Case Study: Getting Back On Track With Education

School districts can often have issues in dealing with an underperforming tenured teacher. There are multiple challenges related to this scenario: rights, evaluation process and procedures; length of service; and, change in school or district leadership. The challenge is in addressing these issues in ways that meet legal requirements, but do not leave students in a position of having inconsistent or sub-par teaching.

We believe in guiding our clients to be pro-actively focused on issues early so they do not rise to the need for litigation and extensive legal fees. Our approach is to communicate with District leadership about tenured teachers whose performance is raising concerns. We counsel principals and superintendent on ways to build informal performance plans to assist teachers in improving. As needed, we help develop and draft formal remediation plans; review evaluations; and advise on needed documentation. Prior to proceeding to dismissal, we work to find an amicable resolution, primarily seeking a "gracious exit" for the staff member to avoid the costly and time-consuming dismissal process.

As a result of efforts with various Districts, we have been able to avoid the formal dismissal process for tenured teachers in recent years. Instead, our counsel has assisted District leaders in getting teachers "back on track" or if that does not work, to obtain resignations. We have found this result-oriented, preventative approach allows for positive, efficient and cost-effective resolutions that allow clients to continue to focus on the core mission of educating young people.