Diocesan Board of Education
Diocese of Belleville
Policy 4112.1
PERSONNEL
Teachers - Contracts/Personnel Records
The Diocesan Office of Education will assist local boards of education in recruiting teachers, but selection and hiring will be the responsibility of the principal.
The term of all teacher contracts will be one year. Contracts should be filled out in triplicate; one copy is to be retained in the school, one by the pastor, and one given to the teacher. All teacher contracts are to be signed by May 15. This does not refer to new personnel being hired for the coming school year.
All new elementary teachers to the Diocese of Belleville, preschool to eighth grade, shall have a letter of approval from the Office of Education before any employment agreement can be binding.
All teachers in the Diocese of Belleville must be:
- A person who has obtained a B.A. or B.S. degree in education from an accredited college or a person who has obtained a Master's degree from an accredited college and has a minimum of 16 semester hours of credit in professional education.
- A person who has a Professional Educator’s License from the State of Illinois or from another state.
Application forms, transcript/s of credits, and proof of a Professional Educator’s License of all teachers employed by the Catholic elementary schools of the diocese must be filed in the Office of Education prior to employment in the school before any employment agreement can be binding.
The principal has the responsibility to consider the moral character and religious attitudes of persons who want to begin or continue teaching in Catholic schools. These persons must also be members in good standing within their church. In order to ensure that every teacher in a Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Belleville understands that he/she is a vital part of the environment of the school, responsible to add to the atmosphere of faith and charity, every principal should discuss this matter with each prospective teacher before he/she is hired or rehired.
Participation in the faculty's continuing Faith Enrichment Programs, including the Diocesan Catechist Certification Program, shall be part of the contract or job description of every teacher.
The above requirements for approval apply to religious as well as to lay teachers.
A non-degree/non-licensed person who has been employed in the Catholic elementary schools of the Diocese of Belleville for fifteen or more continuous years, and who has given satisfactory service, may continue to be approved by the Office of Education provided this teacher gives evidence of annual professional improvement through reading, in-service training, workshops, and college credits. All credits must be reported to the Office of Education before they are considered for the approval of a teacher. These non-degree teachers shall have a written plan of action in place with the school principal regarding professional growth and development for each academic year.
The school will ordinarily notify the teacher of contract non-renewal no later than April 1 of the year preceding the next contract year.
Adopted: May 20, 1976
Revised: January 18, 2011