Chapter 4: 3-2-1

Three Key Ideas From Chapter

1. If you don't think the teachers in your school are more important than the curriculum, think of this: What would you rather have: the 10 best basketball plays or the 10 best basketball players?
2. In reality, teacher selection is a complex process rather than an event, and selection decisions are made at several stages withing the process.
3. The importance of the interview is paramount. The administrator should be well prepared for this stage of selection as it involves a commitment of time and resources.

Two Topics To Discuss In a Group

1. Two years ago as department chair I took part in an interview process where our administrator had essentially predetermined that we were going to hire a particular individual because she had a journalism background and we needed an advisor for our school newspaper. What challenges does a decision like that prior to the interview process create for the interview process?
2. Situation: It is mid-August, and a long-serving teacher suddenly announces her retirement. As you go through your hiring process, it becomes apparent that you cannot find a candidate who meets your criteria. Do you hire the "best" of the candidates who do not meet your criteria? Or, do you utilize a quality long-term sub until you can identify a candidate who will best serve the needs of your students?

One Question

1. What are the differences in the hiring process for large and small school districts?

OASD Sick Leave Policy To Cover a Sick Child

Blog Post looking at OASD Sick Leave Policy To Cover a Sick Child

In the Employee Handbook, the District states: "Sick leave may be used to attend to personal illness or illness of a family member."

In the case of our district, the district recognizes that oftentimes staff do not take any sick days even though they, themselves, may be ill. The district has shared data that shows staff members, on average, use only 2-3 sick days per year, even though most staff members have 90 sick days available.

As a principal, I need to approach the situation discussed in class as both a human being and a manager. As a human being, I need to know and understand my staff. If that staff member is a new grandparent, they may feel a strong pull to help not just their child but also their grandchild. Given that understanding, I would look at the request to use a sick day much the same as a request to use a sick day to be present for the birth of that grandchild. In doing so, staff will know that I care about them and understand that sometimes life happens and we need to acknowledge that staff may not be "present" even though they are physically present in the classroom.

As a manager, I understand that the single most important factor in the success of students in the classroom. As such, I need to make sure I help staff understand the impact their presence in the classroom has on students. I think it is important, as a principal, to understand the available options for staff. If the district offers sick days and personal days, I would recommend that they use a personal day beyond the first day. All of this would happen after consulting with our HR director; I want to support my staff member, but I also want to follow district policy.

Negotiations/ Meet and Confer

In what ways does the framework of negotiations/meet and confer interface with student performance and district vision/purpose?

Post a one page Opinion/Editorial to your blog explaining the relationship between these two entities, thoughtfully respond to two classmates’ postings.

For many years, teachers unions and

Showing Teachers They Are Valued

I know one thing...putting old apples with worms in them in the faculty lounge during Teacher Appreciation week does not work. :)

I think that principals who look to actively cultivate building and grade-level leaders do much to show a staff that they are valued.

In addition, I think the principal who listens to hard criticisms and grows shows a staff they are valued. During her first year, my most recent principal pushed the staff hard and we did not always see or feel the vision she had. At the end of the year, she sent a Google Forms survey out and some staff members responded with RELISH. Instead of coming back in the Fall and blaming the staff for their responses, she told the staff she heard them, they were right, and they would see changes in her second year. True to her word, she changes our approach to PLCs, making them much more driven by staff choices, and she literally transformed the culture in our building. When you speak and are not just heard, you will feel valued.

Professionally, a principal can also serve as a mentor. When I finished my year as English department chair, my principal insisted I start training to become a principal and paired me with our AP during my practicum. I was worried about my role after the return of our previous department chair, and my principal quickly alleviated those concerns by showing a clear value and appreciation of my leadership in the school.

It may seem corny, but I always appreciated when our admin team cooked burgers and brats for us each Spring, paying for the food out-of-pocket. They made a big deal out of it and lamented that they couldn't treat us more often. Yes, administrators make more than their staff, but they are not rich. Paying for burgers, brats, hot dogs, chips, salads, cake and drinks for a staff of nearly 150 does not come cheap, so I always felt valued when the admin team did this.

Backing your staff is another way to make them feel valued. We all have probably experienced the a parent issue that skips the teacher and goes directly to the principal. I always appreciated and felt valued when the principal insisted the parent communicate with me first. Communication is vital in teacher/parent relationships, and I always appreciated when I had the first opportunity to address parent concerns.

Genuine visibility also goes a long way towards showing interest in and value of a teacher’s work. I always loved when my AP would come into my class - no notepad - and just see what we had going on that day, engaging with the students, and joking with me to show all of us that he was human.

