Philadelphia Federation of Teachers School District of Philadelphia

XVIII. Working Conditions of Teachers
shall also be a member of the Committee; and in the case of high schools, the
school Principal shall select an Assistant Principal of the school or a student of
the school to serve on the Staff Selection Committee.
(f) All new hires shall be site selected.
(g) New Schools
(1) The initial complement of professional staff in new schools will be
selected by the Principal.
(2) In the year following the opening of the new school, all vacancies shall
be filled through site selection. Thereafter, vacancies shall be filled in accordance
with the general procedures for filling vacancies.
(h) Replacement Schools
(1) A replacement school will maintain its current professional staff as
the initial complement for the replacement building. For the first year following
the opening of the replacement school, all vacancies shall be filled through site
selection. Thereafter, vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the general
procedures for filling vacancies.
(2) Teachers shall maintain their current location seniority in the replacement
school. If a program is planned for the replacement building which will
require training of the teachers from the replaced building and other teachers
subsequently assigned to the replacement building, the School District may
require such teachers to take training.
(3) Teachers for whom there are no vacant positions in the replacement
building, shall select a new assignment as a forced transfer in accordance with
the general procedures for filling vacancies.
(i) Military Academies
All new positions in Military Academies shall be site selected.
(j) Transition Schools
(1) When involuntary transfers of teachers are required because all or
part of the student body is moving to a different school building, teachers in the
sending school shall be offered the opportunity to transfer to the new location
on the basis of school seniority only for the year in which the grade is added.
Teachers so transferred shall maintain their current location seniority in the new
building. Vacancies thereafter shall be filled according with the general procedures
for filling vacancies.
(2) Teachers who do not accept assignment, or for whom there are no
vacant positions in the transition building, shall select a new assignment as a
forced transfer in accordance with the general procedures for filling vacancies.
(k) Hard to Fill Middle Schools
The School District and the Federation share a mutual interest in improving
middle schools. Success in the middle grades is critical to a student’s educational
success and long-term life chances. However, middle schools too often face
problems that result in insufficient academic progress, school climate not conducive
to learning, high vacancy rates, and high staff turnover.
The Parties agree, as a pilot program, to identify five (5) such schools where
vacancies shall be filled by the Site Selection process as set forth in Article XVIII,
Section C(7)(l), without regard to the voting procedures set forth in Article
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