Toledo Career Development Plan for the Professionalization of Teaching

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Final Draft October 13, 1986

TOLEDO CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF TEACHING

Submitted by:

Eileen Burch and Terry Wyatt, co-chairpersons of the TPS career ladder committee; William Lehrer, Assistant Superintendent for Administration; and Dal Lawrence, President, Toledo Federation of Teachers

INTRODUCTION

This proposal for a "career-ladder" for Toledo teachers has been produced after more than a year of work by various committees of teachers and administrators and after a careful review of existing career ladder literature. The ideas presented are tailored to specific needs of the Toledo district. Much of what we have presented here represents our own thinking and creation.

Fifteen states now have state-wide career ladders or pilot projects; another fourteen have established mechanisms for developing such programs, including Ohio. None of the ladders in place are working satisfactorily, and those in Florida, Tennessee and Alabama are in serious trouble because of strenuous opposition from teachers. Each of these three states is currently involved in difficult "re-tooling" phases in an effort to save their career ladder concepts.

Poorly planned career ladders seem to be standard features of existing programs.

The necessity to develop career options is real, however.

Forty to fifty percent of America's teachers will retire or leave teaching in the next seven to ten years. These are conservative estimates and although Toledo's demographic data does not fall into the national pattern, shortages in math and science are already evident. The number of individuals needed to staff American schools will require colleges to more than double the number of students who currently choose teacher education as a career. In 1981,

1,400 science and math teachers were awarded B.A. degrees. There are over 15,000 school districts in the United States. During the 1982-83 school Nationally, only year, 18,000 science and math teachers stopped teaching.

Eight percent of the teaching force has four years experience or less.

Money alone will not entice talented young people to the classroom, although leading researchers of the problem, such as Rand, the Carnegie Foundation, the Holmes group, and almost all individual researchers, agree it is imperative that teacher pay be brought into line with professions competing for talented men, women, and minorities. What is also clear in all the research is that teaching must be professionalized to make the job . appealing. Opportunity for professional growth and added responsibilities must be made available to teachers in order to attract and hold good teachers. While there are various suggestions about what schools should look like in the future, a change in the role of the teacher is the key to professionalization; and professionalization and pay are the keys to

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maintaining public schools acceptable to the public and adequate for national needs in the near future.

The Carnegie Task Force Report, "A Nation Prepared: Teachers For the 21st Century," calls for reforms that seek full professionalization of teaching and the restructuring of schools. Opportunities for professional development, control of instructional responsibilities, and greater compensation are at the heart of Carnegie1s vision for the profession. Carnegie recommendations that mesh with concepts Toledo has created for its career development plan include:

1.

Teachers need to be given discretion and autonomy that invariably"mark . professional status.

2.

Most teachers need to be provided with support so they can be more effective and productive.

3.

New approaches to school leadership need to be tried, especially those that put teachers at the center of the instructional program.

4.

Districts should foster collegial styles of decision-making with "Lead Teachers" playing a central role.

5.

The range of teachers I salaries should be increased to those of other professions with comparable education, training, and experience.

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Most of these Carnegie recommendations were unknown to us when we developed the basic concepts of the Toledo Career Development Plan. It is apparent,

however, that the two designs have common assumptions and many similar designs.

The Toledo design is based on a professionalization reform already in place - the intern/intervention programs with their heavy emphasis on peer review. tors. Peer review has been accepted by Toledo teachers and administraIt is an example of a teacher-management shared governance responsibility (inducting quality new teachers to the district and removing tenured teachers identified and proven to be unqualified), normally not found in public schools. Our career option plan relies on peer review to identify excellent teachers who would then have opportunities to share responsibility for developing, and implementing educational plans for the district. The identification of talent and the opportunity to use that talent to address district needs is central to the concepts that follow. We think this proposal is a logical next step in our efforts to build a profession for teachers in Toledo. Ideas developed by Carnegie or the Holmes Group will help us shape and refine our local efforts in the future. Some of our design might be useful to various national and state planning efforts currently under way.

