New York City has a new teacher evaluation system that has been imposed by the State’s Commissioner of Education. This is a move in the right direction because we need an effective measure of teacher ability to assure that every classroom is lead by a competent professional. Unfortunately, it did not come in time for the Department of Education to be eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money. This is inexcusable, but the reality. However, we must move ahead. Looking at the new evaluation criteria, I see that just about every component of the education process is involved in the equation ̶ principals, achievement of performance goals, students’ opinions of their teacher(s), standardized test scores. The one component of the education environment, and an important one, that is absent from the newly implemented system is the student’s parent or guardian. If we want to see the much needed significant turnaround of our City’s education system, we must encourage more parental/guardian involvement. They must be a part of the education process. After all, who is going to make sure that a student does his homework or studies for her test? Of course, it’s the parent or guardian. Who can provide reinforcement of what the teacher is doing in the classroom; once again it’s the parent or guardian. They are in the unique position, even more so than most students, of picking up a problem in the classroom since they are getting feedback from their child, often talking with other parents, seeing how their child comes home from school and evaluating the academic progress being made. Add to this their maturity and experience and it’s obvious that parents/guardians should be part of the teacher evaluation process. My administration will call on the State Education Commissioner, Dr. John B. King, Jr., to add parents/guardians to the teacher evaluation equation. We need a viable education system immediately. Every semester that we allow the current situation to continue threatens the future of tens of thousands of our young people.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:18:22 +0000
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