3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Valders Area School District

Bylaws & Policies

3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF

The Board of Education recognizes that it is vital to the successful operation of the District that positions created by the Board be filled with highly-qualified and competent personnel.

All employees other than the District Administrator or Professional Staff Members (Bylaw 0100 – Definitions) are considered Classified or Support Employees.

The Board shall approve the employment, and also fix the compensation, and establish the term of employment for each professional staff member employed by this District.

Such approval shall be given only to those candidates for employment recommended by the District Administrator.

When any recommended candidate has been rejected by the Board, the District Administrator shall make a substitute recommendation.

All applications for employment shall be referred to the District Administrator.

Relatives of Board members may be employed by the Board, provided however, if the Board member will benefit financially either directly or indirectly, the Board member may not participate in any way in the discussion or vote on any matter relating to said employment.

Relatives of staff members may be employed by the Board, however arrangements should be made so that the staff member being employed is not placed in a position in which s/he would be supervised directly by or supervise directly the relative staff member.

Any professional staff member's intentional misstatement of fact material to his/her qualifications for employment or the determination of salary shall be considered by this Board to constitute grounds for dismissal.

The employment of professional staff members prior to approval by the Board is authorized when their employment is required to maintain continuity in the educational program. Employment shall be recommended to the Board at the next regular meeting.

No candidate for employment to the professional staff shall receive recommendation for such employment without having proffered visual evidence of proper certification or that application for such certification is in process. For those staff members who will be instructing children in reading and/or language arts pre-school and/or grades kindergarten through sixth grade, their certificate must verify successful completion of instruction that includes the teaching of phonics.

There must also be verification that a satisfactory background check has been conducted by the Department of Public Instruction or appropriate State agency.

Any person who signs a contract to teach in the District must, within ten (10) days after signing the contract, file in the office of the District Administrator a statement showing the date of expiration and the grade and character of the certificate or license held.

The District Administrator shall report newly hired employees to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

REQUIREMENTS FOR TITLE I TEACHERS

All teachers hired for a Title I supported program must be "highly qualified."

"Highly Qualified" means:

A.	Full State certification as a teacher or passed State teacher licensing exam and holds current license to teach;

B.	Under an emergency license or permit for the core subjects taught with confirmation from the Board that the teacher:

	1.	has demonstrated content knowledge in the core subject(s) that s/he will be teaching through either a major, minor, or completion of the Wisconsin’s Praxis II content test(s);

	2.	is enrolled in all approved program that will provide full certification in the subject area in a period of no more than three (3) years;

		3.		is provided by the Board high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused before and while teaching; and

		4.		is provided by the Board intensive supervision or mentoring while teaching.

	C.	For elementary teachers new to the profession, this also requires:

		1.		at least a bachelor’s degree

		2.		passing a rigorous State test on subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, math, and other areas of elementary curriculum (State certification test may suffice)

D.		For secondary or middle school teachers new to the profession this also requires:

		1.	at least a bachelor’s degree, and

		2.	passing a rigorous State test in each of the subject areas s/he will teach (State certification test may suffice), or

		3.	for each academic subject taught, having an academic major, course work equivalent to an undergraduate major, a graduate degree, or advanced certification or credentialing

E.		For elementary, middle, or secondary school teachers with prior experience, this also requires;

		1.	at least a bachelor’s degree, and

		2.	meets standards for new teachers (above), or

		3.	demonstrates competence in all academic subjects s/he teaches based on a uniform State standard of evaluation (standard for academic subject matter and teaching skills set by the State)

REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS IN DISTRICTS RECEIVING TITLE I FUNDING

All teachers teaching core subjects in a District receiving Title I funds shall be "highly qualified" as described above. Core subject means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign language, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, and special education. The District must have a plan and show annual progress towards meeting these teacher qualification requirements.

DISTRICT SUPPORTED ALTERNATIVE LICENSING PROGRAMS

As part of the Board’s efforts to provide the highest quality education for all students in all subject areas, the Board authorizes the District Administrator, where appropriate, to support teacher licensure opportunities.

EXPERIENCED-BASED LICENSURE FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION

The District Administrator may support the application for an experience-based license for a teacher to teach in a technical education field, provided that the individual can be credited with at least 100 points using the following system:

A.	The following points for experience in a technical field (must comprise at least twenty-five (25) of the required 100 points):

	1.	For a bachelor's degree in any science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field and any teaching license or permit, 100 points.

	2.	For a bachelor's degree in any science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field, seventy-five (75) points.

	3.	For a bachelor's degree in a field other than any science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or technical or technology education field, sixty-five (65) points.

	4.	For industry certification, ninety (90) points.

	5.	For industry experience in a trade or technical field, five (5) points per forty (40) hours worked up to a maximum of ninety (90) points.

	6.	For an internship in a trade or technical field, twenty (25) points.

	7.	For being mentored in a trade or technical skill by a colleague or a Wisconsin Technology Education Association approved mentor, twenty-five (25) points.

	8.	For an apprenticeship in a trade or technical field, five (5) points per forty (40) hours worked up to a maximum of ninety (90) points.

B.	The following points for pedagogical experience (must be at least twenty-five (25) out of the 100 required points):

	1.	For a bachelor's degree in technical or technology education, 100 points.

	2.	For a bachelor's degree in a field other than any science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or technical or technology education field and any teaching license or permit, seventy-five (75) points.

	3.	For credit earned at an accredited institution of higher education or technical college, three (3) points per credit up to a maximum of seventy-five (75) points for technical or technology education courses and science, technology, engineering, or mathematics courses and three (3) points per credit up to a maximum of seventy-five (75) points for education and pedagogical courses.

	4.	For completing at least 100 hours of training in pedagogy, five (5) points per fifty (50) hours up to a maximum of 75 points.

Individuals that have sufficient points may be employed by the District under an experience-based license provided that the District Administrator implements a professional development curriculum for the teacher to follow during the three (3) year period of the initial license. The District Administrator shall monitor the teacher’s progress in fulfilling the curriculum.

PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PERMIT

The District Administrator may support the teaching license application of an individual to teach a course in engineering, mathematics, science, computer science, art, music, or world languages that do not yet hold a professional teacher license provided that the following criteria are met:

	A.	The District is experiencing a shortage in the availability of teachers with professional teaching certification in the subject area and is unable to fill a position with an acceptable licensed teacher.

	B.	The individual holds at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics, science, computer science, art, music, or world languages.

	C.	The individual possesses at least five (5) years of verifiable industry experience in the same field as the bachelor’s degree.

	D.	The individual has completed at least 100 hours of pedagogical training in an alternative teacher licensing program approved by DPI.

	E.	The District Administrator shall implement a plan to provide supervision of the teacher by a teacher that holds regular professional teaching licensure during the two (2) year period of the permit.

	F.	The hiring of the teacher under this alternative licensure program will not displace a regularly licensed teacher in the District.