Literacy Links

Personnel Issues

Called in on the Red Carpet

by Sue Barker

While teaching first grade many years ago, the first thing one morning, even before taking the lunch count, a small little girl approached my desk. “Miss Barker, yesterday, my Mother got called in on the RED carpet.” With my best mannered, patient, “Miss Crabtree” voice (hope you watched The Little Rascals) I said, “Oh, my goodness. Well, you better go sharpen your pencil.” I then chuckled to myself at the six-year-old’s interpretation of “called in on the carpet.” Her addition of the word “red” helped emphasize the event that had just happened. In the mind of a six-year-old child, something dramatic and out of the ordinary had taken place.

As adult education administrators, one of the greatest challenges we face is that of what to do when it just isn’t working out: the firing process.

In the field of adult education, it is obvious that all employees, upon hire, must have a clear understanding of the standards of the program and expectations of the position including a written job description. Then, the goals and objectives of the program, along with the job description, must be reviewed periodically to ensure that performance is taking place. Today, with quarterly ACES reports (now TEAMS reports) that show the number of required professional development hours for teachers and individual class reports, teacher accountability is more apparent than ever before. Attendance rosters, along with student completions of educational levels and student progress reports, tell the story.

However, if it is obvious over time that teachers are not meeting the required professional development hours, students are not attending classes, and they are not making educational gains and completions, there is something wrong. At this point, the administrator must intervene with specific examples of performance issues to help assess and understand the situation at hand.

All administrators must treat teachers and staff with respect, as working with adult education students is truly working with the hardest to reach and the hardest to serve population. It is possible that there are situations that are beyond the teachers’ control that must be evaluated and addressed.

In the state of Texas, all part-time employees are considered “at will.” In other words, they hold no contract and work at an hourly rate and therefore may be released from their position with or without cause at any time. In the field of adult education, the majority of teachers are part-time employees.

With most adult education programs in the state, partner institutions such as independent school districts and community college districts have employee termination guidelines and policies in place that are specified in adopted policy manuals. When employees are not performing the task at hand, many times an evaluation that contains a corrective action plan is effective. Also, if employees have not proven that they can do the job through ACES evaluation and performance, employees may be given the opportunity to prove once again that they can do the job effectively by allowing employees an additional semester of work to meet the program standards. At this point, if satisfactory progress has not been made, and it is clear that the job is just not working out, administrators must meet with the individual a final time for release.

As far as addressing the release of full time employees, topics such as Termination of Employment, Non-Renewal of Contract, Grounds for Dismissal, Due Process for Contract Employees and Board Hearing and Suspension are covered in depth in adopted Policy and Procedures Manuals with partnership districts. Human Resources Departments offer clear interpretations, and therefore, support for administrators. Administrators, you are not alone in this difficult task.

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) website also gives clear guidelines to assist with disciplinary policies. As stated on the TWC website, the list of Dos and Don’ts of Documenting are as follows:

• Don’t delay. Make a record immediately following the incident.
• Do document everything. “When in doubt, write it out.”
• Don’t get bogged down with petty details. Stick to the main points. Do not cloud the issues.
• Do relate the incident to the company/district manual, policies and procedures.
• Don’t be vindictive or retaliatory. Disciplinary action should not be a character assassination. Keep the issue focused on work-related matters.
• Do get the employee’s side of the story in writing.
• Always allow employees to document their own versions of any counseling session or incidents. Include them in personnel files. This practice makes sense for several reasons: It builds confidence in the disciplinary procedure and helps reduce the appearance of “building a case” against employees and it preserves an account of the facts of the incident and minimizes the chances of employees changing their factual accounts later.

In closing, the firing process is never an easy one. As administrators we must work with employees early on and let them know, with a clear understanding, what is expected of the position. Evaluations should be performed periodically for review and documented with written plans for improvement when needed. Employees must always be given a chance to explain a situation and administrators must be required to follow up on the facts.

Then, if it is evident that the employee just isn’t working out, know your district’s policy and procedure manual, be prepared, have your documentation at hand and be firm. There are many excellent employees just waiting to be hired, hopefully, who will not require being called in on the The Red Carpet!

About the Author

After teaching first grade for 13 years, Sue Barker began work for Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC). In 1987, through NTCC and a Title 6 grant, she established a library literacy program in her hometown of Mt. Vernon, Texas. Today, Sue serves as Director of Adult Education at NTCC. Ms. Barker holds a Masters Degree in Education from East Texas State University, Commerce, Texas.