I don't disagree with most that you have posted. With the exception of an implied (I took it that way) job security. I know of two darn good teachers that were given less than stellar evaluations on all of the soft stuff, just to help encourage them to move on. And it was fairly easy to do. It took time, and yes both went through "counseling" by the principles in question. Two separate principles, two separate ISDs used the exact same MO. "Classroom management" was the favorite topic because it is a huge grey area that every principle gets to define for themselves. "Ms. So-and-so needs to do better at organizing her classroom." "Her transition times were too long, children were talking instead of moving on to the next topic." "She needs to work on keeping the children more engaged. Several students appeared distracted and not on topic." A principle is allowed to run a school the way they want to get the results they want. Within the law and guidelines obviously. Putting a matrix number on terms like "organization" or "engagement" is near impossible so it is the perfect place for a principle to discipline someone if they feel the need. And no school board is going to care or even see it as a negative if a principle has a couple teachers on review. Most schools probably need one or two on review. Isolated, targeted and selective use of power can cause problems for a teacher in some cases. I submit that, outside of a union shop, they may well be able to simply decide that they don't like you and with a little bit of time and paperwork (as you describe) you can be let go.n5wd wrote: Goose: if you are a long-term professional employee (i.e. A degreed teacher with more than 3years in your district) a non-renewal has to be documented just like a firing. There has to be some documented problem that has been discussed with you, most likely through a growth plan, and you must have failed to complete the requirements of a growth plan for them to initiate non-renewal, according to the legal beagles at our representative association. They can't just decide they don't like you, and decide not to renew your contract. Administrators, though, don't necessarily have the same protection -according to state law, they can be non-renewed if they fall out of favor with the administration of the district.
I'm not preaching that the sky is falling. I'm not telling the OP that all principles suck. Heck, I don't even know if they have gun sniffing dogs. I was simply encouraging the OP to weigh all factors. And I tried to list factors that I was aware of, one of which was job security. OP may be aware of others. Some may apply and some may not. Hopefully this topic isn't even a concern. The OP gets to decide that part.