ABSTRACT
Prior to his termination, relator James Johnson was a tenured mathematics teacher employed by respondent Independent School District No. 709 (Duluth) since 1967. He taught seventh and ninth grade math at several schools within the school district. Beginning in 1970, he received intermittent performance evaluations, both formal and informal, some negative and some rating his teaching ability as satisfactory or better. In general, the evaluations noted four areas of concern: excessive failure rates, high volume of transfer requests, poor relationships with students and parents, and inappropriate teaching methods. In some instances, specific instructions were provided to Johnson as to required changes in classroom practice and teaching methodology.
