Building an Effective Plan of Improvement for Teachers

A plan of improvement can be written for any teacher who performs unsatisfactorily or has a deficiency in one or more areas. This plan can be stand-alone in nature or in conjunction with an observation or evaluation. The plan highlights their area(s) of deficiency, offers suggestions for improvement, and gives a timeline in which they must meet the goals set in the plan of improvement.

In many cases, the teacher and administrator have already had conversations regarding the areas that need improvement. Those conversations have yielded little to no results, and a plan of improvement is the next step. A plan of improvement is intended to provide the teacher with detailed steps to improve and will also provide critical documentation should it become necessary to terminate the teacher. The following is a sample plan of improvement for teachers.

Sample Plan of Improvement for Teachers

Teacher: Any Teacher, Any Grade, Any Public School

Administrator: Any Principal, Principal, Any Public School

Date: Friday, January 4, 2019

Reasons for Action: Performance Deficiencies and Insubordination

Purpose of the Plan: The purpose of this plan is to provide goals and suggestions to help the teacher improve in areas of deficiencies.

Admonishment:

Area of Deficiency

• Instructional Ineffectiveness
• Unsatisfactory Teaching Performance
• Willful Neglect of Duty

Description of Conduct or Performance:

• I have formally and informally visited Mrs. Teacher’s classroom several times since the beginning of the school year. Most every time Mrs. Teacher has been sitting at her desk, students have been working on worksheets, writing spelling words, etc. I have seen very little teacher instruction occurring and when I have seen instruction it has been a review of previously learned concepts, rather than new information.
• During my observations, I have noticed that the students are not involved in learning. Most seem disinterested in the classroom proceedings, and many of them hardly bother to go through the motions of responding when called upon by Mrs. Teacher.
• On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, I walked into Mrs. Teacher’s classroom and noticed the students were left in there unattended. Mrs. Teacher left the classroom to grab a cup of coffee and to use the bathroom and did not have anyone watch her classroom.
• On, Friday, December 21, 2018, I visited Mrs. Teacher’s classroom three times throughout the day with the visits lasting about 10-15 minutes each time. When I entered the classroom all three times, Mrs. Teacher was at her desk, and the students were working on worksheets. Many of the students seemed bored and disinterested with their work. On occasion, a student would go up to her desk for help, and she did get up on one occasion and walk around the room monitoring the students’ progress.

Assistance:

• Mrs. Teacher must receive prior administrator approval before leaving her classroom while students are in the classroom.
• Mrs. Teacher will be given several articles that provide successful tips for classroom management, motivation techniques, and instructional strategies.
• Mrs. Teacher will be required to observe another designated teacher's classroom for one hour on Monday, January 7, 2019, from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and again on Thursday, January 10, 2019, from 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. The other teacher is a veteran teacher and does a fantastic job motivating and instructing students.
• Mrs. Teacher must not leave any students without adult supervision during any part of the school day.

Timeline:

• This plan of improvement will remain in effect for three weeks, beginning Friday, January 4, 2019, and ending Friday, January 25, 2019.

Consequences:

• This is a plan of improvement that highlights your deficiencies as a professional educator. These are serious enough to admonish you and give notice of deficiencies in the areas listed above. Failure to correct these deficiencies will result in a recommendation for your suspension, demotion, non-reemployment, or dismissal.

Delivery & Time to Respond:

• This plan of improvement was delivered in a meeting with Mrs. Teacher on Friday, January 4, 2019. She has until Friday, January 11, 2019, to sign and return a copy of the plan of improvement.

Formative Conferences:

• The initial conference to go over this plan of improvement will be on Friday, January 4, 2019. We will have a review conference on Friday, January 25, 2019. This conference will be used to review and discuss the progress Mrs. Teacher has made towards the provisions listed in this letter of admonishment and plan of improvement.

Signatures:

______________________________________________________________________             Any Principal, Principal, Any Public Schools/Date

______________________________________________________________________              Any Teacher, Teacher, Any Public School/Date

I have read the information outlined in this letter of admonishment and plan of improvement. Although I may not agree with the assessment of my supervisor, I understand that if I do not make improvements in the areas of deficiency and follow the suggestions listed within this letter that I may be recommended for suspension, demotion, non-reemployment, or dismissal.