1. SUPERVISING THE MARGINAL TEACHER Paul M. Healey, Ph.D. Camp Hill School District phealey@camphillsd.k12.pa.us

2. Characteristics of the Marginal Teacher

3. MARGINAL TEACHER CATEGORIES

5. THE FIRST STEP IS PREVENTION * SCREENING PROCESS * INTERVIEW PROCESS * REFERENCE CHECKS * INDUCTION PROGRAM * FREQUENT OBSERVATIONS DURING FIRST FEW YEARS IN THE DISTRICT

6. POSITION STATEMENT Every profession has marginal employees. However, education is different in that they do not police their own ranks and weed out these employees on an ongoing basis. The result is that thousands of kids each year are subjected to individuals who are just going through the motions.

7. Marginal Teacher Flowchart Do nothing Refer to Intensive Mode Create a Remediation Team Move to another Supervision Mode Continue in Intensive Mode Move for Dismissal Select members Outline priorities Develop action plans Construct timeline

9. THE CASE OF MR. MATTHEWS REMEDIATE TERMINATE

10. THE CASE OF MR. MATTHEWS New Principal - All previous ratings were satisfactory November 1998 - observation - classroom management, student expectations, transitions - Mr. Matthews thought the lesson went well - Principal made some suggestions for improvement January 1999 and April 1999 - observations - time management, organizations, student behavior - Principal recommended reading articles, observing other teachers, detailed lesson planning September 1999 - second year as principal - observation by principal and assistant principal - no improvement whatsoever - unsatisfactory rating issued October 1 - principal provides detailed list of concerns and corrective actions (observations, workshops) February 2000 - observation - no improvement

11. STEPS OF INTENSIVE ASSISTANCE Frequent observations Time to improve Remediation Team Documentation

12. 11 REASONS TO DISCIPLINE/DISMISS PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES The Original Eight: ImmoralityIncompetency IntemperanceCruelty Persistent negligence Willful neglect of duties Participating in un-American or subversive doctrines Failure to comply with school laws of PA

13. In 1996, the School Code was amended and expanded the number of reasons from 8 to 11: * Unsatisfactory teaching performance based on two consecutive ratings of the employee’s teaching performance - at least 4 months apart * Physical or mental disability as documented by competent medical evidence, which after accommodations, the employee has the inability to perform the essential functions of his/her employment * Conviction of a felony or acceptance of a guilty plea or no contest

14. THE FOUR D’s

15. MODEL CONFERENCE Issue the 1st Unsatisfactory Rating