Rocky Mountain PBS and Education News Colorado hosted a lively panel discussion Friday on the state’s new educator effectiveness law, which will dramatically change how Colorado teachers and principals are assessed.
State officials are still working on implementation of the new legislation, officially known as the Great Teachers and Leaders Law. By 2014, at least 50 percent of educator evaluations will be based on students’ academic growth.
Panel members included:
- Michelle Mann, principal of Freed Middle School in Pueblo
- Henry Roman, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association
- Jessica Keigan, English teacher at Horizon High School in the Adams 12 Five Star School District and member of the Denver New Millennium Initiative
- Ulcca Hansen, Public Education and Business Coalition, who’s spent the past 18 months working with state officials on the new law
The discussion included concerns about evaluating the majority of teachers whose subjects are not covered on state exams, such as art and music, and how schools will cope with the demands of a new system after consecutive years of state budget cuts.
Watch the video below, go to the PBS site or download audio of the event:
Watch the full episode. See more Colorado State of Mind.