The design that follows assumes continuation of the traditional salary schedule as per the contractual commitment that exists. (See page 98 of the agreement between the Toledo Federation of Teachers and the Toledo Board of Education.) Voluntary usage of the Career Options and Professional Development Plan is intended to encourage excellent teaching by all

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Staff members; discover and utilize talents in ways not now possible; answer critics who rightly point out that teaching is an occupation absent .significant psychic and monetary rewards; and avoid the severe resistance American teachers have shown to mandatory "career ladders" or merit pay schemes. Our priority was not to save the single salary schedule; rather, it was to create a voluntary career ladder based on incentives.

*A word of caution: We are not naive about the difficulty of gaining acceptance and support for this reform. The various audiences in the district We expect will be confronted with new procedures that are non-traditional. and welcome comments, suggestions and ideas.

The need to maintain public confidence in public education demands a thoughtful planning now or Toledo's carefully trained corps of new teachers will face the same frustrations of every other generation of American teachers.

THE TOLEDO CAREER OPTION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN OUTLINE

The Toledo Career Development Plan will consist of four levels of achievement constituting a single career option and development track. All teachers who qualify through an induction process will enter the program and will be given the opportunity to progress through the four levels by meeting the established minimum requirements. These levels will be designated as Commendation level, Green level, Blue level and Red level.

Each applicant to the plan will earn a "ranking score" based on an interview, references, a written submission, a test, and peer observations.

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Those applicants at or above a predetermined cut-off score will be placed on the Commendation level for one year.

During the initial commendation year, the candidates will attempt to qualify for the next, or Green, level. This advancement will be determined by intensive peer review, plus a- project assigned by a governing board. The three higher levels require proscribed educational requirements and various duties assigned by the governing board in addition to intensive peer review at the Green level. The details of these requirements and the

roles of the various groups and individuals are explained in detail later in this document.

OUTLI NE OF PLAN LEVEL
Qualification (Induction)

REQUIREMENTS
Achieve a ranking score at or above the cut-off score.

Commendation - first year

B.A. degree, four-year provisional certification, successful completion of the peer review procedure and assigned project.

Green

B.A. degree, four-year provisional certification, successful completion of peer review and assigned duties.

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Blue

M.A. degree, successful completion of a number of assigned duties each with a unit value.

Red

M.A.-in-field or twenty post-graduate hours related to the track activities, successful completion of assigned duties

All projects and duties will be assigned or approved by the board of governors.

TOLEDO CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF TEACHING
We expect the career development plan, at least in its initial years, to attract more candidates than can be, or perhaps should be, processed. In order to insure fairness and objectivity in the induction phase, a point system will be used for ranking applicants for acceptance into the induction year. The points earned would establish the order of candidate acceptance into the program.

The ranking system is based on a maximum total of one hundred points distributed over five areas: observation, reference, interview, testing, and writing. (The induction year relies heavily on peer review of outstanding teaching performance and is discussed later.)

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Points Test 15 Written 15 Reference 15 Interview 15 Observation 40

References (15) A total of five references will be required, one each from the principal or supervisor, the building representative, and a teacher at the work site. The other two references will be chosen by the committee from a list of five to seven names of individuals who have knowledge of the candidate's professional competence submitted by the applicant. These references may come from any source that the applicant chooses.

The reference criteria will follow closely those used by applicants to the intern program. However, the form will be set up so each response desired falls under the general heading of "average", "below average", and "outstanding." Each of these three headings will have five marks that will

have to be circled by the respondent.

For example: Below Average
/ / / / /

Average
/ / / / /

Outstanding
/ / / / /

A numerical average can be obtained based on the assumption that fifteen is possible for each response and for the maximum obtainable for this portion of the ranking. A place on the form will be provided for comments.

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A final question will be asked the respondent:

"How many points out of a total of fifteen would you assign this candidate?1I _____

A reference committee of three persons will assign the actual point value based on all the information provided. (The reference committee will play no other part in the ranking process.) Each committee member will rank a candidate independently and a final average will be determined.

The references will be held in confidence and will not be used for other purposes.

Written Submission (15) Each candidate will submit a written statement answering such questions as: "Which' activity in the career'option plan areyou best qualified for and why?" or "What will you contribute as a participant in the career option plan?" A reading committee of peers will independently assign up to fifteen points and an average score will be tallied. The reading committee will perform no other task in the ranking process. All applicants will write their submission at the same time under the direction of the reading committee. This will be a three-person committee, one of whom will be a composition teacher, and one of whom will be familiar with the career plan.

