Labor Issues - Job Security - Tenure
Pastors change…
Administrators change…
Classroom teachers remain…
Under state law, private sector employees who do not have a bargaining representative are considered “employees at will.” All teachers in non-union schools in the Camden Diocese fall in this category.
Without the protection of a negotiated contract, teachers rely on the good will of principals and pastors for continued employment.
In a negotiated teaching contract, employees work under a system of tenure. Beginning teachers work as non-tenured employees for three years.
Non-Tenured
- a trial teaching period with regular written observations by administrators and department chairs
- teachers may only be terminated for just cause, documented by observations
- teachers who are not to be renewed for a subsequent school year will receive written notification of the reasons for non-renewal, which cannot be arbitrary or capricious
Tenured
- after completing the non-tenure period with frequent observations a teacher has proven him/herself competent in the classroom and receives tenure
- regular observations by administrators and department chairs continue on a less frequent basis
- tenured teachers may only be discharged for reasons of serious and/or public immorality, insubordination, incompetency, serious neglect of duty or other just cause
Tenure assures a competent, qualified teacher that he/she need not worry about the personal whims nor rely on the good will of changing administrators for peace of mind in the classroom.
A teacher does not become incompetent after completing the period of non-tenure. He/she is still observed by administrators and department chairs.
He/she can even still be dismissed for incompetence according to contractual procedures which clearly spell out the methods to be used by administrators.
Never does a tenured teacher have to fear “personal” problems with administrators as a cause of dismissal.
As long as teachers do their jobs in the classroom and administrators do their jobs of observation and evaluation, the tenure system works well and effectively to guarantee students a continuity of quality classroom instruction.