Teacher Tenure Case Study

Tenure in school systems has been a highly controversial topic lately. Tenure refers to the job security of teachers after they have worked at a certain school for three years. When teachers earn tenure, it is very difficult to take away their jobs. This is especially true in higher education. According to the Washington Post, 32 states grant tenure after three years, nine states grant tenure after four or five years and four states never grant tenure at all. Granting tenure to all teachers gives everybody a job for life which should not be the case. Under-performing teachers should not have definite job security. America should remove academic tenure, replace it with a different system, and re-evaluate school teachers and professors.

It is reported that a girl was banned from a public Catholic school, the girls was disabled and it was stated that her parents faced accusations of presenting a threat to the mental health of her teachers. Morgan Webb Liddle has cerebral palsy. The teachers at Sacred Heart College took legal steps that were of an "extraordinary' nature to bar the child from the Catholic school based on their feeing "stressed and harassed." (Lee-Potter, 2013, p.1) The teachers at the school filed a notice with the principal under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Morgan was ordered to not attend school and her parents ordered not to contact the school. According to John Harding, Head of Cambridge

1. Watts is absolutely justified in recommending Ann’s dismissal. Ann was speaking on something that was a purely personal concern. She does not have the right to engage in hate speech against her superiors. She is free to disagree with them but she is not free to undermine their authority or disrupt the integrity of the school’s authority. If there are public concerns educators have received the opportunity to speak openly with respect.(U.S. Supreme Court, 1983). Racial slander or hate speech is very disrespectful. The administrators have a responsibility to give Ann due process (Essex, 2012) and recommending her termination affords her such.

Jane reports that Kerin terminated for allegedly assaulting a developmentally disabled student, by providing a protein dietary supplement and a food thickener without authorization.

Andrew Vanacore writes in the Times-Picayune that some teachers do not accept the Jindal plan to change tenure, in part because teachers

It is alleged by the lawsuit that during Felarca’s leave of absence, district officials, including Superintendent Donald Evans, attorney Marleen Sacks, and other members of BUSD’s Board of Education, questioned many of Felarca’s current and former ELD students. According to the lawsuit, the district interviewed 21 of her current 22 ELD students at MLK and two or more of her former students who currently attend Berkeley High

Her statement had spread throughout the school; all her co-workers had adverse reactions thinking that her ability of being a teacher would interfere due to her racial comment. Her principal decided that it would be better to have her dismissed.

A continuing-contract fifth-grade teacher, Linda Burton, in Pine County Florida, was dismissed from her teaching position after the school board claimed she was guilty of behaving immorally and was found incompetent. In the summer months of 2015, Burton was said to have gone on an alcohol binge, during which she separated from her husband. Burton was involved in a confrontation with two local Sherriff deputies. The deputies later brought her to a mental facility to observe her behaviors, since she was apparently found to be a danger to herself or others, based on the Baker Act. She was later charged with drunken disorderly conduct, to which Burton pled nolo contendere, or no contest.

We are formally complaining about Ms Sanchez's supervisory actions in allowing perjured evidence to be put forth in expelling a student, Olivia Scales. We further complain that through her acceptence of perjured statements, and negligence in gathering statements, Ms Sanchez's has violated state law § 39-11-402 (3).

In a large suburban high school in Wisconsin, a teacher has been dismissed for his actions that put students in danger in the eyes of the administration and school board. The teacher has appealed the decision with the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board (WLRB) and has won his appeal. This means the teacher will be returning to work with back pay. After winning his appeals case said teacher has sued the district in federal court for wrongful dismissal as a violation of his civil rights. He has asked for $500,000 and won the case being awarded the amount of $5,000. Throughout this report we will take a look back at the entire situations and discuss alternatives to what could have been done. (Teacher Dismissal For Cause)

A non-tenure employee is a temporary worker. They can be fired, and rid of very quickly. On the other hand, there is the tenure employee who is a permanent worker with job security. Over the years the number of non-tenure employees at the university almost doubled and the number of tenure employees is slowly decreasing. The reason for this is because it is way cheaper to have non tenure employees than tenure ones. Also,

The issue of teacher shortage today is continuing to grow. The effects of the achievement gap are reaching the teachers, not just the students: “...good administrators and teachers, who are doing their best under difficult circumstances, will be driven out of the profession…,” (Boyd-Zaharias 41). The achievement gap is part of the reason teachers feel they are underpaid, which happens to be one of the leading cause in teacher shortage considering, “Teachers were paid two percent less [than comparable workers] in 1994, but by 2015 the wage penalty rose to 17 percent,” (Long). Being a teacher requires passion in order to stay in the field, especially if the money in teaching is decreasing. Money is an important aspect for people when it comes to their careers, therefore, fewer people want to become teachers. This lack of teachers and the lack of college students studying to become a teacher leads to unqualified teachers and larger classroom sizes (Ostroff). Both of these causes are eventually affecting students’ learning environments. I chose this issue in education for my project because I have personally felt these effects, and I know others who have as well. As a future educator, I want to see better wages and better benefits, but this can only happen with qualified, passionate teachers. I plan on being one of them, and I plan on sparking a change. I am a future educator fighting to end teacher shortage.

There is a consensus among the concerned stakeholders that the quality of teachers is the leading factor in determination of student performance. In the case of United States, the student performance can only be given an impetus by the efforts which the state can make, under all costs, to develop and retain high quality teachers. The measures undertaken determine the level of turnover of the school teachers. Lazear (2009) similarly argues the length of employment is a critical factor in averse risks of employment a trend contrary to teachers treatment. The turnover of public school teachers will refer to the rate at which the state, which is the teacher’s

Most would ask, "What exactly is teacher tenure?". Well, in short teacher tenure is a permanent job contract for school teachers. Teachers can earn tenure by proving their teaching skills over a specific number of years while working at the same school. In most cases the number of years a teacher must work at the same school is anywhere from two to seven years. After receiving tenure a teacher cannot lose his or her job without just cause, for example obvious incompetence or severe misconduct. Tenure offers job security to teachers that have successfully completed their probational period of teaching. (Heard)

Going back to the tenure and teacher union issues, I agree that everyone has the right to unionize in order to protect their self-interests, but the idea surrounding tenure is something that needs to be re-evaluated, and the teacher’s union needs to jump on board in order to get the education system moving in the right direction. The writers hint at a way in which tenure can be changed, and that is by offering rewards for high student grades instead of the current rule of once tenure is reached, a teacher can keep their position regardless of their efforts in the classroom. The way the movie presents this alternative method is by showing a challenge between the teachers of the school to earn the highest student grades on the state test; winner earning a bonus of $5,700. This type of evaluation based on student grades can also be taken to the opposite end of the spectrum, and teachers who have unacceptable student scores should be evaluated on their teaching methods, and if seen