District Policy

Washington County School District Policy Approved and Sanctioned by the Board of Education.

1120 - Teacher on Special Assignment

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 Washington County School District - Approved 9-14-04: Revised 9-13-05; Revised 8-12-08; Revised 5-10-11; Revised 4-14-15; Revised 10-10-17; Revised 11-10-20

1. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to implement guidelines that will ensure appropriate and responsible use of Teachers on Special Assignment.

2. POLICY:

Teacher on Special Assignment (TSA) or Teacher Specialist is the term used to describe a licensed teacher who has been assigned to perform duties other than classroom instruction. The assignment may include, but not be limited to, working on special programs and/or curriculum development; However, TSA and Teacher Specialist assignments are not typically intended to provide or replace administrative judgment, direction, or oversight. Because a TSA opportunity provides exposure to unique program responsibility and development potentially enhancing an educator's career, it is important that eligibility, qualifications, competition requirements, and limitations are clearly defined. Further, as a teacher authorization is a valuable and scarce resource, TSA assignments must focus on the effective instruction of students and must be cautiously, wisely, and prudently used.

3. PROCEDURE:

3.1. QUALIFICATIONS:

3.1.1.  To be eligible for consideration and placement into a TSA or specialist position, the educator must:

• meet applicable state and federal endorsements and/or requirements for the special assignment.

• hold a current level 2 or 3 license issued by the Utah State Office of Education;

• be a teacher in good standing with no documented performance or conduct concerns within the past three years.

3.1.2.  Learning Coaches are required to participate in the following training activities:

• Summer Learning Coach Academy:  Learning Coaches are required to attend the yearly Learning Coach Academy to enhance their skills and share best practices in coaching, mentoring, and professional learning. 

• Instructional Coaching:  Each Learning Coach is required to complete the District Peer Coaching Seminar and Foundations of Mentoring training within their first year.  

• Learning Coaches will work to develop and demonstrate the USBE Coaching Competencies articulated by the state office via the USBE Coaching Endorsement.  Coaches that complete that endorsement will be eligible for up to 5 additional days on their normal contract, paid at their full salaried rate.  

Coaches will participate fully in training and collaboration with their coaching colleagues, including, but not restricted to:

     • Learning Coach Forums: Learning Coaches will attend on-going forums to access information required for the implementation       of key program elements, collaborate with their colleagues, and receive on-going training.

     • Targeted Coaching Practice: Learning Coaches will engage in collaborative, job-embedded coaching practice and learn from         modeling provided by other coaches.

     • Site-Based Support: Learning Coaches will meet monthly with a district support to set goals and customize their own               professional development.

• Partnership with Principal:  Unless directed by the Superintendent, the Learning Coach will not serve in an administrative role. Each Learning Coach will meet regularly (at least twice a month) with their principal to align coaching with school improvement goals, coordinate coaching support for teachers and PLC teams, examine student and teacher data to determine training needs, and determine next steps and needed support;

* Any extra-duty assignments assigned to Learning Coaches must not consistently interfere with the coach's ability to provide Tier 1 coaching support for their teachers and teams during contract hours.

• Annual Performance Review:  Principal will complete an annual performance review with their Learning Coach.  As part of the annual performance review, they need to consider available data from student assessments, PLC results, feedback from faculty, EYE and PLC surveys, etc.

3.1.3.  Learning Coaches are expected to complete the following position responsibilities:

Focus the bulk of their time on coaching new teachers, veteran teachers, and collaborative teams, to help them reach their goals for student learning and increase their capacity to ensure high levels of learning for every student.  They do this by helping teachers set powerful and compelling student-centered goals; guiding teachers as they select, implement, and reflect on high-impact teaching strategies; working with teams to unpack core-standards and create curriculum; and meet the specific teaching needs of individual (new and veteran) teachers and PLC teams through the use of research-based coaching strategies, (e.g. analyzing student work, modeling effective teaching strategies, peer coaching observations, discussing case study students, reflecting and problem-solving, analyzing and reflecting on student data and authentic teaching artifacts, learning walks).

While Learning Coaches are advocates for teachers, they still have the responsibility, as all employees do, to report violations of the law or major employee conduct violations of District policy, such as child abuse, disregard for administrative directives, or acts of insubordination.

3.2. TERM:

The term of assignment is based on the nature of the project, program, and/or funding. Assignments may be limited under the terms and conditions specified in a temporary agreement. (9-13-05)

3.3. CONDITIONS:

3.3.1. TSA and Specialist salary will be based on the daily rate of the applicable lane and step on the Certified Salary Schedule times the contract days listed in the following table:

3.3.2. The workday for a TSA or Specialist assignment is eight hours. (9-13-05)

3.3.3. The TSA assignment is temporary and as such may conclude or change at any time at the sole discretion of the District. TSA or Specialists with provisional or career employment status whose assignment is abolished will be placed in a temporary position pending the opportunity for permanent placement at the beginning of the next contract year or as soon as the District is able to administratively effect a transfer to the first available vacant teaching position for which the individual is fully qualified without undue disruption. Additional compensation beyond a standard teacher contract, to include additional days, may end at any time regardless of employment status. (9-13-05)

3.4. LIMITATIONS:

3.4.1. TSA vacancies will be announced and filled competitively according to District Policy.

3.4.2. The District may non-competitively assign (designate an employee without announcing the position) a TSA to fill an administrative position for one year or less when the action is necessitated by an exigency, such as, but not limited to, the need to temporarily fill a principal position while the incumbent is on sabbatical or sick leave. If an administrative TSA assignment exceeds 30 days, the individual will be compensated for the daily rate of an additional 1/7th FTE for the number of days the administrative duties are assigned. The TSA may also be assigned and compensated for additional workdays.

3.4.3. A fully qualified TSA selected from outside the current permanent WCSD employee workforce will be hired under the terms and conditions of a Temporary Employment Agreement with no expectation of continued employment. At the end of the temporary employment agreement, the employment relationship with the District will simply end.