Tenure Portfolio

There is no definitive list as to what should or needs to be included in your portfolio.  The district has chosen to leave this rather open-ended allowing you to be creative.  However, it is recommended that your portfolio demonstrate growth in the profession, community involvement, and professional development courses taken among other things that you may choose to include.  Below is a list of suggested items that the variety of exemplarily portfolios have included:

General guidelines for length

Physical:  20-25 front and back pages...not using the back of a page in a physical portfolio seems like a waste of page, and someone will be holding and touching this.  You want it to feel somewhat substantial and have some volume to it.  Because it is physical, its appearance does convey the amount of time and effort you put into it.   And remember, physical pages are often turned faster than digital pages are scrolled through.

Digital:  20-25 pages / slides.  As these are page fronts only, your portfolio may need several more pages to convey everything you want to include.  Also some super tech. savvy people choose to include digital links to various other pages and documents such as their resume, philosophy of education, certification, etc.  This way, they are not taking up space or adding to the length of the portfolio but these documents can be viewed if desired.  

Keep in mind these are only suggestions.  Depending on the layout, arrangement, and size of your photos, documents, samples, and text you may be able to reduce the number of pages required for everything you want to include.  Also, there is no limit on the number of pages allowed.  So if you like to work big and need more space, this will not be held against you. 

Contents

1. Front cover that clearly displays your name, dates of probationary service (ex. 2017-2021) , tenure area, and your building assignment/s.

2. Table of contents.

3. Resume, Philosophy of Education, Certification Certificates.  Now granted the “district” knows all of this about you already from when you were hired, but the majority of the people viewing your portfolio know nothing about you.

4. School or district wide committees you are on or have served on.

5. 1-2 lesson plan samples.

6. Various samples of student work.  Also, 1-2 samples of a pre-test and post-test or similar example of student work that shows and demonstrates student growth (student names on work samples should be blacked out or removed).

7. Any notable special accommodations, behavior plans, or classroom management plans you have developed or implemented in your classroom.

8. Photos of you working with your students and students working together (student faces do not need to be black out or blurred).

9. Photos or documentation (programs, brochures etc.) of special activities or events that you may have done with your class, other classes or grade levels with academic tie-ins... Field Day, while fun, probably isn’t the best thing to include in this area (unless you are in the Physical Education Department and you planned, organized, and ran a Field Day event).

10. Professional development courses you have completed.  Just a list is fine, certificates of completion are not necessary to include.

11. Community involvement, service projects, or community organizations you belong to.

12. Special academic awards, letters from parents or community members you have received (with academic tie-ins).

Other things to note and consider

As tenure portfolios are kept within the district and are only viewed by district staff and Board of Education members, you do not need to black out or blur the faces of any students in any photos you include.  However, due to privacy concerns, any student work samples you choose to include should have the student's name blacked out or removed.

Whether you choose to make a physical or digital portfolio, select a design, theme, and layout that makes you feel comfortable to work on/ with.  It should come easy and naturally to you... if you are not tech. savvy do not create a digital portfolio.  If you do not like scrap booking, do not buy a bunch of “cute stuff” from the craft store and try to create a physical portfolio (not that a physical portfolio has to have a scrap book theme... but you get the idea).  

When selecting font color, style and word sizes, whether in physical or digital format print them out and view them in person or on the screen and from a distance via projector. Remember that a number of people will be viewing your portfolio, whether it is passed around a table or projected on a big screen.  There is nothing worse than spending all this time creating a portfolio that cannot be easily read or viewed as a result of a font color contrasting poorly with the background color.

While this may seem overwhelming and like a giant daunting task, if you break it down and work on it over the next several years, you will be in great shape.  Below is a suggested timeline to help you develop your portfolio.

Timeline

End of year 1 / start of year 2:  

Begin saving documents, notes, photos, lesson plans, etc. and keep them in a box or folder for the development of your portfolio.

Year 2 and 3:

Continue to collect materials, but now begin sorting though and organizing the materials you’ve collected into a cohesive flow.  Next decide what portfolio format works best for you, physical or digital, select a theme (if any) and begin putting things together, even if it’s just rough and basic.

Year 3:

Continue working on your portfolio and start pulling things together.  By the end of the year it should be in pretty good shape.

Year 4 / November-January of Year 4:

Begin to finalize your portfolio and make any final adjustments you feel are necessary.  If you haven’t even started your portfolio yet...you better get going!!!  During the months of November- January of your 4th year (or earlier if you are ready) submit your portfolio to your principal for review.  They will return it to you with any suggestions, changes, or recommendations they feel are necessary to make before submitting it for review.  Make the necessary adjustments and then give it another final review...showing it again to your principal if their suggestions were wide sweeping or drastic in any way.  At this point if you are satisfied with your portfolio, submit it to your principal and they will send it up to the district office for review on your behalf.  Portfolios must be submitted for review to the district office no later than February break of the year you are to receive tenure consideration.

Congratulations!!! You did it!!! You received tenure!!!

Who is expected to create and submit a portfolio for tenure consideration?

Teachers are expected to create and submit a portfolio for tenure consideration.  Teaching Assistants are not.

Is a digital portfolio "preferred" over the more traditional hand-made portfolio? 

 Either way is fine.  Currently, about 75% of portfolios submitted are done in a physical format and 25% in a digital format.  The decision is left up to the teacher.

If a teacher decides to create a digital portfolio, is there a particular program / software that it should be developed in?  

As long as it can be opened and displayed for the Board of Education members, there is no preferred program / software to use.  It is often completed via Power Point or a Google Slide presentation with pictures embedded or attached.  It could even be a video portfolio using iMovie or Youtube.

During what month/ date of their tenure year are portfolios submitted and to who?  

Teachers submit their portfolio no later than February break in the year they are to receive tenure consideration.  They submit it to their principal / supervisor for first review.  Once the principal/ supervisor approves the portfolio, they send it to human resources for the district office administration and Board of Education to review.  The portfolios are returned to the teachers the following spring (as they are kept at the district office for a year as examples unless someone needs it back earlier).

 Are there any new requirements or expectations that the district has for the development of a portfolio? 

No, people are allowed to be creative.  It should demonstrate growth in the profession, community involvement, academic advancement/ professional development courses taken if applicable (for new teachers they are required to have 100 hours over a five year period so this is the new norm).  There are always 5-6 sample portfolios available at the district office in human resources that staff is welcome to review for ideas based upon the previous year's teacher submissions.  

If you want to include a list / transcript of the professional development courses you have taken, you can do so via PD Express.  To do this, hover over the “My Information” drop-down tab at the top of the webpage.  Then scroll down to “In-District PD” to bring up a full list of all the in-district professional development you have completed.

NOTE:  It is highly recommended that you periodically make sure that this list is correct and up to date, especially if you are working towards advancing your salary schedule.  Should you find an error, you should contact the district office to get it corrected.

Teachers and Teaching Assistants that anticipate being granted tenure should look to first or second Board of Education agenda in June for the list of new tenure appointments.

Once the file appears on screen, click the word "Open" at the top of the screen to bring up both download and print options.