This written submission would give the applicant the opportunity to identify areas in the plan in which he or she is interested. tion would be subject to approval by the governing (Final determinaThe reading committee)

committee will determine the criteria on which the written submissions will

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be judged prior to their evaluations.

A copy of the criteria will be submitted to the board of governors for approval.

Interview (15) The interview committee will be composed of three persons: one administrator, one teacher, and one university person, subject to approval by the governing committee. Each will independently assign up to fifteen points

and then the scores will be averaged for final assignment of points. Again, no other ranking task will be performed by this committee.

Each applicant will be asked similar questions including whether a five-year commitment could be made to classroom teaching.

Test (15) The Miller Analogy Test will be given to all applicants.

The test scores can be broken down into segmented values which represent one to fifteen points for our purposes. Applicants will take the tests as a group. If other appropriate tests become available the governing board is empowered to supplement or replace the Miller Analogy Test.

Observations (40) Peer review observation of classroom performance is assigned the highest point value because it most directly relates to the induction year. The . Toledo Career Options and Professional Development Plan proposal rests heavily on outstanding teaching. The concept not only affords teachers new opportunities, it encourages outstanding performance from others since

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participation will be voluntary as has already been agreed in the current teacher contract.

Each candidate will be observed a total of three times, once each by three different consulting teachers from the intern program. A list of five consultants will be submitted to the candidate from which they will select three. Each observation will be announced in advance so that the candidate (Unan-

can be prepared to demonstrate his or her best performance level.

nounced visits will take place during the Commendation year.) Our feeling is that an average performance, after a visit is announced, should be prominently reflected in the ranking process for obvious reasons.

Each observer will independently assign up to forty points based on the standards and criteria used in the intern program. Scores will be averaged for final point assignment. ranking procedure. Observers will not be used in any other

No candidate can be accepted for the induction year An appropriate

unless an observation score of at least thirty is achieved.

waiting period, to be determined by the governing committee, will be necessary before reapplication can be considered.

*These observations can be done as part of the intern consultant's work assignment. We have enough consultants to do both. Inactive consultants

also could be used if needed.

The cost of this portion of the ranking

process, while greater than the other four, will not be prohibitive.

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A cut-off score will be assigned for induction. Those who score below the final cut-off number could reapply after an appropriate waiting period determined by the board of governors. They need only requalify in those areas where deficiencies were noted. An explanation of the reapplication

process will be included for those who fall below the cut-off score.

The cut-off score will be determined and published by the executive committee of the governing board before individual applicant scores are known. All candidates at or above the cut-off score will be deemed a "commended teacher" and be
elig~ble

to participate in the qualification process for

"Green level" status.

If candidates so choose, they may remain at the In doing so they forfeit

Commendation level if the requirements are met.

their right for graduation to the "Green level" for a waiting period to be determined by the governing board.

Those who wish to protest point assignments will do so through a written application to the program's board of governors.

General Information on Ranking and Application The ranking system is crucial during the initial enrollment for the program. In later years, applications can be expected to level off somewhat,

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but that level is difficult to predict.

It is not absolutely necessary to Di$trict needs,

open enrollment every year, but it could be done annually.

teacher demand, and financial allocations are the three factors that will influence how often the induction year is activated. Applications and induction, in other words, could be timed differently.

Teachers who have completed five years in the Toledo system will be eligible to apply. A four-year provisional certificate will be required as a

minimum certification status. There will be no further degree requirement for induction.

Time Line The start-up of the program is dependent upon two conditions. First, a

source must be found, outside of local funds, to adequately fund the program. Second, the program must receive the approval of the membership (See "Nego-

of the TFT and the superintendent and board of education. tiations" below.)

GOVERNING BOARD

We envision a twelve-member governing board for the program constituted as follows:

*

six teachers appointed by" the Federation (most will be from outside the ranks of consulting teachers)

*

three administrators at the executive director level or above appointed by the superintendent

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*

two college persons, one from Bowling Green State University, one from the University of Toledo who will be selected from a list of candidates submitted by the universities and serve as non-voting ad hoc members for terms of two years

*

the committee will be chaired by a non-voting member selected by a majority vote of the governing board

Seven votes will be needed to reject a recommendation. ments will be for specific three-year terms.

