When asked what tenure was, senior Timmy Ernst incorrectly guessed, “Isn’t it what teachers get when they quit?” In the mind of most students, tenure is an unknown. Few students know tenure’s purpose or even what it really is. Demystifying this issue requires looking back at its history and its intended purpose.
Tenure is, in short, a lifetime guarantee of a professor’s or teacher’s job. Originally created in order to protect university professors so that if their research failed or proved something that would stir up controversy, their jobs would be safe. The hope was that this guarantee would protect the teacher’s integrity, and make sure he or she was teaching what is right, not what the administration deems as right. Over time this process got passed down to high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.
At Edina, it’s called Continuing Contract, and while it’s not quite a lifetime guarantee, it is the district saying that the teacher’s contract will be consistently renewed. This job security is earned after a three year probationary period where the teacher is heavily evaluated. “It’s designed so that our teachers can teach subjects that may be surrounded by some controversy, such as evolution, without having to be worried that they will be let go,” said District Director of Teaching and Learning Jenni Norlin-Weaver.
Teachers who don’t meet Edina’s school standards will be released during their first three years. Those who are on a Continuing Contract have to set and meet goals and get performance reviews every year. The teacher’s Continuing Contract doesn’t protect them from being fired but, as Rob Gardner, the president of the teachers union at Edina, explained, “The district has to give reasons for letting a teacher go and show the evidence behind it.”
This evidence comes in the form of lower test scores, complaints from students, parents and fellow teachers alike. Those surveys that most students disregard, for example, actually do get looked at. They are part of a 360 Survey where students, parents, and other teachers in the school are all surveyed about the performance of a teacher. The administration needs to make sure support is given and that they don’t just demand a teacher’s firing.
This does little to soothe students’ frustration when they see what they believe to be bad teachers who are still teaching. “I have had my share of bad teachers,” senior Dan Murphy said. “There are always ones who fall through the cracks for one reason or another. Every teacher can have one good day while they are being watched,” he added. He goes on to ask whether test scores that the administration looks at match up with what students think about the teacher.
Those who find themselves at odds with the current system can take heart, change is on the horizon. State legislators have passed a bill stating that the tenure policies at schools must be reviewed. What this means for the Edina school district is still unclear, as the revision process must be jointly done by District administration and Education Minnesota Edina, the teachers union. For now, though, all students and staff alike can do is wait and see.
