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CONVERTING SERVICE TO VOUCHER CREDITS
There is a need to identify teaching professionals (teachers, teaching assistants, and administrators) who are unable or prevented from mentoring pre-service teachers and providing them with a way to participate in the use of the Teaching Center voucher pool. These positions are characterized by learning environments which do not provide a typical climate conducive to the overall experiences sought in the pre-service teaching model, i.e. reading specialists, instructional support teachers, and other specialties that do not operate in a traditional classroom environment. It also includes instructional areas not supported by S.U., i.e. foreign languages. Teachers who host pre-service teachers will also be given credit for forms of service to the Teaching Center and are able to participate in this process.
There is a need to support persons of color accepted into the Baldanza Fellowship program for earning teacher certification.
There is a need to: (a) recognize forms of service to the Teaching Center other than hosting pre-service teachers and (b) to develop a system for participating in the use of the Teaching Center Voucher Pool.
Although equal status will be awarded to those teachers accumulating service credit through the alternative conversion process, top priority will be given to those teachers taking pre-service teachers through Syracuse University and the Teaching Center inasmuch as the voucher system is based on the partnership between West Genesee Schools and the aforementioned institution.
List of Services*
The list of services for this purpose must meet the following criteria: 1) be voluntary in nature, 2) must support the Teaching Center and 3) must contribute to the professional development of teachers.
Professional Learning Plan Committee Member
Professional Development Committee Membership - building-level
Teaching Center committee membership
Directing Council membership
Host teachers reviewing S.U. pre-service teacher portfolios
Guest lecturers for methods courses at S.U.
Presenters of mini workshops/seminars for pre-service teachers
Presentation for Professional Development day workshops i.e. sabbatical reports, Grants, professional experience, Conference reports, best practices
Mentoring teachers New to the District (Mentees)
Educational Development Committee (EDC)
* Not Exhaustive
Recommended System to Assign Voucher Credits
Each service that meets will be assigned a unit value based on the number of meetings required and attended by participants annually. Any service that meets five (5) or more times a year will receive a maximum of five (5) units. Each service that meets less than five (5) times a year will receive one (1) unit for each meeting. Any teacher receiving a combination of ten (10) units of service will be eligible for a three-credit (3) voucher.
The Teaching Center will develop a database and assume responsibility for maintaining the units of service reported. Teachers and administrators are required to submit service reports every three months (November, February and May) during the school year. All units acquired by teachers will be maintained permanently to be used for vouchers at the teacher's discretion. Teachers with the highest number of units will be given priority in accordance with the voucher distributive process.
Each Semester, the Individual Voucher Committee will review applications for vouchers. The committee will use the following prioritization to award individual vouchers:
Teachers with positive balances in the database
Teachers with negative balances in the database
Teaching Assistants
Baldanza fellows during their pre-service placement within the District (maximum of one voucher per semester)
School district administrators who have completed service to the Center.
The Teaching Center Director will periodically report the status of the service voucher system to the Teaching Center Directing Council. This policy will be in effect for two (2) years after which it will be reviewed for changes/continuation.
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