Teacher appoint-

(These could be staggered at

the start.) The Federation board of directors and building representatives will confirm the appointee upon recommendation of the president.

The governing board will exercise overall guidance and control of the program and make certain recommendations to an executive committee. The

board will hear appeals and accept or reject induction year recommendations for individuals aspiring to placement in the advanced career option levels and to the initial commendation level. Budgetary matters will be decided

by the executive committee although budget recommendations could be made by the governing board.

The executive committee will be composed of the president of the Federation, the superintendent, one teacher, and one administrator. With the

possible exception of the superintendent, the other three members will be governing board members. Budget allocations ultimately will rest with the

school board, although a unanimous executive board recommendation will carry obvious weight.

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Director It will be necessary to assign one person to work for the governing board to coordinate the work of the various induction committees and other activities of the board and the program. We anticipate an intensive campaign to gain initial approval of the concept by the teaching staff. Experience of others indicates that a continuous flow of accurate information is vital even after initial support has been achieved. The key individuals on the executive committee will not have the time necessary to insure a smooth implementation of the program.

We are confident that there will be enough work for this individual to be employed full-time. Initial staff acceptance efforts and managing the Coordination of work

first induction year will be considerable tasks.

assignments with district needs is another obvious task that will be ongoing. ence. Other answers about the futu're can only be gained through experi-

Secretarial help is planned on a part-time or shared basis the first year.

Negotiations Ideally, career ladder plans need to be funded, wholly, or in large part, at the state level through line item allocations as is the case with special education or vocational units. Any local career option expendi-

ture should be viewed as an additional cost to the district. The Federation will continue to pursue regular salary schedule funding in negotiations. Without outside funding, the plan would risk loss of teacher Locally

support in subsequent years through the negotiations process. funded career ladders are risky at best.
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Properly funded, negotiations at

contract expiration periods will see few, if any, demands in the career option area by either management or the union. Essentially, state funding

will allow us to proceed with our own "educational policy trust agreement," a concept advocated by Dr. Charles Kershner in California.

THE COMMENDATION YEAR

Commendation Teachers After the induction process, all teachers at or above the cut-off score will be placed on the "Commendation level" for one year.

During this year commendation teachers must choose one of three options

The first is to initiate an attempt to qualify for the Green level. second is to attempt to meet the qualifications for remaining at the Commendation level. The third is to do nothing which will result in

The expiration of the commendation status.

In order to continue at the Commendation level, or qualify for higher track levels, a candidate will be observed for a number of hours determined by the board of governors. (Probably six observations by three different

peers for a total of eighteen.) These observations will be done by three consultants and their summary report will be submitted to the board of governors using the same procedure as that used at the Green level. Candi dates who are deemed lI ou tstanding" by the board of governors wi 11 be awarded continuing "commendation ll status, and will be subject to a periodic review of their status as determined by the board of governors. Those who

are not deemed lI outstanding" in the initial commendation year will be

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denied any placement on the career ladder and reapplication will be precluded for a period of time determined by the board of governors. Candi-

dates who choose to continue at the commendation level may make future application for Green status after a period of time determined by the board of governors.

Commendation Year Performance The commendation year qualification is based on two factors: performance in the classroom and production of a project assigned by the board of governors. The project will be more limited in scope than the tasks expected to The commendation teacher may apply

qualify for the three higher levels.

for placement at the next level by initiating a written request to the board of governors using a form provided.

Observation-Peer Review Three teacher consultants will be used to insure greater accuracy in the peer review process. will not. Some observations will be announced in advance; some

The criteria for teacher performance currently in existence for Teacher consultants will be

the intern-intervention programs will be used. looking for "outstanding" performance.

A prose statement at the completion of the observations will be written. The consultant will state his or her judgment about outstanding performance with supporting reasons. The evaluation statement will be called the "summary." Each consultant will work independently; one the first quarter,

one the second, and one the third.

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Observations will not be made on test days or other times when a regular lesson is not being taught.

