How to evaluate teachers

The following letter to the editor was printed in today's Washington Post:

The debate over teacher evaluations is not about whether to include student data but how to do it and whether it makes sense to use state tests that are not aligned with the Common Core State Standards that Maryland and 44 other states have adopted. New tests aligned with these standards will be implemented starting in the 2014-15 school year. The Montgomery County Public Schools have begun implementing curricula that align with these standards, but as Superintendent Joshua P. Starr pointed out in his Feb. 8 op-ed, “Time out on standardized testing,” we need time to roll out the new curricula.

Holding teachers accountable in a prescriptive way for tests that do not match what we are teaching is not fair and works against effective implementation of these standards statewide. Our Teacher Professional Growth System, which has been in place for 13 years, already holds teachers accountable and results in high student achievement. Should we agree to a system that impedes progress?

Doug Prouty, Rockville
The writer is president of the Montgomery County Education Association

Take the 2013 TELL Maryland Survey

Take the 2013 TELL Maryland Survey

The 2013 TELL Maryland Survey is an online, statewide, confidential survey for school-based certificated educators which begins on February 4 and ends on March 1. It is different from the Gallup Survey you took earlier this school year. This year’s survey will employ the same questions as the 2011 TELL Survey, which received nearly 46,000 responses, representing more than 51 percent of the state's educators. Please take the time to participate in this important survey. All information can be found by clicking on the TELL Maryland Survey link above. The completely random and anonymous codes provided by the state will be distributed by school administrations soon.

If you have not received yours, contact the Maryalnd TELL Help Desk at helpdesk@tellMaryland.org, by toll free phone at 1-855-258-2818 (between 7:30am and 4:30 pm) or use the instant message feature on the www.tellMaryland.org website during Help Desk Hours (7:30am - 4:30pm).

Dr. Starr in EdWeek

EdWeek's Anthony Cody interviewed MCPS Superintendent Dr. Starr recently. Check out what Dr. Starr has to say about the burden of standardized testing, Race to the Top, and the "ed reform" movement.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/01/interview_with_joshua_starr_ex.html

Can you take the SNAP Challenge?

If you could only spend $5 a day on food, how do you think you would manage?  That is what it is like for people who qualify for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The average benefit a person who qualifies for this important program receives is $4.28 a day for food.

We don't often think of Montgomery County as a place where many would qualify for such a program, but there are thousands of households in the county who apply for access to the program every month.

Montgomery County Council member Valerie Ervin invites you to join her in taking the SNAP Challenge and highlight how it feels to live in poverty. Members of the County Council, our state legislative delegation, and Board of Education have committed to taking the challenge. You can find more information on the SNAP Challenge and who is involved by clicking this link.  And you can follow people and tell your story on Council Member Ervin's special Facebook page.

Can you spend the week of February 4-8 living on $5 a day for food? Take the SNAP Challenge and find out.