Welcome to the December issue of the Colorado Teach Plus Teacher Network Newsletter. We hope you are well and ready to take a well deserved break this Holiday season. There won’t be a virtual session this month since we know you are pushing hard to support your students to end the year. News and NotesA new report on the impact of states to “toughen” teacher evaluations was just released by Brown University. The report titled The Effect of Teacher Evaluation on Achievement and Attainment: Evidence from Statewide Reforms, said that teacher evaluation reforms of the past decade had no significant impact on student achievement. While there is a lot to unpack with the assumption that teacher evaluations would impact student achievement alone, the report emphasizes the lack of effective implementation of teacher evaluation reforms as a major reason for their failure. Colorado teachers predicted this when they had the opportunity to pilot their own evaluation reforms in 2019. Teach Plus Colorado, working with other education organizations, led a group of teachers through a research and examination process of Colorado’s teacher evaluation system. Their work was captured in this report. Teachers had an opportunity to pilot their own evaluation ideas in their schools and districts. Educators found that the new teacher evaluation policies provided opportunities for teachers to grow and develop as professionals. The reason evaluation policies were not effective? Poor, and in some cases, improper interpretations of state law for teacher evaluations. In short, districts looked to be as efficient as possible at the expense of being as effective as possible. The axium, “Culture eats policy for breakfast” was never more evident than in this case. Putting teachers at the front of policy making, as was done in the work above, is what we do with the Colorado Teacher Network. We need your help in growing our network so that any and all K-12 policy that is created and implemented has been scrutinized by those who are closest to the work--the teachers. Please encourage your colleagues to join help so we can ensure practitioners are driving policy versus policy driving practitioners. National Webinar: A Conversation Between Teachers & Policy MakersThis year, many teachers have expressed complex feelings about the new challenges the return to in-person instruction brings for them, students and communities. Communities in the most under-resourced districts disproportionately bare the brunt of these new challenges. Policy makers in the U.S. Department of Education are listening and want to connect with teachers like you. A key leader at the U.S. Department of Education will participate in a conversation about school reopening, the state of our schools, teachers and students. Join Teach Plus, a senior U.S. Department of Education official and teachers from around the country for a webinar - where you will be able to submit questions in real time. What: “A Conversation Between Teachers & Policy Makers”When: Thursday, December 16, 5-6 p.m. PT; 6-7 p.m. MT; 7-8 p.m. CT; 8-9 p.m. ETWhere: ZoomQuestions: Dilan Pedraza, National Policy Specialist- dpedraza@teachplus.orgJessica Cardichon, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education We hope you get a chance to relax and spend time with your community and family this holiday season. Share the Network!Do you know a teacher who would like to be a Teacher Network Partner? Forward this email and ask them to apply now! |