The New Haven Model
Of course, if layoffs are to be done for reasons other than seniority, it's even more important to have a robust, fair teacher evaluation system – which, sadly, is quite rare. This NYT editorial highlights a promising new system being implemented in New Haven, developed in collaboration with the union:
To improve the quality of schools, districts need a rigorous system for evaluating the quality of teaching — rewarding teachers who do their jobs best and retraining or removing those who fail their students. The city of New Haven and the American Federation of Teachers deserve high praise for the new teacher training and evaluation system they unveiled earlier this week.
The proposal, which deserves swift approval from the board, shows what can go right when school districts and unions work together.
In most schools today, teacher evaluations are not worthy of the name. An administrator typically observes the teacher at work once or twice during the year. Nearly every teacher passes — even at the most dismal schools. Struggling teachers rarely get the help they need to improve. Once they are tenured, it is nearly impossible to dislodge them.
The New Haven system would completely rebuild the evaluation process.
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May 3, 2010
NYT Editorial
The New Haven Model
posted by Whitney Tilson at 7:47 PM
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