costumed interpreter, both parties involved must report the change to the Education Associate for Access. Once the Education Associate for Access has confirmation from both parties, s/he will make appropriate changes to the schedule.
17. Remuneration:
    1. Educators other than costumed interpreters:
       1. Educators are paid $15 per hour for delivering all the tours except the walking tour, for which the pay is $25 per hour.
       2. All educators will be paid for the fifteen minutes before their tour starts, provided that they have arrived and signed in by that time.
       3. If the Education Assistant schedules an educator for an hour or less between tours, the educator will be paid for that time, but educators will be paid for no more than one hour between tours.
    2. Costumed interpreters
       1. Costumed interpreters are paid $23 per hour for playing Victoria Confino.
       2. When conducting any other education program, costumed interpreters are paid the same rate that per-diem educators are paid for that program.
       3. Costumed interpreters are paid $15 per hour for attending their monthly training meetings.
       4. Costumed interpreters will be paid the $23 per hour rate for the fifteen minutes prior to the start of the first Confino program of the day, during which time they must set up the apartment for visitors, and for fifteen minutes following the last program of the day, during which time they must clean up the apartment.
       5. Costumed interpreters are not paid for time they are not working in between scheduled Confino programs.
18. Selling Memberships: Educators are expected to invite visitors to become Museum members on every public tour. At the end of each tour, educators should describe the membership program, explaining that becoming a member helps support the educational programming at the Museum and also comes with many benefits. If visitors seem interested in membership, the educator may walk back with them to the Visitors Center and either: 1) give them a form and explain the membership program; or 2) introduce them to a Visitors Center staff member and tell the staff member that they are interested in learning more about membership.
    1. Some of the benefits of membership include: the ability to make free advance reservations through the membership hotline; receipt of the Museum's electronic newsletter, News from the Tenement Museum; advance notice of new programs; invitations to members-only events; and discounts on Visitors Center purchases.
    2. Visitors can become members in several ways: in the Visitors Center before or after the tour; on the Museum's website (www.tenement.org); and by calling the Museum's Membership Associate.
19. Timesheets: Timesheets are located in the break room at the Visitors Center at 108 Orchard Street. Educators should sign in upon arrival at work and sign out when they complete the last tour of the day. At the end of the day, Educators should calculate the number of hours worked that day and write the total, rounding to the nearest quarter hour, in the appropriate column in the timesheet. Please use decimals. If the Educator did two different kinds of programs that day (for instance, Shared Journeys and Walking Tours), s/he should total the number of hours spent doing each type of program in the appropriate column. At the end of each pay period, timesheets are reviewed and signed by the Education Associate for Educator Management.
20. Tips: Educators may not accept tips in the form or money or gifts from visitors. If offered tips, educators should encourage visitors to donate the money to the Museum or use it to become a Museum member. If a visitor insists on giving a tip to the educator, the educator must thank the visitor and alert him/her that the tip will be added to the donation jar in the Visitors Center.
21. Training:
    1. Initial training: All per diem educators are required to learn at least three tours and associated activities during their first three months of employment. (Volunteers are only required to learn one tour.) Educators will not be compensated for observing programs or for time spent training to learn a program. The first three months are a probationary period. If an educator has not learned all three tours within the first three months, s/he may be removed from the schedule.
    2. Ongoing training: In addition to training to lead all of the tours and activities that the Museum offers, educators are required to attend at least nine out of the twelve monthly educator meetings, which are usually held the third Thursday of the month from 6:00-7:30 PM. Educators are paid for attending these meetings. If an educator is unable to attend a meeting, s/he is required to arrange with Cindy to attend one of the regular weekly meetings of the full-time staff, which are held Thursday mornings at 9:30 AM and also to read the meeting minutes, which will be sent out by email. Educators are also required to read thoroughly the Educator Newsletter, which is sent out on a monthly basis, and are responsible for knowing all the information it contains.
    3. Training for costumed interpreters:
       1. There are separate monthly training meetings for costumed interpreters. Costumed interpreters are required to attend at least nine out of these twelve meetings. Costumed interpreters who cannot attend a costumed interpreter meeting can, with the permission of the Education Associate for Access, arrange to attend an educator meeting or staff meeting instead.
       2. If a costumed interpreter is trained to conduct other education programs, she is expected to attend both the training meeting for costumed interpreters and the educator training meeting.
       3. Costumed interpreters who are not trained to conduct other education meetings are invited, but not required, to attend the monthly educator meetings.
       4. Costumed interpreters will only be compensated for attending the educator meeting if 1) they are attending it to make up for a costumed interpreter meeting; or 2) they are trained to conduct other education programs.
22. Walkie Talkies: Educators should be aware that there are walkie talkies located in 97 Orchard Street that they should use to contact the day's tour coordinator in the case of an emergency. There are walkie talkies located in the Confino apartment under the bed, in the Baldizzi apartment by the CD player, and in the interpreted "ruin" apartment on the third floor by the CD player. These walkie talkies are always in the off position. To turn them on, turn the knob at the top. Press the button on the left side of the unit to talk. The tour coordinator or someone else in the Education Department will respond with assistance.