Odessa one of eight districts chosen for evaluation grant

Eight public school districts have been selected to participate in the Teacher Principal Evaluation Project (TPEP) Regional Implementation Grant for the 2011-12 school year.

The eight districts will make up a consortium, led by NorthEast Washington Educational Service District (NEWESD) 101, collaborating on a state grant aimed at improving teacher and principal evaluation systems. These districts will be part of a second phase of a multi-year state grant that began last year with the development of new evaluation criteria for both groups of professionals.

The eight districts – Cheney, Chewelah, Lind, Nine Mile Falls, Odessa, Ritzville, Spokane and West Valley – will collaborate in exploring three instructional frameworks that will serve as the foundation for a teacher evaluation system to be piloted the following year. Additionally, a revised evaluation system for principals will be developed and implemented along the same timeline as for teachers.

The work of these districts, along with the work of the TPEP pilot sites begun last year, will inform the statewide implementation of revised teacher and principal evaluation systems in the 2013-14 school year.

Whereas current evaluation systems place their heaviest emphasis on professional preparation and content knowledge, the new systems place maximum focus on student achievement and high expectations.