Philadelphia Federation of Teachers School District of Philadelphia

XVIII. Working Conditions of Teachers
XVIII, Section C(7)(l)(7) and (8). The program involving these five (5) schools
shall last a minimum of two (2) years and shall be evaluated at that time by the
Federation-District Committee, which shall have the option to mutually extend
the program for additional time. Unless the Parties mutually agree to an extension,
the Site Selection process in these schools shall end at the end of the second
year.
(l) Site Selected Schools
(1) The provisions of this Agreement that grant a seniority-based preference
in the transfer process (by way of involuntary or voluntary transfers) shall
not apply in any school that implements procedures for school-based selection
of teachers.
(2) To effect school-based selection, a Staff Selection Committee convened
by the School Council at each school (or in the absence of a School Council, by
the Principal and Building Committee) will interview and select all teachers for
assignment to the school to fill existing vacancies. In the case of new hires, such
candidates shall have been deemed qualified by the Office of Human Resources.
(3) In each school that implements school-based selection of teachers, the
Staff Selection Committee shall be comprised of five (5) members in elementary
and middle schools and six (6) members in high schools. The school Principal
shall serve on the Committee. Three (3) members of each Staff Selection Committee
shall be teachers selected by the School Council, or in the absence of a
School Council, by the Building Committee and the Principal, from among teachers
at the school. A parent selected by the Home & School Association, 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.
(4) Staff Selection Committees shall:
(i) Establish appropriate, objective criteria for filling vacancies based
upon the instructional program of the school;
(ii) Screen candidates and schedule interviews;
(iii) Select faculty to fill vacancies;
(5) The Principal and the Staff Selection Committee will reach consensus
on the most qualified candidate for each available position. In the event that the
Committee fails to reach consensus, the Principal shall make the selection from
among the three (3) most qualified applicants as ranked by the Committee.
(6) When two (2) teachers equally meet the established criteria for the
position, seniority shall govern the appointment to that position.
(7) In addition, in any school not so identified, the School Council, or in
the absence of a Council, the Principal and Building Committee, may choose to
implement school based selection of teachers pursuant to the following
procedures:
(i) Upon approval of the Principal, a proposed waiver will be submitted
for ratification by the affected staff in the school. Ratification shall be by way
of a secret ballot in which all employees covered by this Agreement who are
assigned to the school shall be eligible to vote, and shall require an affirmative
vote of two-thirds ( 2 ⁄3) of the affected employees in the school who vote.
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