Top Tacoma Public Schools and teachers union leaders announced Tuesday that they’re launching a joint initiative on teacher quality, teacher evaluations and more.
Tacoma Superintendent Art Jarvis and Tacoma Education Association President Andy Coons said the goal is to begin early discussions on the topics, which have sparked controversy nationally, before the start of formal teacher contract negotiations in March.
The contract between the school district and the union expires in August.
“We could sit back and wait – or we could do something differently,” Jarvis said.
Coons said the goal is to gather ideas on how to develop a system that will work for Tacoma, which has a “long history of collaboration” between the union and the school district.
The first publicly visible step will take place Nov. 30 – the first in a series of forums for teachers and other educators to offer their views. The forum is open to the public.
More forums for teachers, along with others aimed at parents, civic leaders, students and other interested groups, are also scheduled. Discussions should continue through January.
The district will also seek input from education experts, such as those at Stanford University, the University of Washington and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Then district and union representatives will sift through the ideas and develop concepts to bring to the bargaining table.
Both Jarvis and Coons recognize that thorny issues are likely to crop up during contract negotiations. Among the thorniest is a relatively new method that uses growth in student test scores to evaluate how well teachers are doing.
The statistical method, known as value-added evaluation, has sparked controversy nationally, but school districts around the country have used it. Tennessee schools have been using it the longest, while in Louisiana a new law mandates that half of a teacher’s evaluation be based on improvement in student test scores.
The current Tacoma teachers contract prohibits the use of a single standardized test score in evaluating staff performance.
In Seattle, a new contract ratified this fall allows student test scores to figure into teacher evaluations in limited ways. The system will be phased in over several years.
Not all Seattle teachers will participate immediately because standardized tests aren’t given in all subjects. Teachers with low growth in student scores will be offered added support.
Elsewhere in Washington state, selected school districts are piloting new forms of teacher evaluations. The superintendent of public instruction will choose a model to recommend to the Legislature. By 2013, teacher evaluations should become uniform throughout the state.
Coons said Tacoma is already exploring new evaluation methods at Jason Lee Middle School – one of three Tacoma schools where a federal grant is driving reforms this year. A new evaluation method is expected to be in place next school year at Jason Lee.
Jarvis said Tacoma hopes to develop a system that will mesh with whatever the state mandates. But he said he doesn’t want to wait to act.
Other topics likely to come up during the forums and in negotiations include how to best support teachers who need help, how to compensate top performers and how to create incentives for teachers who take on the toughest assignments.
How teachers are assigned to schools is another subject that will likely be up for discussion. Seniority now governs most teacher assignments in the district, but Tacoma recently has experimented with changes in that system at some middle schools.
“We realize there is going to be change,” Coons said. “We are walking into new territory.”
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.