Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult: What Every Administrator and Supervisor Should Know - Softcover

Elder, Chet H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1578860997 ISBN 13: 9781578860999

Publisher: ScarecrowEducation, 2004

Synopsis

In Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult, author Chet Elder gives lie to the universal belief that tenure is a firewall of protection for unsatisfactory teachers. Elder provides school administrators with a simple method, called Exit Counseling, to rid their schools of mediocre, marginal, and incompetent teachers. He teaches principals how to build a case and document it so tightly that virtually any union challenge will fail. His theory is simple straightforward, clear, and concise.

Elder watched and learned a lot about teacher dismissal over the 32 years he spent as an education association UniServ Director in Maryland and Delaware. Having "worked the other side", he shares the techniques, tips, and even the traps he learned and used over the years. He has interacted with hundreds of administrators and teachers, he knows both sides' vulnerable spots, and in Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult, he shares that knowledge.

In case format, Elder uses his "war stories" to illustrate and confront school reform, incompetence, insubordination, negligence, union secret weapons and tactics, grievance avoidance, and bouncing lemons. This book is a user friendly, handy reference every administrator and supervisor should have on hand.

About this title

About the Author:

Chet H. Elder retired from the Maryland State Teachers Association in 1998 having served 32 years as a UniServ Director in Maryland and Delaware where he is fully certificated in school administration in these states. Chet has negotiated dozens of collective bargaining contracts and has handled hundreds of teacher grievances over the years. He has also conducted professional seminars in the field of teacher dismissal in several states.

Review:

Many administrators have been placed in their jobs without sufficient training on staff evaluations, dealing with discipline issues, or understanding the pitfalls they might face in their administrative role. This book has proven to be a tremendous training tool and reference manual for our entire administrative staff. We have reviewed it, discussed it, highlighted it, and identified ourselves with others throughout the text. Without hesitation, I recommend this book as one of the best I have read. It is not a book that you read once and put on the shelf. It is one that you will keep close at hand, and refer to often. Enjoy! (Connie Gillette, assistant superintendent for Finance and Personnel, Lowell Area Schools, Lowell, Michigan)

Chet Elder tells like it is. His book...should be required reading in schools of education and a copy should be in every teacher's lounge. (Donald B. Owen Esq., former high school teacher, school board member, practicing attorner and director of training for the Pennsylvania School Boards)

I just finished [the] book and it was OUTSTANDING!! I bought a copy for each of my administrators. (John Dardzinski, superintendent of schools, Western School District, Parma, Michigan)

Chet Elder's expertise with administrators will help guarantee excellence in our classrooms. (Eddie L. Robinette, past president, Harford County (MD) Education Association, MSTA/NEA & Board of Directors, MD State Teachers Association)

All of the building administrators in our district read Mr. Elder's book and found it to be full of practical suggestions for understanding and handling situations with marginal or difficult teachers. One of our newest administrators used it religiously during a tough first year to resolve some difficult personnel issues. (Joseph M. Deardorff, assistant professor and coordinator, Career & Technical Education, Education Wilmington College, Wilmington, Delaware)

Elder reminds us that neither continuous school improvement nor educational experience can be achieved through the employment of mediocre or incompetent teachers. (School Administrator)

Tips and techniques in this reference manual provide school administrators with the knowledge needed for dismissing incompetent teachers. (Ers E-Bulletin)

About this edition

• Publisher: ScarecrowEducation
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1578860997
• ISBN 13: 9781578860999
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144