Hiring Practices Cindy Grimes, principal of Saucier Elementary, follows the Harrison County School District’s hiring policies as they are written. The district gives each campus the latitude to select and interview applicants for positions within the school. Ms. Grimes stated that at the elementary level there is always a vast pool of qualified applicants to choose from. In the spring, Ms. Grimes said that it is customary to give consideration to people within the district who have requested transfers, although it is not required. When interviewing potential employees, Ms. Grimes makes every effort to ensure that the applicants are not only highly qualified, but also a “good fit” for the school.
Non-Renewal Practices Non-renewal of an employee, although an infrequent event at Saucier Elementary, is always a last resort. Every attempt is made to mentor a struggling teacher improve before arriving at a non-renewal decision. Making sure to have ample and appropriate documentation of both the reasons for non-renewal as well as efforts to mentor the struggling teacher are required to ensure that there are no legal ramifications that can arise. Ms. Grimes stated that in these instances, she has offered the employee the opportunity to …show more content…
In some instances the principal has been directed, by the district office, to place teachers on plans of improvement due to inadequate growth or performance on the yearly standardized testing. When initiated at the campus level, the most often cited reasons include inadequate academic progress and ineffective planning and implementation of the curriculum. Ms. Grimes stated that teachers who are placed on plans of improvement are also given support through the mentoring process. Once a teacher has demonstrated adequate improvement, no further action is taken. The plan of improvement is kept in the employee’s personnel