In Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult, author Chet Elder gives lie to the universal belief that tenure is a firewall of protection for unsatisfactory teachers. Elder provides school administrators with a simple method, called Exit Counseling, to rid their schools of mediocre, marginal, and incompetent teachers. He teaches principals how to build a case and document it so tightly that virtually any union challenge will fail. His theory is simple straightforward, clear, and concise. Elder watched and learned a lot about teacher dismissal over the 32 years he spent as an education association UniServ Director in Maryland and Delaware. Having "worked the other side", he shares the techniques, tips, and even the traps he learned and used over the years. He has interacted with hundreds of administrators and teachers, he knows both sides' vulnerable spots, and in Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult, he shares that knowledge. In case format, Elder uses his "war stories" to illustrate and confront school reform, incompetence, insubordination, negligence, union secret weapons and tactics, grievance avoidance, and bouncing lemons. This book is a user friendly, handy reference every administrator and supervisor should have on hand.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 1. Dismissal Doesn't Have to Be Difficult: Making Dismissals Simple, Professional, and Positive Chapter 3 2. Insubordination Flows Too Freely: An In-Depth Examination of Insubordination and How to Eliminate It Chapter 4 3. School Reform's Greatest Obstacle: How Deadwood in the Classroom Stands in the Way Chapter 5 4. Ignoring the Weapons You Have: Overlooked Opportunities to Act Chapter 6 5. Kids Make the Tough Calls Easy: One Simple Question Makes Hard Evaluation Decisions Easy Chapter 7 6. Dismiss a Teacher: Five Easy Calls: Dismissible Behaviors That Can't Be Overturned Chapter 8 7. Documentation: The Key to Success Chapter 9 8. Consistency Is Critical: Inconsistency Is the Union's Best Friend Chapter 10 9. Time Limits and Deadline Dates: Why You Can't Afford to Let Them Slide Chapter 11 10. Personality Conflicts: Do You Have to Put Up with Them? Chapter 12 11. "I Just Can't Do It": Building the Confidence Necessary to Dismiss Chapter 13 12. Don't Pass Up the Gimmes: Learn What They Are and What to Do About Them Chapter 14 13. Only the Excellent Teachers Get Tenure: Eliminate the Marginal and Mediocre Nontenured Teachers Chapter 15 14. Tenure Is Not a Firewall for the Unsatisfactory Teacher: The Most Overrated Myth in Public Education Chapter 16 15. Why Principals Are Reluctant to Act: Learn the Number One Reason and How to Get around This Obstacle Chapter 17 16. Don't Worry About Those Outside Organizations: How to Handle Groups with Powerful Initials Chapter 18 17. Does the Union Have a Secret Arsenal? Find Out the Truth Behind the Union's Most Powerful Weaponry Chapter 19 18. Exit Counseling: More Than Just a Euphemism for Firing Chapter 20 19. Don't Let Fairness Become and Albatross: Why You Should Avoid Going Overboard in the Name of Fairness Chapter 21 20. Being a Buddy or Being a Boss: What Research Says about the Good Guys Chapter 22 21. The Politics of Teacher Dismissal: Recognizing the Political Realities of Dismissal and Learning How to Deal With Them Chapter 23 22. How to Avoid Grievances: The RAW Method Chapter 24 23. Peer Assistance and Review Program: Is It Right For You? Chapter 25 24. My Most Memorable Cases: Learn From These True Stories Chapter 26 25. Learn From These True Stories Chapter 27 Appendix A: The Dismissal Doesn't Have to be Difficult Checklist Chapter 28 Appendix B: Incompetency Defined Chapter 29 Appendix C: Negligence Defined Chapter 30 Appendix D: Cases Summarized Chapter 31 Bibliography Chapter 32 Index Chapter 33 About the Author