Donna Chiera, a special education teacher in Perth Amboy who is also executive vice president for pre-K to 12 for AFT NJ, said she asked for the post because, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Chiera said evaluations should be tools to help teachers hone their skills. She said she believed in using multiple measures of student growth – such as reviewing classwork – and not just scores on yearly state tests. She said it’s also important to consider whether teachers have proper materials, how often students switch schools, and other variables that can affect learning, including parent engagement.
“Many teachers in the classroom are afraid this process is going to be used as a ‘getcha’ instead of as a process to truly improve teacher effectiveness,” she said, but added that she hoped to ensure it helped the profession.
From Christie names panel tasked with evaluating ways to assess N.J. teachers at http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/102810_Christie_names_panel_tasked_with_evaluating_ways_to_evaluate_NJ_teachers.html
LESLIE BRODY
The Record, STAFF WRITER