The Marginal Teacher: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fair Procedures for Identification and Dismissal

Marginal teachers hamper the effective education of children! Principals have struggled with this problem for years. C. Edward Lawrence and Myra K. Vachon update their seminal The Marginal Teacher to offer a new look and timely solutions to a problem that affects the very essence of education. This revised edition incorporates:

• Feedback from school districts and school administrators
• Understanding the evaluation process – procedures, policies, and laws
• Identifying the marginal teacher – offering intensive assistance
• Effective documentation– including key descriptors and phrases
• Organized in a month-by-month and step-by-step format

A failed dismissal process due to inadequate documentation can be devastating for a school and its students. The Marginal Teacher, Second Edition, is an essential resource and practical guide for principals who want to ensure that only the competent teachers remain in the classroom.

Also available from the authors, The Marginal Teacher, Second Edition, with interactive CD-ROM for easy modification of all the sample forms, checklists, calendars, letters, and sample documentation.  Please visit: http://www.corwinpress.com/book.aspx?pid=9676

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).