Article VIII

1. New teachers under contract after June 11, 1993 must serve four full school
years of probationary status in order to obtain tenure status. If a teacher is
tenured in another Michigan public school district, s/he must serve two full
years of probation.

2. A teacher who was previously under contract prior to June 11, 1993 but
without tenure status is only required to serve two full years of probationary
service except a teacher may be placed on a third year of probationary service
by the school board. If a teacher is tenured in another district, s/he must
serve two full years of probation.

3. If the probationary period begins at the beginning of a school year, then a full
school year should end at the close of the school year. If a teacher’s probationary
service begins after the start of a school year, then a full school year
will end on the anniversary date of employment.

4. The school district must provide the probationary teacher with an annual
Individualized Development Plan (IDP) developed by administrative personnel
in consultation with the individual teacher.

5. Under the Tenure Law, a probationary teacher must have at least one written
evaluation per probationary year. It shall include at least an assessment
of the teacher’s progress in meeting the goals of his/her Individualized Development Plan.


NOTE OF CAUTION:
a. Do not be over zealous in what you will agree to accomplish in the IDP. Make sure
the plan you agree to is one that you can accomplish.
b. Do not allow the administration to require “extras� of you that are not required of
tenure teachers.
c. Do not agree to “extras� in the IDP that are not required in the contract such as
working beyond the contractual day, taking on extra duties, eroding your preparation
time and/or duty free lunch, doing more after school activities than required in the
contract.
d. Before you agree to an IDP, consult with your mentor, your WEA building rep and
other teachers in your building and get their opinion about whether or not the plan is
realistic.
e. In other words, “do not make silver bullets to shoot yourself in the foot!� and do not
give up your contractual rights.
f. If you ever receive a letter of reprimand from a supervisor, immediately see your
building representative and/or call the WEA Executive Director or President.

HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE : The WCS/WEA contract requires that probationary teachers
must be formally evaluated at least once each semester. The evaluations must be at
least thirty (30) days apart.

6. Probationary teachers must have two classroom observations at least sixty (60)
days apart.

7. The Tenure Law allows a probationary teacher in concert with the administration
to modify evaluation timelines.

8. Failure of a school district to provide an IDP and annual performance evaluation
is conclusive evidence that the teacher’s performance for that school year
was satisfactory.