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Stafford MSD proposes guidelines to limit coaching absences and push uncertified teachers toward certification
Summary
District academic leaders proposed guidelines to minimize instructional loss when teachers coach athletics: prioritize classroom presence, require 95% attendance for coaches, limit coaching duties for uncertified hires and use growth plans for noncompliance; trustees debated exceptions and enforcement mechanisms.
District academic leaders presented a proposed set of guidelines aimed at reducing instructional time lost to athletic travel and coach absences and at decreasing the number of uncertified teachers in core instructional roles.
The committee-recommended guidelines would prioritize classroom presence by scheduling athletic departures after the school day where feasible, require teachers with coaching duties to maintain 95% of a full instructional day, and limit uncertified or third-year DOI (days of initial) teachers to two sports while requiring a plan and progress toward certification. The presenter said these measures are guidelines, not policy, and recommended an effective date of the next school year so implementation and monitoring can be adjusted.
Trustees pressed for safeguards and implementation details: one trustee asked whether uncertified hires who teach core classes should be barred from coaching at all; administrators responded that each hire must be evaluated individually and that some people with strong subject-matter backgrounds can be effective teachers. The guidelines include tiered review, principal involvement, growth plans and possible reassignment if instructional or coaching obligations are unmet. "Teachers with coaching duties must maintain 95 percent full instructional day attendance," the presenter said, adding that exceptions (FMLA, personal illness) will be allowed and that regular review will track compliance.
