Bridgeport Included In Pilot Program For Education Evaluation

From Governor Malloy:

GOV. MALLOY: TEN APPLICANTS SELECTED TO PILOT NEW EDUCATION EVALUATION AND SUPPORT SYSTEM

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy, together with Connecticut Department of Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor, today announced that ten applicants have been chosen to pilot the new system of teacher and principal evaluation and support that was passed as part of education reform legislation signed into law by the Governor.

Thirty-six districts and consortia of districts applied to participate in the pilot program. The ten selected districts and consortia represent a broad cross section of demographics and other key factors, including rural, urban, and suburban districts from throughout Connecticut. Other factors include geography, size, student academic performance, and socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.

“The selection of these pilot districts is another step forward in our effort to fix what’s broken in our public schools,” said Governor Malloy. “The fact is that many of our state’s schools and most of our teachers are doing a tremendous job in preparing our students for the challenges they will face as adults. But without a fair and reliable evaluation system, teachers and administrators are left with no clear indicators of where they are succeeding and where they should improve. Learning everything we can from this pilot is a huge part of getting us to that goal.”

“This high level of interest clearly demonstrates that school districts are ready to contribute to the construction of a meaningful evaluation and support system,” said Commissioner Pryor. “In partnership with the State Department of Education, the work of pilot districts will inform our process and offer lessons learned for our statewide rollout next year.”

Public Act 12-116, An Act Concerning Education Reform, requires annual performance evaluations of principals, administrators, and teachers, based upon a new standard of “effective practice” and a consensus framework developed by the state’s Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC).

Selected districts will pilot the new evaluation system during the course of the 2012-2013 school year, with statewide implementation scheduled for the 2013-2014 school year. The University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education will analyze administration and results in the ten pilots and report back to the General Assembly by October 1, 2013.

Applicants selected:
* Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge
* Branford
* Bridgeport
* Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)
* Columbia, Eastford, Franklin, and Sterling
* Litchfield and Region 6
* Norwalk
* Waterford
* Windham
* Windsor

HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

On February 10, 2012, the State Board of Education, as required by statute, adopted an evaluation framework for teachers and principals. Developed collaboratively by the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC), which includes representatives from the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), Connecticut Federation of School Administrators (CSFA), Regional Educational Service Centers (RESC), Connecticut Education Association (CEA), and the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut (AFT-CT), among others, the framework will help inform forthcoming statewide guidelines for teacher and administrator evaluation and support. The State Board of Education is slated to adopt these guidelines by the July 1, 2012 deadline.

Beginning in November 2010, PEAC (formally named in July 2011 when Section 10-151b was revised) began meeting to discuss the evaluation of teachers and administrators. This group met regularly to develop eleven foundational principles upon which an effective teacher and administrator evaluation process should be based. Additionally, this group identified multiple indicators of student learning. On January 25, 2012, PEAC reached unanimous agreement on the required evaluation framework for teachers and on February 6, 2012, PEAC reached unanimous agreement on the required evaluation framework for administrator evaluations