2012-2013 Career Ladder Handbook
Mission: to provide teachers with monetary incentives to go above and beyond and ensure every student succeeds academically.
Career Ladder: Helping teachers and students reach new heights!
Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines
Important Dates 2012-2013
Student Achievement Plan Dates for Career Ladder Participants
What? / When? / Who?SAP Cover Sheet and Assessments emailed to specialist / Complete by August 13, 2012 (Conference scheduled) / Participant/Teacher
SAP Pre-Conference: Two-quarter plans
Three-quarter plans / Completed by August 27, 2012
Completed by September 7, 2012 / Specified by Specialists
Plan completed (instruction ended and all assessments completed)
Two-quarter plans
Three-quarter plans / All re-teaching and re-testing should be completed by these dates:
Completed by December 14, 2012
Completed by March 1, 2013 / Participant/Teacher
SAP two-quarter Post-Assessment conference completed by / April 1, 2013
(Conference completed) / Specified by Specialists
SAP three-quarter Post-Assessment / May 13, 2013
(Conference completed) / Specified by Specialists
HLIR Dates for Level III and IV Participants
What? / When? / Who?HLIR / Monthly, 1st half completed by January 14, 2013 / Participant
HLIR / Balance of points due May 17, 2013 / Participant
HLIR Pre-Approval forms (2011-12 Year) / April 12, 2013 (last day to submit forms) / Participant
HLIR Pre-Approval forms (2012-13 Year) / April 26, 2013 (last day to submit forms) / Participant
Participant Requirements
Due to changes in the state law that took effective in November 2009, no new participants may join Career Ladder at this time.
Teachers participating in the Career Ladder program must:
· be a continuing Career Ladder participant.
· hold a valid teaching certificate.
· be evaluated using the new CUSD Certificated Staff Evaluation Instrument.
· meet the requirements for higher-level instructional responsibilities (for Level III and IV placement).
· work directly with the same group of students instructionally on a regular basis (weekly) for at least 50% of the student day (minimum of 15 students).
· successfully complete the requirements for the student achievement plan.
· teach students (including planning and assessment for instruction) directly a minimum of 50% of their contract time and student time with the district.
Special Education Teachers
Special education teachers must meet the above and following requirements regardless of the teaching assignment:
· Teachers who teach self-contained special education classrooms must use their whole class.
· Teachers who do not have self-contained classrooms must include at least 15 students in their plan; if the entire caseload number is less than 15, consult your instructional specialist.
· Plans must reflect the needs identified in student I.E.Ps, if appropriate and include instruction and assessment of specified performance objectives.
Strands/Concepts/Performance Objectives and/or Standards must follow the required Career Ladder format.
Reciprocity
Teachers new to the district who have a previous placement (and are still in good standing) from a Career Ladder district in Arizona may be placed on the CUSD Career Ladder. Previous Career Ladder placement must have been for the school year immediately prior to employment in Chandler. Final placement on the ladder will be determined by the administrator of the Career Ladder program.
Teachers new to the district and whose Career Ladder placement is from another state may have their placement reviewed and determined by the administrator of the Career Ladder program, provided the candidate's previous program requirements meet Arizona statutory requirements as defined in (A.R.S.15-918.02)
Placement and Movement on the Ladder
Chandler Career Ladder guidelines have established the following schedule by which participants may choose to advance up the ladder with additional years of teaching experience.
Please note that you must demonstrate the ability to successfully complete all the requirements of a level (qualify) BEFORE you may be paid at the level. This means you must apply and qualify (successfully complete all requirements and have attained the requisite number of years of experience) for advancement in the year prior to the desired new level placement.
In particular, in YEAR 5, if you wish to advance to Level III in year 6, you must complete all the requirements for Level III in the 5th year of teaching. This is also true for YEAR 7 and moving to Level IV.
Be prepared and plan ahead!
Years of Teaching / Highest Level Qualified3 / II
4 / II
5 / II
6 / III
7 / III
8+ / IV
Maintaining Placement
The Chandler Career Ladder program pays in the current year for current year’s work. A participant will continue to earn an addendum providing that he/she continues to meet all Career Ladder criteria throughout the placement year, including meeting all required deadlines. Failure to meet established deadlines may result in dismissal from the program and the participant may be required to repay any addendum money received.
As required by law, Career Ladder participants will be compensated for performance, irrespective of years of service in the district. The law also requires a Career Ladder addendum schedule, which allows a Career Ladder teacher to reach the highest level of the ladder in eight years or less. In addition, the law requires a salary range for each level, with a specific salary for each step within a level.
Both the range and the salary for each step will vary according to the base salary.
Advancement on the Ladder
Advancement on the Chandler Career Development Ladder is based on demonstration of higher levels of performance as stipulated in the program requirements. Teachers may request evaluation for a higher-level placement the year prior to the desired placement.
As required by law, Career Ladder is designed to permit teachers who choose to proceed through the levels in sequence to reach the highest level in eight years or less. Teachers may request placement evaluation, however, for any level for which they are qualified.
Appeal Procedures for Career Ladder Placement
Career Ladder programs are required by law to provide an appeal process, which includes both teachers and administrators, to review situations in which teachers disagree with their placement.
If the teacher, upon being notified of Career Ladder placement, disagrees with the placement, he/she will have five (5) working days to submit a written request for a placement conference to the Career Ladder Office. Upon receipt of the request, the administrator of the Career Ladder program will schedule a conference with the teacher to review the placement. Please note that a teacher may only appeal one of the four areas of competency: instructional practice (new CUSD evaluation instrument), student achievement plan, higher-level responsibilities, or years of experience.
