Amity Schools Piloting New Teacher Evals

 The Amity Regional School District will be one of ten school districts in the state piloting a new teacher and principal evaluation program.

A key part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s education reforms was overhauling the way evaluations are handled, and 36 districts applied to take part in the program. The pilot program begins in the 2012-13 school year. The rest of the state is expected to adopt the changes in the following year.

 “The fact is that many of our state’s schools and most of our teachers are doing a tremendous job in preparing our students for the challenges they will face as adults,” Malloy said in a statement. “But without a fair and reliable evaluation system, teachers and administrators are left with no clear indicators of where they are succeeding and where they should improve.  Learning everything we can from this pilot is a huge part of getting us to that goal.” 

According to a press release issued by the governor’s office, the recently passed education reform, “requires annual performance evaluations of principals, administrators, and teachers, based upon a new standard of “effective practice” and a consensus framework developed by the state’s Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC).”

The following districts were selected to begin the evaluations in the coming school year.

• Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge
• Branford
• Bridgeport
• Capitol Region Education Council (CREC)
• Columbia, Eastford, Franklin, and Sterling
• Litchfield and Region 6
• Norwalk
• Waterford
• Windham
• Windsor