INTRODUCTION

Principal recommendations play an important part in determining whether non-tenured teachers are offered re-employment or “non-renewed” at the end of the school year. As each school year begins, principals need to be knowledgeable of state laws and School Board policies and procedures that apply to the non-renewal decision regarding non-tenured teachers. 

At the February 2016 Board of Education meeting, the School Board approved the revised Non-Tenure Policy, G-331.  This policy outlines the expectations for principals prior to making a recommendation to the Director of Schools to non-renew the employment of a non-tenured teacher. 

PROCESS  

If a principal has concerns about a non-tenured teacher’s performance, he or she should check the teacher’s current hire status (regular / temporary / interim) with the Department of Human Resources (HR). There is no need to go through the non-renewal process for temporary or interim teachers, whose appointments to their positions automatically expire at the end of the school year. Tenured teachers are not eligible for nonrenewal. 

When the principal is considering recommending the non-renewal of a non-tenured teacher’s employment agreement, he or she shall comply with all applicable laws and district non-renewal policies and protocols, including this administrative procedure. Any recommendation to non-renew a non-tenured teacher’s employment agreement will be carefully reviewed by the principal’s supervisor, and is subject to the approval of the Director of Schools.

Principals are expected to follow the performance evaluation procedures and timeline for all teachers set forth in the TEAM or TAP evaluation manual. Principals may reference the Tennessee Department of Education evaluation regulations and guidance for information and details regarding specific procedures, timelines, and requirements.

In certain rare circumstances, the Director of Schools may decide not to renew the employment of a nontenured teacher, pursuant to disciplinary concerns that have been investigated and validated. 

EVIDENCE OF SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE   

The teacher performance evaluation process is an excellent way to help educators continue in their professional growth, and continuously improve their instructional practice. Through the evaluation process, and (as needed) outside of the evaluation process, the principal shall identify and discuss deficiencies with any teacher being considered for non-renewal, and the principal shall provide assistance for overcoming these deficiencies. All issues of concern should be addressed in a timely manner. Principals are expected to provide evidence of communication and documentation of support and assistance they have given throughout the school year to any teacher they are considering for non-renewal. Detailed documentation of the support and assistance provided should specifically include the issue(s) addressed, concerns, and suggestions for improvement. 

Evidence of such support and assistance may include, but not be limited to:  

• Explicit growth plans developed through performance evaluations or other means.
• Documented suggestions around areas of refinement within the performance evaluation.
• Written recommendations arising from performance with regard to the professionalism rubric. 
• Assignment of an experienced mentor to the teacher when concerns were noted, with clear notification made and expectations of the engagement set.
• Meeting(s) with instructional facilitators (i.e. Master Teacher, Mentor Teacher, Lead Teacher, Literacy Coach, Numeracy Coach, etc.) were held with the teacher to address specific deficiencies. 
• Lesson Plans and Grade Book routinely reviewed with written feedback given.
• Teacher encouraged or directed to attend “New Teacher Academy” sessions.
• ILC/ Peer observations / demonstration lessons conducted. 
• Workshops, trainings, recommended readings made available to teacher.
• TEAM Institute or other professional development opportunities offered.
• Mid-year conference(s) where concerns are discussed and solutions suggested. 
• Written documentation of any conference (conference of concerns, verbal reprimands) held with the teacher to address performance concerns. Use of the Professional Communication Record or other forms to document such conferences. 

TIMELINE FOR NON-RENEWAL DECISION MAKING

By the end of January:*  

Principal will have a documented conversation with the teacher in question to discuss deficiencies and suggest actions and support to address and overcome those deficiencies.  The documented conversation must specifically state that the employee is being considered for non-renewal. 

By the end of March:  

Principal will have a second documented conversation with the teacher to discuss deficiencies and suggest actions and support to address and overcome those deficiencies.  The documented conversation must specifically state that the employee is being considered for non-renewal. 

By the second Monday in May:  

Principal must submit to the Department of Human Resources a list containing the name of any non-tenured teacher being recommended for non-renewal. 

By the third week in May:  

The Director of Schools, Grade Level Executive Directors, and other leadership personnel will meet to review appropriate documentation and justification for non-renewal. Approval of recommendations for nonrenewal will be communicated back to principals expeditiously. 

During (or prior to) the last five days of a non-tenured teacher’s contract period:**  

Principal must notify teacher in person that their employment will not be renewed for the following school year. While a specific reason for the non-renewal is not necessarily required to be communicated at the time of this meeting, the teacher should be very aware of the underlying concerns and deficiencies documented and communicated throughout the school year, as required in this administrative procedure. The principal and the employee being notified must sign form HR-159 confirming notification of the non-renewal. The principal may contact their Human Resources Staffing Manager if they would like HR support during this meeting. 

On the first business day following the last teacher contract day:  

The Department of Human Resources will follow up with written notice of non-renewal, which will be sent via certified mail to all impacted teachers.  

Guidelines for Potentially Rehiring Non-Tenured, Non-Renewed Teachers  

Non-tenured teachers who are non-renewed and who earn an Educator Effectiveness Score of 3 (Meets Expectations) or above on their most recent performance evaluation may apply to be considered for other vacant teaching positions for which they are qualified elsewhere in the Knox County Schools. Teachers who are non-renewed and did not meet expectations on their most recent performance evaluation will not be considered for continued employment by the Knox County Schools. Unique circumstances may be appealed to the Director of Schools for consideration. 

* This will generally be the last week of school, including the last administrative day after the student school year has ended. Principals will have discretion as to when it makes sense to schedule this in-person meeting before the end of the teacher contract period. In certain circumstances, the last day of the employment schedule before teachers leave for summer (the administrative day) may be the most appropriate time for this conference.