SED Releases 10 Model Evaluation Plans;

State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. announced that he has approved and posted ten model teacher and principal Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) evaluation plans and provided feedback to over 100 districts.  These plans were submitted as required under the revised teacher and principal evaluation law passed earlier this year. 

"These districts and their teachers and principals should all be commended for their hard work and commitment to excellence in completing this important task," said King. "I’m cautiously optimistic about the development, submission, review and approval of the remaining APPR plans.  The model plans approved today come from districts and teacher and principal unions that rolled up their sleeves and got the job done. There is a lot of work ahead but these plans will help generate positive momentum for other districts to send us approvable APPR plans."  

King reminded districts of the intent of the evaluation law, "These evaluation plans will help principals and teachers improve their practice, and that in turn will help students graduate from high school ready for college and careers.  That’s our goal in everything we do."

King said he anticipated approving many additional plans in the coming weeks as a result of the technical assistance being provided by the State Education Department (SED) and the availability of approved APPR model plans.  SED has provided written and verbal feedback to over 100 districts, with many plans expected to be near approval as issues are resolved. SED created and manages an online portal for school districts to certify and submit evaluation agreements. In addition to working directly with districts and BOCES to identify and correct issues in plan submissions, the Department has developed and provided extensive APPR information and guidance on EngageNY.org. 

However, King warned that, as required by the 2012 State Budget enacted by the Governor and Legislature, districts must have approved teacher and principal evaluation plans by January 17, 2013 in order to receive their 2012-13 state aid increase.  King said the comprehensive approval process is labor and time intensive. Every plan is subjected to a thorough analysis, including two separate reviews and a third review to reconcile any differences.  Districts which submitted plans on or before July 1, 2012 that do not comply with legal and regulatory requirements have been given written and verbal feedback in order to provide assistance and ensure only high-quality plans are ultimately approved and implemented. He noted that rigorous review of the plans can take four to six weeks and districts that have not submitted their APPR plans need to factor these timelines into their planning.

King further noted the plans being posted include several components that offer approvable options for other districts to consider in their own plans.  The selected approaches in these plans include the use of additional measures to evaluate educator effectiveness such as: student surveys, between 2 – 6 formal and informal observations of teaching practice, exceeding the statutory minimum requirement of at least two observations, the use of group measures to ensure district-wide commitments to increasing the percentage of students proficient in all state assessments, and the expectation that students linked to highly effective educators show both growth and high academic achievement.

A list of the districts with model plans can be found at: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/plans/home.html.  Plans will be posted on this website on an ongoing basis as they are approved in the coming days and weeks.