Teachers Handbook Negotiations/Rebuttal

Wednesday’s Assignment

1. We would like to see the district change the nomenclature it gives to sick days. We currently can accrue up to 90 sick days each year. When the public sees that all teachers can have up to 90 "sick" days each year, it is easy for them to think negatively of teachers and imagine that teachers are "sick" 90 days a year. Most members of the public do not know the that past school boards We believe it would benefit both staff and the district if the district designated these days as income protection days.
   
   Rebuttal Statement: We understand the staff view have concerns about the designation of these days, but staff members could potentioally abuse the system if the naming switched from "sick" days to "income protection" days. Sick days should be used in cases of genuine illness. We believe that this designation encourages staff to take off only when ill. Current data shows that with the designation of "sick" days, staff only use between two and three sick days a year. Removing that designation may result in more time off used by staff which will reduce the number of days present for their students. This disruption may result in inadequate instuction for district students.
   
2. The handbook recently changes to include hefty penalties for a staff member breaking their contract. Traditionally, staff members giving less than 30 days notice were required to forfeit $250 for breaking their contracts with less than 30 days notice. he current change states that teachers who resign on or after July 15th will forfeit $750 and teachers who resign on or after August 15 will forfeit $1500. This seems like an excessive amount of forfeiture and has only recently been added to the handbook, giving employees insufficient notice of the changes.
   
   Rebuttal Statement: The district has a responsibility to provide every student with highly qualified teachers. In the past, the forfeiture of $250 did not deter staff from resigning even days before the beginning of the school year. This places the district in the untenable position of having to find a highly qualified teacher after most districts have alread hired the best available candidates. The deadlines and forfeitures are designed to help staff make decisions in a timely manner so that the district can better hire needed staff and project their expenditures for the year.
   
3. We would like to see modifications to the teacher salary schedule. Currently, teacher salaries have been frozen since the passage of Act 10, and many yeachers who had already completed approved graduate courses and programs of study did not receive the salary increases promised to them if they took these courses. We would like to see the district use available monies from the recently discovered fund surplus to fund a one-time movement on the salary schedule to honor the commitment made to those staff members.
   
   Rebuttal Statement: Act 10 has created a new framework under which we must all operate. It may seem simple enough to utilize the fund balance surplus to reward teachers for taking graduate courses, but that type of reward does not fit into the merit pay system the district is currently investigating. Moving that surplus into teacher salaries will result in a reduction of revenue for next year. In addition, moving that money into Fund 73 instead will allow the district to meet its post-employment obligations for already committed retirement benefits.
   
4. Current language in the employee handbook regarding transfer and reassignments simply states "The District may transfer and/or reassign employees to a different building or department at its discretion based on the needs of the District." This single sentence undermines the years of service or the level of expertise a staff member has. It appears callous to use a single sentence to change the career arc of a teacher.
   
   Rebuttal Statement: While we will attempt to honor current placements of staff members, the District has an obligation to put the best teachers we can in front of our students. The District requires flexibility to ensure that all teachers benefit from a highly qualified teacher. By reserving the right to transfer or reassign staff as best meets the needs of the District, we can ansure a quality education for all of our students.
   
5. We would like to see the addition of personal days to the employee handbook. While the district does allow for up to 90 sick days, the designation as "sick" days requires staff to be untruthful if they have an appointment that is not medically related. By providing staff with two personal days, the district would allow teachers to truthfully miss a day if they have a sick child or need to attend to the needs of a parent.
   
   Rebuttal Statement: The addition of two personal days would mean a total possible of 92 missed days a year. Even if this represents an extreme case, the District would have difficulty convincing the public of the need for any staff member to miss 92 days of work. Staff currently can accrue up to 90 sick days per year and should utilize those days appropriately. An addition two days of paid time off represents an additional expenditure to the district that would have to be balanced against other necessary programs funded under Fund 10.

School Law Web 2.0

ARMY DUDES
by: mrseea16

Principal Job Description

Classroom Teacher Job Description

Chapter 9 Outline

Analyzing Teacher Interview Questions

Team Educator Effectiveness Screencast

Reflection: The screencast my team and I developed on the Educator Effectiveness Initiative serves several useful purposes as we look for ways to “advocate, nurture, and sustain a school CULTURE and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.” After our hour of work, we produced a video that shows what is possible when a principal combines an understanding of technology with an understanding that all staff development cannot happen during the contracted work day. We clearly addressed S3g because developing a better understanding of the broad strokes regarding Educator Effectiveness showed that we “understand employment issues.” More importantly, I believe is the insight I gained into my “understanding of instructional leadership.” I see the screencasts as a way to engage my staff much better by providing an avenue for “flipping” the faculty meeting by allowing me to disseminate necessary information prior to a faculty meeting, freeing me to actively work with staff as their instructional leader.