The New York Council of School Superintendents and the New York School Boards Association issued the following joint statement in opposition to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s latest proposal to change teacher evaluation:
Media Contacts:
David Albert, NYSSBA 518-783-3716 (w), 518-320-2221(c) Robert Lowry, NYSCOSS 518-435-5996
Joint statement of Robert Reidy Jr., Executive Director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents and Timothy Kremer, Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association regarding announced details of a new teacher evaluation law within the New York State Budget:
“The well-known definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Since 2010, legislation to change the teacher evaluation system in New York has been passed three times. The proposals currently under consideration as a part of state budget negotiation will be the fourth attempt in five years.
In 2012, the Governor and the Legislature passed changes to the evaluation system and tied the annual increase in school funding to adoption of local, collectively bargained plans by a deadline. Many of the deficiencies of the current system which the Governor cites are the direct result of that linkage, which forced districts to bargain APPR plans with the threat of losing state aid hanging over their heads. Now policymakers are considering the same thing again hoping for a different outcome.
Also under consideration is the mandated use of independent evaluators. According to school leaders, the current observation measure, done by actual supervisors, is the one positive element of the present system. The conversations about how to improve instruction are what lead directly to improved learning for students. Introducing an unaffiliated “independent” evaluator to this practice would undermine the one successful piece of the current evaluation law.
Together these proposals represent yet another costly unfunded mandate on local school districts, while jeopardizing their ability to access needed state aid.
The current teacher evaluation system is not perfect, and changes are certainly warranted, but this proposal would double down on the system’s deficiencies and undermine its current successes.
We urge all decision makers to stand strong and reject these misguided proposals.”
New York State Council of School Superintendents 7 Elk Street, 3rd Floor
Albany, NY 12207
518.449.1063
New York State School Boards Association 24 Century Hill Drive, Suite 200 Latham, NY
518.783.0200
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Perhaps we could start a movement among all educators in NY to refuse to perform these third person evaluations. Just Say No!
THAT will never happen. Too many consultant firms composed of professors, administrators, and people no longer working for NYSED will come crawling out of the woodworks to offer and compete for their services.
Hell, if I ever lose my job, I can at least apply for a job with them.
Russ, it is purely un-American to resist merchandising other people’s dignity. Everything here is for sale: Wholesale, retail, discounted, and clearance.
Kiddies are profitable.
Let’s get used to it.
From SAANYS: APPR Position Statement – Updated 3/25
https://saanys.org/news/appr-position-statement-updated-325/
These are two recent articles on the new teacher evaluation plan in NY.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/03/8565167/details-begin-emerge-new-teacher-evaluation-system
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/03/8565148/state-ed-aid-increase-tied-new-evaluation-plans
Reblogged this on John Craven's Blog and commented:
A candle in the darkness!
I think Ted Morris would make a fine “independent evaluator.”
The NY state Regents already OK’d his impeccable credentials once, so he should be a shoe in.
Show some respect, SomeDAM Poet!!!!!
That’s “DOCTOR Ted Morris”, not “Ted Morris”.
You are right, he deserves more from the likes of SomeDAM Poet
“Doctor of Fullofsophy”
I have a PhD
I got it on Craigslist
It’s really worth the fee
And really can’t be dissed
It’s got official seal
From Harvardprinceton U.
With Ivy League appeal
And lots of gold leaf too
I got it for a fifty
They wanted 75
The frame is really nifty
And really worth the drive
I hung it in my den
Above my other laurels
My MD from U Pen
And Noble Prize in Morals
It really comes in handy
When I apply to jobs
The thing is really dandy
And earns me bucks in gobs
I’m really glad I waited
To get my PhD
Cuz Craigslist was just fated
To give the thing to me
We all know NYSED isn’t going to do that. They’ll contract it out to Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Measured Progress, or Measurement Incorporated. The company that wins the contract will then hire temp workers on Craigslist for $12 an hour. Don’t worry the folks they hire will all be “Professional Evaluators”. They will have at least a B.S. and get 4 hours of training. Those “professionals” will be monitored and daily reports will be generated to validate that the rating they give are within the correct range. 6 weeks after all teachers are evaluated and all the data is entered into a database, NYSED will determine the cut score for teachers. This will ensure that the required percentage of teachers are rated as ineffective.
