On Jul 19, 2007, at 6:37 AM, ljackson wrote: > Sometimes I wonder how some achieve tenure. Is it fear of being > unable to > replace these teachers or is there a sense that if we nurture them, we > can > change them? It does become difficult when tenure is achieved (not > impossible, time consuming) but what of those early years?
In California, teachers do not have tenure, so I am very careful with the word itself. College professors achieve tenure, but not teachers in K-12 schools. What California teachers have is "permanent status" which is automatic upon their third year in the same position (not necesarily the same classroom or school, but within the same district). This gives them the due process that Beverlee was talking about. In other words, a teacher is hired at Probationary I status. Second year they are Probationary II. Any time during those two years a teacher can be let go for no reason. Not only do they not have to give a reason, in most cases they WON'T give a reason. When a teacher starts he/her third year with a district, they become "permanent" and all the due process protection procedures kick in. In my opinion, a really "bad" teacher is going to be really "bad" from the get-go and a good administrator can tell within the first two years whether a teacher is competent or not. Renee "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." ~ Pablo Picasso _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
