West Deptford Readies for Year Two of Teacher Evaluation Program

It was just last year when West Deptford School District began using a new teacher evaluation system called the Excellent Educators for New Jersey (EE4NJ). The district was selected as just one of 11 to participate in the pilot launch during the 2011-12 school year.

Now, one year later, the positive effects of the program are apparent, according to Kristin O'Neill, the district's director of curriculum and instruction.

“There were so many benefits within the districts last year that were awesome,” said O'Neill. “There was a new focus on the conversation with the teachers last year.”

The pilot program has changed the way West Deptford teachers at all levels are evaluated. Teachers are given a grade based on a combination of students' performance, administrative evaluation and teacher portfolios. New protocols have been put into place and O'Neill said the setup has greatly improved the relationship between the teachers and administration.

“The new teacher evaluation system gave us a structure and align them into one document and focus the conversation,” she said. “Teachers in all areas had to look at the standards, unpack them and working on refining them.”

After the school year ended, teachers and administrators from the school district gathered to review feedback from both parties. The feedback was used to help make some minor changes for the second year of the system. Some of these changes include using external evaluators to grade teachers and by also making changes to walk-throughs for collecting data. The final documents for the 2012-13 evaluation program are being finalized.

Overall, the pilot program has been expanded for this school year. Last year, the only South Jersey school districts using the program were West Deptford, Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional and Ocean City. This year, four more South Jersey districts were selected to participate: Bordentown Regional, Collingswood, Haddonfield and Woodbury City.

The state Board of Education is preparing to launch the program statewide for the 2013-14 school year. All of the districts in the state are required to complete training with the teachers and administrators on the new program prior to next year.

There has been some controversy statewide about the new program, with some stating that it punishes teachers. O'Neill believes it does the opposite.

“When you really look at the premise and why it's there, it's designed to help our teachers better educate our students,” she said. “I honestly couldn't be more proud of our teachers, they've been great about the whole process.

“In New Jersey, we are incredibly fortunate to have one of the most talented teaching forces in the country, and we owe every educator the feedback and support they need to continually improve upon their practice,” acting Board of Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said in a press release. “We are taking a thoughtful and measured approach to make sure that we get this new evaluation system right. The work of educators in our pilot districts have already provided important information and will continue to guide us as we move to implement the new system across the state in the 2013-14 school year.