Principals should have the power to dismiss under performing teachers in a timely manner if all else fails. Most principals would use this power wisely and would only use it as a last resort to deal with those teachers who refuse to raise their standards, comply with school policies, reasonable directives or for persistent breaches of the code of conduct. Principals should not have to place staff members on lengthy informal and formal programs of improvement that can take terms to complete before they can remove teachers from the profession that are not really suited to the job. Principals need the same powers as CEOs in private sector businesses to deal with staff that refuse to improve their performance after a variety of interventions and support mechanisms have been tried and failed. After witnessing first hand the damage that a few under performing teachers have created to the reputation of the profession, the school, the stress and workload colleagues have had to endure to compensate for these weak links, the accusations of harassment and bullying that executive have had to endure as these under performing teachers spiral out of control and the poor learning environments inflicted on students daily who can’t escape these teachers, it is time for serious change. Students now and in the future deserve the best the profession can offer!
Principals should have the power to dismiss under performing teachers in a timely manner if all else fails. Most principals would use this power wisely and would only use it as a last resort to deal with those teachers who refuse to raise their standards, comply with school policies, reasonable directives or for persistent breaches of the code of conduct. Principals should not have to place staff members on lengthy informal and formal programs of improvement that can take terms to complete before they can remove teachers from the profession that are not really suited to the job. Principals need the same powers as CEOs in private sector businesses to deal with staff that refuse to improve their performance after a variety of interventions and support mechanisms have been tried and failed. After witnessing first hand the damage that a few under performing teachers have created to the reputation of the profession, the school, the stress and workload colleagues have had to endure to compensate for these weak links, the accusations of harassment and bullying that executive have had to endure as these under performing teachers spiral out of control and the poor learning environments inflicted on students daily who can’t escape these teachers, it is time for serious change. Students now and in the future deserve the best the profession can offer!