Incompetent Specialist

Are you spending too much time dealing with problems caused by your school′s specialists? If so, here′s the help you′re looking for. Find out how to: * Set employee goals and clarify expectations * Observe job performance * Provide feedback and assistance * Make informed decisions about dismissal * Follow through with the dismissal process A companion to The Marginal Teacher, this book centers on your dealings with your school′s specialists: guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists, and speech and other therapists, particularly those who work with special-needs students. Lawrence and Vachon show you how to supervise, evaluate, and when necessary, dismiss incompetent staff. Develop the skills you need for effective staff supervision and evaluation. Master the strategies necessary for handling a wide variety of problems with your school′s professional staff, and you′ll be able to more easily manage your employees and keep them on track. The authors provide procedures to customize for your school setting. You′ll find administrative tips, sample letters, and standardized evaluation forms to get you started. This hands-on guide helps you understand the principles behind the techniques. You′ll learn how to collect the data necessary for assessing job performance, set target dates for achieving goals, and conduct meaningful annual evaluations. If you′re responsible for the supervision of school specialists, this book is for you.

C. Edward Lawrence, president of the Lawrence Educational Consulting Group, has advised many school districts on how to prepare and win unsatisfactory staff member evaluation and misconduct cases. Dr. Lawrence has nearly 30 years of experience in the field of education—he has served as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, author, and professor. For the past twelve years, Dr. Lawrence has inspired future educators as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from West Virginia State University, a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the Marquette University, a certificate in administrative leadership, and a Ph.D. in urban education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before his current position, he was the assistant superintendent for a large urban school district where he had an extensive educational career in public education. He served as a teacher, counselor, team leader, and assistant principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as principal at the elementary and middle school level, as director of alternative programs, and as a community superintendent. In addition, he served as a hearing officer for unsatisfactory teacher evaluations, second-step misconduct, and immediate teacher suspensions. He was an adjunct instructor in the Department of Administrative Leadership teaching courses in clinical supervision and critical issues—including staff misconduct and evaluating the marginal teacher. Dr. Lawrence is first author of the following books: The Marginal Teacher: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fair Procedures for Identification and Dismissal (1993) (2nd edition 2001); How to Handle Staff Misconduct: A Step-by-Step Guide (1995) (2nd edition 2003); and The Incompetent Specialist: How to Evaluate, Document Performance, and Dismiss School Staff (1996).