It’s been a long time coming, but starting fall 2024, educators will be evaluated under guidelines that are meaningful, personalized, and collaborative—and no longer require reductive ratings. Districts are developing their new teacher evaluation plans this school year, and to provide them with an important tool in moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach, the State Board of Education today approved state model leader and educator evaluation plans.
“The new state model serves as an important example of what an evaluation plan aligned with the new guidelines could look like,” says CEA Teacher Development Specialist Dr. Kate Field. She stresses that no model is perfect or will fit all districts but says the state model offers an example of what a plan without ratings could look like.
CEA has also developed a model evaluation plan, found along with implementation guidance on the right side of the page here, to provide a practical example for professional development and evaluation committees (PDECs) that promotes trust and co-ownership of teaching and learning.
“District PDECs can adopt the state model, adopt a different model (like CEA’s), customize an existing model to meet their needs, or create their own plan,” Field continues. “No one model can work well for every district, and PDECs should consider the unique needs of their teachers and students in tailoring a model or creating a customized plan that will ease the burdens on educators and admin, foster professional learning, and support the growth of the whole child.”
“We hope districts will adopt new TEVAL plans that are meaningful and that facilitate educator and student growth,” says CEA Vice President Joslyn DeLancey, who, along with Field, represents CEA on Connecticut’s Educator Evaluation and Support (EES) Council. EES Council members provided substantial feedback that shaped the final version of the model plan approved by the State Board of Education today.
DeLancey adds, “The extent to which that happens depends on how involved teachers are in shaping these reforms. Talk to colleagues who serve on your local PDEC and tell them what’s important to you when it comes to teacher evaluation. PDECs have significant
latitude in creating a plan that best serves you and your students, as opposed to the old system of basically checking boxes.”
Information about how districts’ evaluation plans will be approved will be forthcoming from the State Department of Education.
“Implementation matters, so the EES Council will certainly be working together to make sure we’re tracking how things are going, making sure we’re understanding implementation, and whether we need to make any changes as we move forward,” said Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker.
Field, who regularly works with PDECs and trains CEA members on issues related to teacher evaluation, stresses that new evaluation plans need to be mutually agreed to by members of a PDEC, agreed upon between the PDEC and the corresponding board of education, and approved by the State Department of Education prior to September 2024. If a PDEC and board of education can’t mutually agree upon a plan, the state model is the default option.
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