Regarding the Jan. 16 editorial “Mr. McDonnell’s education plan”:
We support a due-process procedure that results in high-quality instruction for students and is fair to teachers. Currently, teachers have a three-year probationary period to prove themselves. Only after a school administrator determines that a teacher has successfully passed this probation does that teacher earn a continuing contract.
Once teachers gain that status, they still are evaluated regularly and must show evidence of professional growth. What the continuing contract does is provide a due-process procedure in which allegations against an educator can be tested for their accuracy and truthfulness.
The word “tenure,” which is not used in Virginia law, is interpreted by many as “a job for life.” That is not something we have in Virginia. Every year, underperforming teachers are non-renewed or dismissed. “Guaranteed lifetime employment” for a teacher in the commonwealth is a myth.
Michael Hairston, Fairfax
The writer is president of the Fairfax Education Association.
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