Moving from the Potential of Teacher Improvement to its Passionate Reality

Business photo created by pressfoto - www.freepik.com

I want to make an argument for a system of support for teachers. I spent a decade in the classroom in large urban districts. During that time, I encountered many passionate teachers who worked relentlessly to improve, but often without support or direction. For the last seven years, I have travelled the country providing technical … Read more »

What to Do Next With Teacher Evaluations

  Teacher evaluation is a contentious issue. It tends to be more so when evaluation systems must show evidence of a teacher’s contribution to student learning, as federal initiatives have recently required. The stakes are high, since how a teacher is rated affects his or her continued employment, advancement, and even compensation. In the wake … Read more »

An Educational “Bucket List” for Parents

  For many parents the political tug of war over “transformational changes” to fix our schools is bewildering. Suppose you have a child starting school – 1st grade to be exact. Concerned that she gets the best education possible, you do your research on schools. You may even go so far as to move to … Read more »

Long Overdue: A New Discourse on School Reform

Photo by Martin Fernandez (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dodeacommunications/9457988689/) CC-BY-2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)

  Remember the last time you were part of a conversation about school reform that was balanced, respectful of different perspectives and focused on finding common ground? Didn’t think so. Such exchanges are becoming an endangered species–largely due to the interwoven influences of ideology, money and power. And the result is that we’ve handicapped our … Read more »

Helping Principals Beat the Clock

Let’s talk about time. Under new state and federal policies, most high-need schools we work with at the Community Training and Assistance Center are implementing more rigorous approaches to teacher support and evaluation. School districts are equipping principals with specialized training to conduct classroom observations based on evidence, not gut feelings, using standards-based rubrics, not … Read more »

The Power of SLOs in Teacher Evaluation

By Selma Broeder (https://flic.kr/p/6ALaGA) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Nationwide, Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) have emerged as the “it” component of new teacher evaluation systems. Developed by teachers, SLOs are carefully planned goals for what students will learn over a given time period. This process is designed to evoke critical, evidence-based thought about student growth. SLOs are being implemented in more than 20 states … Read more »