Evaluation- is this legal?

[waterfall]

Originally Posted by KinderCowgirl

Do you guys have any kind of written criteria when it comes to evaluations?

I know we are told that our contribution to campus activities is required, however, that's only their interpretation of that strand. If they ever took off points for that, I'd definitely fight it. I also wasn't aware of any teacher qualification program that says you have to be Miss Perky all the time, however if that was what they were looking for I think I would start being way over the top "undepressed" just to be obnoxious....but that's me.

We have written standards, but they're very vague. For the one that she was marked down on, it basically just says that the staff member will communicate regularly and build positive relationships with families. It doesn't say anything about attending after school events.

Your "miss perky" reminded me...one of my teammates was also told in a nutshell that she needs to "make more friends" outside of our grade level (I was told the same thing). Her response was that she gets along with _____ really well and is really close to them- and proceeds to list off every high-ranking union member including the head of the entire organization. I thought that was hilarious- I love my team!

[SassyTeach]

With a P like that, how could she NOT look depressed?!?

Definitely see if she could visit with the rep.

P.S. I LOVE KinderCowgirl's "over the top undepressed" comment!

[jen12]

Originally Posted by waterfall

I along with at least 4 other teachers that I know of have heard comments at some point about how we don't look "excited enough" or "happy enough" to be at work.

My teammate that is a union rep apparently told the P at their last meeting that she needs to watch how she is talking to/interacting with people because it's coming off as very aggressive. She also said that they'd heard "rumors" of teachers wanting to leave mid-year. Apparently the P was absolutely shocked at that. .

Ugh...I hate hearing about this type of thing. My mom, who isn't in education at all, has a boss who constantly tells her she doesn't "smile enough" and is not "chatty enough" with her co-workers. Seriously? Do you want people to do their jobs or do you want them to create a fake Disney movie where everyone sings and dances all day?

I'm not surprised that the P was shocked that people want to leave. People like this never see their own contributions to the problems.

I agree with other posters that your friend should talk to the union. At least find out if the principal can rate her down on not working extra hours. Even if she's meeting all of the contract requirements, the P still may be able to note that she's not going "above and beyond." Some people think working longer is the same as working harder. If the principal was out of line in using this as a basis for rating performance, somebody needs to straighten her out so she's not creating unnecessary stress for the staff.