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Teaching contract not renewed

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mikekal1977

Junior Member
I am from Missouri

I taught at a small catholic high school in saint louis fot the archdioces of st.louis.

I was hired in august of 2004. This was my first teaching job as a PE teacher. You had to be certified by the state of MO but you could have a 2 year provisional since I was working on my certification. There were teachers at the school that were not certified but I didn't think any of it.

BUt in March of 2005 I was informed that I was not be retained because I was not certified and they wanted a more experienced teacher. In my contract it says they can get rid of me anytime for no reason at all before I have 3 years in.

I do not have a problem with that. The problem I have is that they told me that I did not have enough experince and the fact that I was not certified. Nobody in the the school observed me teach, so how would they know they needed a new teacher and the other fact is that there are still teachers at the school that are not certified, so then why did they tell me that.

I keep trying to contact the superintendent of the Archidioces schools of st.louis. All he says is that he doesn't know and that I have to move on.

I was just wondering if anybody knew if I have a case. I just want some kind of answer and it does not seem like I am getting one.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Unless you have a valid reason to believe that they are letting you go BECAUSE OF your race, national origin, or other protected group (EXCLUDING religion in this case since they are a religiously based organization and can legally require that you be of their religion) then no you do not have a case. They are operating within your contract and what is going on with other teachers has nothing to do with you. You don't know what their contracts say - it's not necessarily the same as yours.
 

mikekal1977

Junior Member
Thanks,

It just states that you have to be certified and the fact that the 2 teachers I know that are not certified are still there even though they are suppose to be certified.

Also when you are let go, are you suppose to sign papers stating the reason why they let you go or does it not matter? I did not sign anything
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
But you have no idea what the contracts of the other two teachers say. For all you know, THEIR contracts require that they be retained for the entire two year provisional period or have some other clause protecting their employment. Their contract is not necessarily exactly the same as yours. IN any case, without some valid reason to believe that you have been let go and the other teachers not BECAUSE OF illegal discrimination, the fact that they have been retained is legally irrelevant and none of your business.

You are not required to sign anything upon termination, and your employer has no legal obligation to give you, on termination, anything regarding the reason for your termination.

However, you live in one of the few states where, upon your WRITTEN request, your employer is required to provide you with a "service letter" which states the nature of your duties, the dates of your employment and the reason you left their employ. They have 45 days from your request to submit the letter to you.

Be advised that if you are looking for a laundry list of "We did not renew your contract because on xx/xx/xxxx you (blanK); on xx/xx/xxxx parent x complained about your (blank)" and so on, you are doomed to disappointment. It is entirely possible that the letter will state exactly what you have already been told; that you were let go because they want a more experienced teacher.
 

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