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Saturday, April 17, 2010
Teachers OK Link To Student Performance
By Martin Salazar
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
Union leaders have agreed to tie teacher evaluations to student performance, despite previous resistance to the idea, state Education Secretary Veronica Garcia said Friday.
Garcia said with that concession, she is ready to recommend that Gov. Bill Richardson apply for the second round of Race to the Top money.
"I feel like we got there with the unions," Garcia said after holding 1 1/2 days of meetings on the issue. "There's still some devil in the details. But I think they are in agreement with working out a plan that ties teacher evaluation to student performance."
One reason New Mexico failed to get money in the first round of competitive Race to the Top grants was a critical letter from Albuquerque Teachers Federation president Ellen Bernstein.
Her letter raised concerns about the state's application and claimed it didn't represent the ideas contributed by advisory team members.
Bernstein could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Last month she told the Journal she had been prepared to talk about linking teacher evaluations and student performance when the initial application was worked on, but the Education Department never broached the subject.
She also said she had concerns that current student testing is far too limited to determine what value a teacher adds to student learning. She asked how those who teach chemistry, art and other subjects would be evaluated, given that there's no annual state test in those areas.
Among those with whom Garcia met Thursday and Friday were school board members and school administrators, business leaders, higher education officials, lawmakers and teachers, along with teacher unions.
The consensus was that New Mexico should try again for the funding, Garcia said.
Only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, walked away with money in the first round of Race to the Top, part of the Obama administration's plan to reform the nation's education system. The deadline for applying for the remaining $3.4 billion is June 1.
New Mexico initially sought $160 million in the first round of Race to the Top. For the second round it would be only able to apply for $75 million.
Garcia said she promised union representatives they would play a central role in figuring out how to tie the evaluations to student performance in a way that is fair. One recommendation is that the governor meet with unions on the issue.
Garcia said among the issues discussed this week was the need to hold teacher colleges accountable for the graduates they produce and how to provide incentives to teachers so they will go to schools that are hard to staff.
And, Garcia said, everyone seemed to agree the Race to the Top application needs support from all stakeholders.
"What I thought was really great about the conversations that we had was that folks felt that regardless of Race to the Top ... that we need to continue to move forward (on) school reform," Garcia said.
She said everyone seemed to recognize the Obama administration is pushing for things like judging teachers based on their students' performance, so they might as well come up with a plan.
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