Tenure

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Home : 2003 : January : 11

Tenure
By Amanda K.

Tenure, I believe, varies from state to state and district to district. In my district in California, a teacher gets tenure after 2 years of fully credentialed service to the district. It means, essentially, that the district
hires you for longer than just a yearly contract, and it is very difficult to let go of a tenured teacher. Credentialed nontenured teachers in my district can be easily let go at the end of the year without being given a reason why. They are also evaluated twice a year, while tenured teachers are only evaluated every other year. Tenured teachers can also be let go, but it is a

very costly, difficult, two-year process in which evaluations have to be made, improvement plans have to be written, the union has to be contacted, and mentors have to be assigned. Principals in my district are told that, if they don't like a teacher, then they need to let go of the teacher before he/she gets tenure. If a principal in my district grants tenure to a poor teacher, the teacher (and the teacher's problems) will become the responsibility of the administrator with little support from the district office. Due to this unwritten policy, tenure in my district basically means that you're in for life.