Project For Commendation Teachers The governing board itself will be responsible for the project evaluation completed during the first three quarters. This can be done by sub-committees of three governors or by a specially constituted committee. Project rating will take place prior to summary presentations of the classroom observations. The final decision of the board of governors will be influenced by the project as well as the performance summaries.

Summary Process For Commendation Teachers At the end of the third quarter of the school year, the governing board will meet to hear one of the three teacher consultants present all three summaries. All three will be in attendance and subject to questioning by the board. The governing board will pass on all recommendations. If there

should be a variance among the summaries, i.e., two outstanding, one average, the board will decide acceptance or rejection. Consultants can

come in with an agreed recommendation when possible. An agreed-recommendation might be possible even in some cases where one summary differed from the other two.

The commendation teacher will not know the summary results until after the third quarter. Copies of the summaries, minus the consultant's name, will

be provided at that time. The individual will be afforded an opportunity to comment to the board if dissatisfied with any or all summaries.

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Consultant presentations will follow such an appearance. not be used in any other management process.

Summaries will

Assignment-Rejection The board of governors will assign those commendation teachers who successfully complete the peer review and project requirements to the "Green level" of the track. Green level status will become effective-at the

conclusion of commendation level school year.

Candidates who are deemed "outstanding" in their teaching but do not gain approval of their project will remain on the Commendation level.
(

The board

of governors may choose to assign a second project; however, if it too is found unacceptable the assignment to Commendation level will be made.

Those candidates not deemed "outstanding" in their teaching performance will be denied further designation as a commendation teacher. Reapplica-

tion to the program will be precluded for a period of time to be determined by the board of governors.

Assignment of Consultants Observation assignments will be made by the governing board or its executive committee. Senior consultants, those who have completed three years

in the intern program, will be used for the peer review process, as well as some current consultants if needed. Each consultant will have an assigned

number of observations to make each quarter for each candidate. A consultant will be assigned a number of candidates as determined by the board of

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governors.

During the induction process and commendation year this should

be the senior consultant's only job.

TRACK MECHANICS '

After the commendation year and Green level status, successive levels are achieved through educational requirements and various project or work assignments. These projects will be assigned varying unit values so that

advancement to Blue and Red levels will be earned.

Time Requirements Three academic years will have to be completed before a Green level teacher can move to Blue. The same
~hree

year requirement will apply to Red level

status, so that the earliest a Green level person can achieve Red level status would be six academic years in the track. have to qualify for Blue level within six years. Green level teachers will Those who do not qualify

for the Blue level within the allotted time will be placed back at the Commendation level. Reapplication to the upper levels would be at the

discretion of the governing board. There will be no time requirement limitation for movement from Blue level to Red level.

Degrees A bachelor's degree will qualify one for the Green level. A master's

degree will be required for Blue level. The degree can be in any field or area of professional interest. However, before Red level is achieved, Blue

level teachers will have to show at least twenty graduate hours, during or post M.A., related to his/her track activities. A master's degree in the

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Red level teacher's teaching field can be used in lieu of the above requirement, however.

Units Units will be assigned to projects or work by the board of governors. Each

Green level or Blue level teacher will have to earn an appropriate number of units each year to remain in the program. Governors can decide when Career option teachers

someone has failed to earn a particular unit, etc.

will be expected to accept assignments made by the board of governors.

The status of individuals whose work is inadequate once higher ladder levels have been achieved will be subject to review by the board of governors. Peer review and/or a change in ladder level placement may result if

"thought necessary by the board of governors, although an effort will be made to match individual strengths and desires with district needs.

Track Movement Intent to move from one level to the next will be self-initiated. The

board of governors will be notified that the required units have been achieved and the next level will be designated at the conclusion of an academic year.

Since it is required that Green level teachers achieve Blue level within six years, there will be a demand for activities to accumulate units. The

board of governors will assure that assignments will be distributed fairly, while placing people in assignments for which they are best suited. This

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should not be an insurmountable problem, but one that can lead to dissatisfaction if left to chance.

Blue level teachers will not have to qualify for Red level status within a given time period. Tasks assigned by the board of governors will have to be accepted though.

