SarahSharkey

GreenBayCohort
Reflection#4FourIssuestoEnsuretheLawisFollowed
4/27/15

Choosefourissuesfromthisweeksreadingsandreflectonhowyou,astheschoolleader,will
ensurethatthelawisfollowedineachoftheareasthatyouchoose.(nomorethantwo
paragraphseachissue)TeacherFreedoms,Tenure,Dismissal,DueProcess,School
PersonnelandDistrictLiability

TeacherandSchoolLiability
Muchofteacherliabilitystemsfromsupervisionofstudentsanddisciplinaryactions.Asa
principal,Iwouldcreatesomekindofdisciplinarystructurethatoutlinesactionsteacherscan
andshouldtakeincertainsituations.Forexample,PBISprovidestheopportunityforpositive
recognitiontothestudentswhofollowtheexpectations,andclearexamplesofwhenstudents
arenotfollowingtheexpectations.Thereisaflowchartshowingstepbystephowtoaddress
specificbehaviors.PBISalsousesmatricestostateclearexpectationforstudentsineveryday
activities,suchasusingthebathroom,aswellassituationalactivities,suchasaspecial
assembly.Thishelpspreparethestudentsandallowsthemtheopportunitytobecomeawareof
anypotentialdangersthatcanarisefromeachsituation.Asapartofthis,Iwoulddomybestto
haveasysteminplacethatallowsateachertotakeabreakwhennecessarytotakeastep
backfromasituationandaddressitonceclearthoughtshavecometomind.Thismaybe
sendingaspecificstudenttoasafeplace,orhavinganotherpersoncovertheclassfor5
minuteswhiletheteacherwalksaroundandthinksthingsthrough.And,ofcourse,Iwouldbe
theretolistentoconcernsandprovideadviceifnecessary.

Theschoolalsoholdsliabilitynotonlyforteacheractions,butforstudentactionsandwellbeing
aswell.Ensuringthereispropersupervisionbeforeandafterschoolwillhelpminimizethose
concerns.Asaprincipal,Iwouldalsomakesurethereisproperpreparationforfieldtrips,
especiallyforelementaryschools.Thisincludesbringingappropriatemedicationforstudents,a
firstaidkit,andasheetthattheteacherbringsalongshowingwhoisonthefieldtripandthe
abilitytodoaheadcountatcertainpointsduringthetrip.Thisisagreatreminderforthosein
chargeofthestudentsthattheliabilityweighsheavilyontheirshoulderswhileonthattrip.

DiscriminationinEmployment
Asaprincipal,thenumberoneareaIcouldfocusonthatwouldminimizediscriminationin
employmentisdocumentation.Whileitisnotpossibletodocumenteverydecisionandaction
made,theneedfordocumentationismorepressingincertainsituationsthanothers.For
example,whileinterviewingcandidates,makingnotesduringinterviewsanddecision
discussionsinordertodocumentthethoughtprocesscanhelpproveagainstdiscriminatory
actionsifsomeoneweretomakeaclaimofemploymentdiscrimination.

Iwouldalsobeveryfamiliarwithdistrictpoliciesandproceduresdealingwithdiscrimination.
Achievingconsistencywillhelpwhendistrictsupportisneededinhandlingdiscrimination
complaints.Reviewingthesepoliciesoften,alongwithnewlawsandregulations,willhelp
establishachecksandbalancesondistrictpolicyaswell.

TeacherFreedoms
Asaprincipal,itismyjobtomakesureteachersareawareoftheacademicrequirementsfrom
theschooldistrictandbuildingthatmustbeaddressedineachposition.Fromthere,teachers
aregrantedtheacademicfreedomtoinquire,research,anddiscussvariousideasandissues.
Thescopeofthematerialintroducedintheclassroommustbeappropriateforthegroup
addressedandfallwithintheteacherscertificationlevel.

Teachersholdmanyofthesamerightsasothercitizens,althoughtheymaybelimitedslightly.If
ateacheroverstepshisorherboundariesontherightsoffreedomofexpression,freedomof
association,politicalrights,dressandgrooming,andtherighttoprivacy,theschooldistrictmust
followdueprocessifanydisciplinaryactionshouldbetaken.Again,documentationwillgreatly
helpinthisprocess.Asaprincipal,Imustrecordasmuchaspossibleinordertohelpthe
processgosmoothly.

Tenure,Dismissal,andCollectiveNegotiations
Asaprincipal,Ifeelitisimportanttobeanactivepartofthenormalschooldayasmuchas
possible.Byvisitingclassrooms,interactingwithstudentsandteachers,andcompleting
evaluations,Iwouldhaveagoodunderstandingofwhatactuallyhappensinatypicalschool
day.Bydoingso,Iwouldhaveastrongercaseintheeventadismissalshouldoccur.Following
districtpolicyonevaluationsandindividualimprovementplanshelpsbuildafileforeach
employee.Thiscanbenefittheemployeesbybuildingsupportfortenure,creatingawarenessof
evaluationcriteria,andimplementinggoalstoreachahigherlevelofeffectiveteaching.Italso
openslinesofcommunicationbetweentheteachersandtheprincipal,andassistsineveryone
beingonthesamepage.