Full Description
Teachers stand at the intersection of educational goals, directing students down the road to success or to the byways of diminished opportunities. They are the most important school variable effecting student achievement. Consequently, placing and retaining only qualified and effective teachers in our nation's classrooms is a critical responsibility of school leaders.
Effective supervision and evaluation requires that the school leader possess the knowledge of effective instruction, exhibit skills in documentation of professional conduct, and embrace a professional approach with the will to place and keep students at the center of school policy and practice decisions. Supervising and evaluating teachers is a difficult, but essential work. Research shows that time and expertise are necessary to effectively supervise and to build a case for adverse employment decisions, when necessary.
Threading the Evaluation Needle: The Documentation of Teacher Unprofessional Conduct addresses the legal and professional knowledge that structures discipline and dismissal in the public schools. The authors, based on their educational, legal, and research experience, provide templates for various types of documentation necessary to effectively build a case for discipline. This book seeks to give principals the tools and knowledge to institute in good faith a fair and accurate documentation system.
Contents
Preface: Who Shall Teach Our Children?
Chapter 1: Evaluation and the Documentation Challenge
Chapter 2: The Evaluation of Teachers
Chapter 3: The Principal as Evaluator
Chapter 4: Legal Frameworks: Infusing the Evaluation with Fairness
Chapter 5: The Five Fatal "Eyes" of Unprofessional Conduct
Chapter 6: Files, Memos, and Documentation
Chapter 7: Conclusion and the Ten Commandments of Documentation
Appendix A - InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning
Progressions for Teachers
Appendix B - Personnel Evaluation Standards
Appendix C - Examples of Causes and Evidence for Dismissal/Discipline
Appendix D - The Bologna Sandwich Technique
Appendix E - Negligent Hiring: Did We Hire the Wrong Person?
Appendix F: Table of Cases
About the Authors
