School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 4-56

PERSONNEL

Licensed Personnel: Role of Professional Teaching Staff/Conditions of Employment

A. Role of Professional Teaching Staff

The professional teaching staff shall be responsible for providing instruction that is educationally sound in an atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy, which is conducive to learning and in which all students are expected to achieve the objectives of the Standards of Learning for the appropriate grade level or discipline. The staff shall:

1. Serve as leadership models of effective oral and written communication with special attention to the correct use of language and spelling;

2. Strive to strengthen the basic skills of students in all subjects;

3. Establish teaching objectives to achieve the following:

a. Identify what students are expected to learn; and

b. Inform students of the achievement expected and keep them engaged in learning tasks;

4. Provide for individual differences of students through the use of differentiated instruction, varied materials, and activities suited to their interests and abilities;

5. Assess the progress of students and report promptly and constructively to them and their parents.

6. Teach the School Board approved curriculum.

B. General Qualifications

1. Skills. The person employed must have sufficient language, mechanical, computational, and organizational skills to perform his/her basic tasks without close supervision.

2. Maturity. The person employed must have reasonable emotional balance and self-control.

3. Facility in Dealing with Others. The person employed must enjoy working with other people and must have a natural ease in dealing with students, supervisors, coordinators, directors, staff and members of the public with whom he/she will be in contact.

4. Understanding of Job Function. The person employed must have or be able to develop very readily a clear understanding of the function of his/her job in operating the school division.

C. Licensure/Employment Qualifications

All teaching personnel shall meet the licensure requirements of the Virginia Board of Education for the position to which they are assigned. Current employees of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools shall be required to provide proof of baccalaureate degree, major, concentration, or graduate degrees, and field of discipline. Educational transcripts may be required as evidence of eligibility for Virginia Licensure.

D. Criminal History Record Information

The Superintendent shall require that all employees, whether full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information to obtain criminal history record information for the purpose of screening individuals who accept employment in the division.

The Superintendent shall forward the personal descriptive information through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information regarding such employee.

The Superintendent shall require that any applicant who is offered or accepts employment requiring direct contact with students provide written consent and the necessary personal information to obtain a search of the registry of founded complaints of child abuse and neglect maintained by the Department of Social Services. The Superintendent shall thereafter request a search of the records of the Department of Social Services to be conducted for each such applicant.

The Superintendent shall also require that each employee, whether full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, certify that he or she has not been: (1) convicted of a felony, a crime of moral turpitude, or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse or rape; and (2) has not been the subject of a founded case of child abuse and neglect.

Employees hired after December 21, 1999, may be permitted to work pending the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation background investigation and Department of Social Services search of the registry of founded complaints if the following conditions are met:

1. The division has successfully completed a state and local police background check for the individual; and

2. The division has successfully completed a check of the sex offender website and the sex offender and crimes against minors registry for the individual; and

3. The division requires the individual to serve in the physical presence of an employee who has successfully completed the Federal Bureau of Investigation background investigation and the Department of Social Services search of the registry of founded complaints.

E. Probationary Period Required/Mentor Teacher

Although contracts for instructional personnel are issued for one (1) year only, the first three (3) years of a person's employment shall be considered a probationary period for new personnel. All probationary employees, except those with prior successful teaching experience, shall be provided with a mentor teacher during their first year. Further, probationary employees will be given extra supervision and assistance in adjusting to his/her new position, and particular attention will be given to a continuing evaluation of his/her efficiency. Probationary teachers shall annually be evaluated using the procedures developed by the School Board. The Superintendent shall consider each annual evaluation of a probationary employee in the nonrenewal process. If a teacher’s annual performance evaluation during the probationary period is unsatisfactory, the School Board shall not reemploy such teacher.

Teachers who have attained continuing status in another school division in Virginia shall serve a probationary period of no less than one (1) year in the school division before attaining continuing contract status. Such a one year probationary period shall be a part of the initial contract.

F. Externally Funded Programs

All persons employed on externally funded programs shall be placed on the appropriate salary schedule and step and shall be afforded all benefits according to other employees fulfilling comparable duties.

G. PRAXIS Exam

Use of the PRAXIS Exam shall not be resumed for teachers who currently hold a Collegiate Professional License.

H. Financial Incentives for Excellence in Teaching

The School Board has adopted policies designed to promote the employment and retention of the highest quality instructional personnel and to effectively serve the educational needs of students. The Superintendent shall annually develop and propose financial incentives for excellence in teaching which shall be contained in the budgets presented to the School Board (“Superintendent’s Estimate of Needs”) or in the School Board Compensation Plan.

Legal Reference:

Code of Va., § 22.1 298. Regulations governing licensure.

Code of Va.,§ 22.1 299. License required of teachers.

Code of Va., § 22.1 253.13:1. Standard 1. Basic skills, selected programs, and instructional personnel.

Code of Va., § 22.1 296.1. Data on convictions for child abuse or molestation required.

Code of Va., § 22.1 303. Probationary terms of service for teachers.

Code of Va., § 19.2 389. Dissemination of criminal history record information.

Code of Va., § 22.1 296.2. Fingerprinting required.

Code of Va. §22.1-296.4 Child abuse and neglect data required.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Board of Education Regulation Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia, 8 VAC 20-131-10 et seq.

Code of Va., § 19.2-390.1. Sex offender and crimes against minors registry; maintenance; access.

Code of Va., § 19.2-390.2. Automatic notification of registration to certain entities.

State of Virginia Sex Offender Registry: http://sex-offender.vsp.va.us.

Editor's Note
Employers are required to verify that all employees hired after November 6, 1986 are U.S. citizens or aliens authorized to work.

See School Board Policy 4-5 and Regulation 4-5.1 for Superintendents’ duty to notify Board of arrest of an employee and employees duty to notify Superintendent of arrest.

See School Board Policy 4-62 for evaluation of probationary teachers.

See School Board Policy 2-48 for conditions of employment generally.

See School Board Policies 4-75 and 4-90 for conditions of employment for classified personnel and substitutes.

See School Board Policy 4-5 for requirement that employees notify Superintendent when charged with crimes.

Adopted by School Board: October 21, 1969
Amended by School Board: August 21, 1990
Amended by School Board: July 16, 1991
Amended by School Board: July 13, 1993 (Effective August 14, 1993)
Amended by School Board: November 3, 1998
Amended by School Board: March 21, 2000
Amended by School Board: April 1, 2003