Babylon Teachers Association member Maddie Sollecito is expecting her first child this November, a baby girl. Along with the excitement of welcoming her daughter, she said she’s grateful she will have at least three additional weeks at home to bond with her newborn, thanks to an enhanced paid parental leave benefit secured by her union.
“I’m feeling all the nerves as a first-time parent, so this is a huge relief,” Sollecito explained.
The high school math teacher said she’s working toward buying a house with her husband and was stressed about potentially needing to take unpaid time to stay home with their baby.
“We’re just trying to take the next step for our family and so the fact that we now get those extra paid weeks at home definitely gives me peace of mind to know that we won’t be set back financially. It just takes one less thing off our plate in terms of worry,” she said.
At the end of the 2025-26 school year, the Babylon TA ratified a new four-year contract that provides an additional 15 school days of employer paid maternity/paternity and adoption leave. BTA members can then take an additional six calendar weeks from their own personal sick bank.
“For some, it will work out to a lot more than nine weeks because holidays and summer vacation do not count,” said Babylon TA President Rob Richardelli. “So, if the baby is born the last week of school for example, they can skip over summer and take the rest of their time in September.”
The new collective bargaining agreement also includes in vitro fertilization (IVF) as part of the four hours allotted for annual cancer screening.
“A member requested it in an open response form we sent out asking what members would like to see enhanced in the contract,” Richardelli explained. “For IVF, you’re very much on a schedule and it’s very time consuming, so we were able to secure this to help.”
Sollecito shared, “Rob and the negotiating committee really took the time to hear everybody’s concerns and it truly felt like they read every single person’s response and went to bat for us, which is awesome.”
Richardelli said paid parental leave has been the hot ticket item in local negotiations. “It’s something that is incredibly important to younger staff as a condition of employment. And there’s definitely that feeling of inequity in terms of retirement and being able to hang onto their sick days and be able to get paid at the end for that time. I really think it’s important to have an open and honest conversation about it and being able to attract high quality teachers to the district.”
“There are a lot of people my age or younger that are now getting hired and there’s a few of us that are pregnant,” Sollecito shared. “Considering just how expensive it is to live on Long Island, this makes it more feasible for newer teachers to start a family and allows them to see a future here.”