If your children are enrolled in the charter school system in Utah, your child’s teacher’s employment can be terminated for any reason, without having to establish “just cause” and without warning. This is called “at will” employment, a term for contractual relationships that has been adopted by charter schools in Utah. A new employee signing a teaching contract has to agree to this policy.
A “firing” recently occurred at a Utah charter school for special-needs children. The 52-year-old teacher with 25 years of teaching experience was abruptly told she was fired; she was escorted to her car and was told to come to school the following Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to empty her classroom. She appeared only to find that her classroom door was locked and all her materials dumped into the hallway.
This teacher had been awarded “teacher of the year” at another district. I am a retired school psychologist continually shocked by the ill treatment of many of our teachers. This was a teacher working 60-hour weeks who had developed a beautiful relationship with her special-needs students. Imagine their shock at not having their teacher there on Monday morning to greet them with hugs.
Ann Dangerfield, Sandy
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