The focus on using the courts to abolish tenure is a distraction from the important work of improving teacher quality. Unfortunately, the recent decision of Vergara v. California has only perpetuated the mistaken notion that only after tenure is abolished can underperforming teachers be removed. But the authors contend that administrators,…

If we want to attract the best and brightest and those with the biggest hearts into the profession that educates all others, we must show today's college graduates that they have something to look forward to if they choose to be a teacher. We want them to know that teaching is intrinsically gratifying but that there also are tangible rewards and…

Just a few years ago, tenure appeared low on the reform list for state policy makers and district administrators, viewed as too hot an issue politically to challenge. But it was front and center in the 2014 landmark "Vergara v. California" lawsuit, which challenged teacher tenure and related policies. Yet whether to grant tenure or not…

Debates over the efficacy of tenure are longstanding but tenure reform is now more prominent in the public eye given recent high-profile legislative battles in states like Ohio and Wisconsin. This focus on tenure also is a natural outgrowth of the large body of research showing that differences between individual teachers can have profound effects…

Teachers in Japan earn tenure on their first day of employment--not after two years of experience based on evaluations of teaching performance or student test scores. This is almost too good to be true. If tenure is so easy to attain, how do the Japanese make sure their teachers, especially novice teachers hired with little teaching experience,…

Tenure is under fire. Conservatives have long attacked such policies as tenure that constrain the ability of managers to fire whomever they want, but the latest assaults on tenure have invoked liberal egalitarian ideals. With all the problems in education, why are we so fixated on teacher tenure? What is really going on? How did tenure get its…

Restrictions on collective bargaining are spreading. But while reformers are right to question current labor practices in education, they're wrong to believe that bargaining prohibitions will solve the problems. A smarter approach would begin by putting down the sledgehammer wielded in Wisconsin and picking up a scalpel by pushing for laws aimed…

Experience with performance pay projects across the United States has demonstrated that, if performance pay programs are to be successful, teachers must be involved in their design. In addition, the district and the union must agree on the purpose of the program, it needs needs to be based on consensually agreed, credible measures that determine…

Three leading corporations, the Ritz-Carlton, Accenture, and Healthcare Corporation of America, were examined to see how they handled problems that also were faced by school districts. Their strategies for recruiting and retaining employees, measuring performance, and providing professional development differed significantly from those of most…

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a Texas school superintendent, having failed to submit a written contract to the school board for execution, had no basis for holding that a property interest in employment existed. Certainty about binding obligations requires written agreements signed by both parties. (PB)

Outlines approaches principals may take in dealing with older teachers who will not have to retire at age 65 but who may not be up to handling a full teaching load. Principals must retain only competent teachers while not discriminating on the basis of age. (IRT)

In the 1986 Maine court decision "True v. Ladner," a school superintendent was found guilty of slander for a teacher recommendation. Many school attorneys are now advising superintendents and school officials not to provide references for former employees. If this becomes widespread the process of screening applicants for teaching…

During its first two years of operation, the Second Mile Plan of the Houston (Texas) Independent School District successfully used financial incentives to encourage improved teacher attendance, staff stability in inner-city schools, teacher professional development, improved academic achievement, and higher employment in areas of staff shortages.…

Methods to reduce layoffs, encourage natural staff turnover, and quell fear and frustration are unpaid leaves of absence, job sharing, early retirement bonus programs, and aggressive teacher evaluation. Where layoffs have been unavoidable, some school districts have devised placement services. Districts must avoid using layoffs to create turnover.…

A study of Massachusetts teacher contracts and interviews with educators in four districts indicated several factors that can affect the impact of applying seniority agreements when laying off teachers. These factors include the size of the layoff unit, bumping rights, prerequisites for teaching in a second field, and reassignment prerogatives.…