The purpose of the conference is to allow the teacher to express concerns about the placement and to clarify any misunderstandings about the placement. No new material may be submitted at the time of the appeal.
Following the conference, the teacher may request, in writing, a hearing by the Career Ladder Appeal Committee, which shall consist of one teacher representative from the Career Ladder steering committee, one principal, and one district administrator. The Career Ladder administrator shall serve as a non-voting member of the appeal committee.
The written request for a hearing shall include specific reasons for the appeal and must be submitted within three (3) working days of the conference. Every effort will be made to schedule this hearing within ten (10) working days of receiving the request.
The appeal committee will meet with the teacher to review the placement. Again, no new material may be submitted. The purpose of the hearing is to review the placement based on the data presented and reviewed in the evaluation process.
The appeal committee will issue a written ruling on the appeal within five (5) working days. The decision of the appeal committee is final. All written documents and proceedings of the appeal hearing will remain confidential.
Career Ladder Salaries
Target Salary
The target salary is the maximum salary that may be paid for each level and step. It is computed from the CUSD base salary. Actual teachers' salaries seldom reach the target salary but will continue to progress upwards toward that limit.
2012-2013Target Salaries
Level I / $ 0
Level II
/ $51,702
Level III / $63,842
Level IV / $74,482
Baseline Dollar Figures
Providing funding is allocated by the state, the baseline amount is the minimum a teacher will receive if the baseline amount plus the traditional salary does not exceed the Career Ladder target salary. This figure is part of the computation of the Career Ladder addendum.
Baseline Dollar Amounts
Level I / $ 0
Level II
/ $ 1,500
Level III / $ 3,000
Level IV / $ 4,000
Salary Computation
Providing funding is allocated by the state, the actual Career Ladder addendum will be determined by combining the baseline dollar amount and a variable percentage of the difference between the Career Ladder addendum and the traditional salary. The variable percentage is based on the amount of money left in the salary portion of the budget, after the entire baseline addenda are factored out.
This variable percentage changes every year due to the amount budgeted for salaries, the number of teachers placed on the ladder, and the levels and steps at which teachers are placed.
If the difference between a Career Ladder teacher's traditional salary and the target salary is greater than the baseline dollar amount plus the variable, he/she will receive the baseline dollar amount plus the variable.
Example: Teacher A qualifies for Level III ($63,842). He earns $40,867 on the traditional salary schedule, a difference between his district salary and his Career Ladder target salary of $22,975. In the example, the variable percent will be .14. His Career Ladder addendum will be as follows:
Career Laddertarget salary / - / traditional
salary / = / difference / x / variable
.14* / + / baseline
amount / = / Career Ladder
addendum / + / traditional
salary / = / total salary
$63,842 / - / $40,867 / = / $22,975 / x / $3,216.50 / + / $3,000 / = / $6,216.50 / + / $40,867 / = / $47,083.50
* NOTE: This number is only an example. The variable is different each year.
In other words, Teacher A will receive an addendum of $6,216.50, or a total salary of $47,083.50.
Since teachers may request evaluation for placement at any level for which they are qualified, and because funding for the Career Ladder is limited, the Career Ladder budget does not permit funding to exceed the target salaries.
A teacher's combined district base salary plus Career Ladder addendum may never exceed the Career Ladder target salary. If the difference between a Career Ladder teacher's district salary and Career Ladder target salary is less than the baseline amount, the teacher will receive the difference, not the baseline amount.
Current-year Career Ladder addenda may begin in December and are prorated for the balance of the year.
Leaves of Absence
From time to time, it may be necessary for Career Ladder teachers to take a leave of absence during the school year. If the absence is unpaid on the district salary schedule, the Career Ladder portion of the salary will be suspended until the teacher returns to service. At that time the total addendum will be adjusted to reflect the portion of the school year for which the teacher received pay and then apportioned over the remaining number of pay periods in the teaching contract. The teacher will be expected to complete all requirements for the ladder in a timely manner.
If the teacher does not return from leave, resulting in termination of employment, the remaining portion of the Career Ladder salary shall be forfeited.
If you will be on leave of any kind, you must contact your Career Ladder Specialist or the Career Ladder Office in advance of your leave to ensure all requirements can be met. Failure to do so may result in removal from the Career Ladder participation.
Evaluation of Teacher Classroom Performance
Career Ladder placement evaluations of classroom performance will be conducted by instructional specialists who have completed the qualified evaluator training as prescribed by law. The purpose of formative evaluation is to provide feedback to teachers regarding areas of strength and areas of refinement. Teachers are encouraged to request the option of a formative evaluation. The summative evaluation is the placement evaluation.
Evaluation Instruments
The new CUSD Certificated Staff Evaluation Instrument will be used for evaluating teachers' instructional skills.The instrument was selected through a collaborative process involving district teachers, administrators, and the governing board. The evaluation instrument rates teaching performance as Not Using (0 pts), Beginning (1 pt), Developing (2 pts), Applying (3 pts), or Innovating (4) in areas of classroom performance and professional competencies.
Classroom Performance Competencies
Certified StaffEvaluation Instrument / Overview of Classroom Performance Competency
Type of Evaluation / Performed by / Level II / LevelIII / LevelIV
Formative
(Coaching) / Instructional Specialist / / /
Summative Evaluation / Principal / / /
New for 2012-2013 School Year: The instructional specialist will serve in a coaching role to provide feedback, support and resources toward teacher expertise. The designated site administrator will conduct the evaluations and will count toward the instructional practice portion of the Career Ladder placement.