Recognition So that achievement is given appropriate recognition, each teacher at each level of the career development plan will be awarded a ribbon similar to the campaign ribbons used by the military. An award ceremony will be held and wi 11 be open to a11 teachers. The ri bbon wi 11 denote wh i ch∑∑ ∑level∑∑ha∑s

been attained. We see the "ribbon" as a small bar-shaped "decoration" that can be worn if the teacher chooses to do so. This visible sign of achieve-

ment is important to the incentive concept of the program.

Time Line If funding is achieved, we can be ready for the induction year by September, 1987. The Commendation year would commence September, 1988.

TRACK ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

Activities or projects assigned to career option teachers will be clustered under five general designations: Professional Development, Curriculum, Community Leadership, Educational Technology, and Performance. activities will fall into more than one cluster. Many of the

Unit values will be

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assigned based on such factors as length of service, difficulty, value to the district, and amount of work required.

Clustering activities and limiting the career option program to one track should give us the advantages of flexibility and simplicity. Teachers can easily understand the concept of a single track and how one qualifies. Clustering provides general direction to career teachers and to the board of governors and avoids undesirable restrictions in the assignment process.

The following list of track activities is exemplary, not exhaustive.

The

board of governors will develop a process for suggesting additional activities. That process will be open to as wide an audience as possible.

Some tasks in the first level of the track, as determined by the board of governors, could be assigned to those teachers who have chosen permanent commendation status.

Professional Development

* * * * * *

Identify and videotape standards and examples of effective teaching practice Conduct inservice training for undergraduate teacher education students Attend professional conferences and conventions Involvement in applications or procurement of educational grants Presentations to undergraduate and graduate classes Design P.G.C. courses Research

*

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* *

Write papers for publication and/or presentation (if acceptable, be utilized in system) . Coaching for teacher-parent interaction Teach in staff development programs Help teachers in new assignments Conduct demonstration lessons Create and utilize a video tape library of methods Help develop the "projects" used at "Level I" Work in the recruiting of new teachers Recruit high school seniors into teaching Interview candidates for teaching positions Investigate candidates' backgrounds and credentials Act as mentors to college students Organize and coordinate field trips for other staff members Classroom management specialists (resource and teaching) Consultants in III program Consultant in School Consultation Program Career evaluators in this program Co-op with universities (resident teachers) Provide listening skills, questioning skills, counseling skills, etc. Revise and improve counseling in the district Develop professional library Conduct educational research

*
* *

* * * * *

*
* * * *

*
*
*

*
*

* *

Curriculum

*

Attend professional conferences and conventions

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* * * * *

Involvement in applications or procurement of educational grants Curriculum study committees, including textbook committees Assist Curriculum Director in performance of duties (replace concept of teacher on special assignment) Design P.G.C. courses Research Write papers for publication and/or presentation (if acceptable, be utilized in system)

*
*

New programs to implement competency testing Curriculum: a. b. c. d. e. monitor modify expand create improve summer and night school curriculum (Input

*

*

Equipment, instructional materials, and supply monitoring.

from staff can be gathered to improve decisions about what equipment and supplies are best (especially helpful in science and voc. ed.)

* * * *

Serve on textbook committees (chair) Research and development of technology in the classroom Receive funds for the development of a course or project (mini-grant) Develop a pre-school (day care) program Develop vocational programs to meet industry needs

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Community Leadership

*

Work with community groups such as: service clubs, cultural experiences, civic theater,tutoring, scouting, Kiwanis, Rotary, PTA, loaned executive programs, etc.

* * * * * *
* *

Attend professional conferences and conventions Special student presentations such as drug abuse, missing children (a 11 pupi 1 personnel
areas)~∑

Parent presentations such as new programs, parenti ng ski 11 s, study skills, study habits, etc. Coordinate relations with community, business, and other school systems∑ Organize and coordinate a program to provide classroom speakers from business, industry, and the arts' Organize and coordinate field trips for other staff members Co-op with universities (resident teachers)
Resear~h

and development of technology in the classroom

*
* *

Develop program for an elementary school parenting center Develop a pre-school (day care) program Develop vocational programs to meet industry needs

Educational Technology

*

Attend professional conferences and conventions Research and writing of a professional nature: a. b. c. d. newspapers magazines, professional magazines and journals curriculum work teacher-developed materials used in classrooms

