Categorized | Education

DOE committed to new teacher evaluation program

MEDIA RELEASE

The state Department of Education remains committed to working collaboratively with all parties involved to improve Hawaii’s public education system.

The department shares Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s vision of crossing the Race to the Top finish line, side-by-side, with the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), as it moves forward with its plans to ensure that every child graduates college- and career-ready.

Over the past few weeks, the State and the HSTA made huge strides in reaching a tentative agreement. Approximately 70 percent of HSTA members, or 9,000 teachers, took part in last week’s ratification vote.

Prior to the vote, the State, Board of Education, and Department of Education stayed silent in respect to the teacher’s union as they took responsibility for communicating with their members

Educators play an integral role in helping to shape the department’s reform efforts. The ratification results show the need to better inform and engage teachers and school leaders in the development and implementation of the new teacher evaluation system.

A new evaluation system will utilize a wide variety of research-based tools that, in combination with a system of teacher supports, will provide teachers with innovative ways of receiving information about the academic needs of their students.

“We know this will not be easy,” said Stephen Schatz, assistant superintendent for the Office of Strategic Reform. “It requires many of us to rethink our fundamental assumptions about the purpose of a teacher evaluation system.”

“We truly believe that this system, if implemented properly, will help all of our teachers to improve and grow,” deputy superintendent Ronn Nozoe said.

The department is already piloting an evaluation system in 18 schools in the Zones of School Innovation this school year. The pilot program includes: a model that measures student academic growth on the Hawaii State Assessment relative to their peers with similar academic history (this measure is not the federal requirement of proficiency, but rather measuring where a student began at the start of the year, and the growth they demonstrated over the course of the year); a student survey that has been shown to predict teacher effectiveness; and a new classroom observation model designed to provide immediate feedback to teachers, including specific strategies to focus and improve their instruction. The department plans to expand this pilot program to 61 schools next year; and to all schools statewide in school year 2013-14.

For Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi’s video message regarding the HSTA, visit: http://vimeo.com/35543400

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