Evaluating an unsatisfactory teacher is mentally and physically exhausting and might take months or even years to resolve. Commonly, the principal handling the unsatisfactory teacher evaluation will have his or her professional and personal conduct scrutinized. For that reason, principals must maintain professional boundaries by avoiding social…

Before deciding to recommend nonrenewal of a teacher's contract, the principal must be prepared to identify specific areas where significant improvement is critical and to provide maximum possible assistance. Some tips are provided to help principals prepare the formal evaluation, lend assistance, make the final decision, and live with it. (MLH)

The incompetence of a few teachers can destroy the efforts of many excellent teachers. Principals need to know how to evaluate teachers effectively and act on their evaluations. The rationalizations typically used to justify failures to dismiss incompetent teachers will not stand up to scrutiny. (PGD)

A comparison of teacher dismissal cases in West Virginia and Pennsylvania concludes with recommendations for administrators: closely following procedureal protection provisions in termination proceedings; adhering to evaluation requirements in dismissals for incompetency; and evaluating teachers honestly. (MJL)