Cuomo, like other reformists, are pulling planks from the hull to build a better mast.
I thought he was building an airplane in mid-air . . . .
Same differance.
Just like the Common Core tests Are a secret, the indicators that teachers will be evaluated by will probably be a secret too….you will just get a number rating back for who knows what.
I would imagine the state will have their agenda clear to the evaluators that so many teachers better be found ineffective per school.
Wonder how much per hour the school will have to pay these guys….another unfunded mandate that we have to eliminate personnel , programs, and supplies for.
You will be writing on this blog for years and years and years to come. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop the education reform. Goodnight!
I agree.
Yeah. Reformers win. If NY went this route, the rest of the country is finished soon enough.
As a teacher in NY I have to truly begin the process of shedding my 13 years long identity as a teacher….a unionized teacher too. The true end is very close….maybe within 2 years, but the career is finished as of today. Tons to say re. NYSUT, NY dems, etc etc….but it’s all a waste of breath.
As far as fighting the reform/privatizing/taylorizing agenda….it’s a fine thing to do, but the real fight will be that next thing that we can’t imagine being privatized and taylorised. As a citizen, that is where I have to focus my attention. This battle is all over save for calling time of death and boxing up the remains. What will be the next thing? Fire departments? Libraries? ??
Try to get in front of that.
I wish I were wrong. Would love to be.
Regardless, just regaining and rebuilding what has been lost would take the total focus and effort of a generation. My career and lifetime fall way short of that.
So it goes.
NYSTeacher – I’m patting you on the back in a comforting way.
We can only hope that Cuomo’s successor in 2018 will over-turn this mess.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Yup, it’s all depressing. But I’m not ready to call it quits, certainly not now. A lot of the details of this wacky deal are still floating around out there. It could be worse than we think…..or maybe better? The confusion certainly doesn’t bode well for us.
Maybe this whole mess will cause people to dig in and really put up a fight.
I do know one thing…. Diane Ravitch and all the people who contribute to her blog just became more important than ever.
P.S. And THANK YOU to the “New York Education Leaders” referenced above for standing up for your students, teachers, staff and administrators. I’ll never forget the courageous leaders who have spoken out during the last few years of craziness in our state.
No white flags yet. The devil will be in the details. Way too many unanswered questions. The inertia of the public school system and the support of the vast majority of parents is on our side. Many parts of this plan are much easier said than done. Far too grandiose, and much too expensive. Cuomo officially owns this white-hot mess he created and his legacy will sink along with it.
This is very bad, but we shouldn’t stop fighting.
Just as I thought. Mulgrew is not an education leader. He’s not much of a union leader either.
If the government hires witch hunters, the witch hunters are going to find witches…
I just read the full proposal that will be voted on. It’s beyond bad.
Here’s an idea for the legislators:
Vote nay. Stop spending on technology and go back to chalk and talk or a whiteboard/pad/markers. Kids use paper and pencil.
Lots of money spent on tech. Take that out of the equation and we’re in better shape, budget wise.
Luddite!
(or at least that’s what I’ve been told.)
In this instance, “yes”. Not always. Tech is great but the abuse of it is absolutely terrible and we’re seeing that in our public schools.
Thanks for your support of Public Education! In NY again, poor schools are Not receiving th same monetary support with public money as the suburban schools, when they need more, to overcome the their social needs deprivation!
I live in Indiana and our evaluation system in my opinion is too subjective and often biased by your principal. I work so very, very hard and I feel this year I deserve a highly-effective rating but once again I have been rated merely effective. Highly-effective teachers in Indiana recieve an e,tra $700.00. I am retiring this year because of this unfair evaluation system. I can not and will not put myself through this any longer when I know I deserve better!
I was rated highly effective by my principal and asst principal. But the VAM brought me down to effective due to the test scores of kids in subjects that I don’t even teach.