new teacher q & a

What is tenure and how do I get it? Will changing schools affect that?

Jun 7, 2007 1:38 PM

A: Tenure is a status that appointed pedagogues achieve after completing a probationary period with satisfactory service. Tenure protects you from being fired without cause or for the personal or political objectives of a supervisor. Once you have tenure, you cannot be dismissed without being formally charged and having a hearing before an independent arbitrator on those charges.

To achieve tenure, you must be appointed in your license area and, according to state law, fulfill all your state certification requirements and receive satisfactory ratings during a probationary period. The normal probationary period is three years, although this can be reduced by prior service or extended if the tenure grade is in doubt. Each time you change your license and are reappointed, you must serve a new probationary period. Changing schools will not affect achieving or retaining tenure as long as you remain in the same license area.

More details about tenure are in the “Know your rights” column on page 9.