*

26

*
*

Write papers for publication and/or presentation (if acceptable, be utilized in system) New programs to implement competency testing Testing methods (alternative ways of measuring student progress) stats, validity and reliability

*
*

Create and utilize a video tape library of methods (both good and bad) Research (many definitions and applications for this area) Co-op with universities (resident teachers) Inservice staff in application of technology, especially computers Preview software and provide information to staff Develop professional library

* * * *

*

Performance

* *
* * * * * * * * *

Attend professional conferences and conventions Special student presentations such as drug abuse, missing children (all pupil personnel areas) Receive fully paid sabbaticals Conduct demonstration lessons Act as mentors to college students Serve as resource person in subject matter Teach demonstration lessons for other teachers Strengthen staff performance in other schools Organize and pilot advanced courses in other schools Co-op with universities (resident teachers) Receive funds for the development of a course or project (mini-grant) Grade level leaders for curriculum Provide listening skills, questioning skills, counseling skills, etc.

*
*

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THE SCHOOL DAY We recommend increasing the school day for teachers qualifying for the Green level and above, to seven hours. An extended school year may be needed for performance of some assigned duties.

There will be a savings since the in-service hourly rate we now pay will be absorbed in the lengthened day. We will not have to pay any hourly rate at

all to career option teachers because the added salary should cover duty beyond the seven hour day.

COMPENSATION . The compensation paid to program participants is designed to recognize and reward excellence and provide career incentives. Additional compensation will be viewed in this context by our audiences both inside and outside the district. We recognize that an exemplary career program will be seen as

less distinguished if we payor reward minimally even though the rest of the program remains the same.

Our recommendation for compensation is as follows:

Commendation level (first year)

Regular schedule plus $1500

Commendation level

Regular schedule plus $3000

Green level

Regular schedule plus $5000

Blue level

Regular schedule plus $10,000

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Red level

Regular schedule plus $15,000

These rates could be adjusted in future years in accordance with state, federal, or private funding amounts.

SPECIAL GROUPS Some teachers are not teachers in the traditional sense. Librarians,

nurses, therapists, etc., present a special problem as regards peer review. We suggest that each of these groups present to the board of governors a standard for excellence applicable to their occupation. A review system will have to be put in place outside the consultant peer review procedures. We will need to be sure that the standard established will result in∑aopportunities and qualifications roughly equal to those for traditional teachers.

CANCELLATION The Career Development Plan shall be continued subject to cancellation in its entirety by either the board of education or the Federation on an annual basis. That is the arrangement that has governed the inprog~am.

tern/intervention

Proposed Time Line

November, 1986 -

release of information to career ladder committee members, teachers and administrators.

January, 1987 -

release of brochure outlining specific details

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Feb.-March, 1987 - referendum of the Toledo Federation of Teachers

April, 1987 -

selection of governing board

May, 1987 -

application process and creation of necessary documents, reference materials, etc.

-September, 1987

~

induction process starts

A FINAL WORD ABOUT COSTS

The initial years of a career ladder as we envision it do not entail large expenditures.Operatio-nal costs will involve hourly pay for governing board members who meet before or after regular hours; an additional salary stipend of about $3,000 for senior consultants called back to service for peer review assignments; the director's salary, plus secretarial, supply and equipment expense; and the added stipends of commendation teachers. It

wi 11 take two years before anyone can reach the Green 1eve 1 of the ladder.

Undoubtedly, there will be some costs that can be lumped under the heading of "publicity.1I This might entail travel or just mailing materials to others who have already begun to request information. Informational

requests about the intern program are used as guide in this regard.

As the plan progresses into the third year and beyond, the costs will increase because of the added projects and responsibilities that will be assigned to career teachers. It is not clear how much these costs will be,

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or just what form they will take.

What, for instance, will be the cost of

opening up a II res ident scholars ll program at a university? Should such monies be allocated to the university or to the local district?

Such questions can only be contemplated. What is clear is that for surprisingly few dollars a three to five year test project can be funded and studied. For reasons previously explained, this should be done by, or

through, the Ohio Department of Education.

Ultimately, a pilot project will allow future costs to be projected with a greater degree of accuracy, permit determination of the proper sources of funding, and develop experience that can lead to greater insight into which, if any, costs should be borne by a local district.

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