The state Department of Education approved the Lenape Regional High School District’s Teaching Practice Evaluation Instrument “as part of the state’s plan to implement annual professional performance reviews of classroom teachers,” according to a recent release.
Schools were required to begin implementation of AchieveNJ by the 2013–14 school year.
According to the DOE, previous evaluations were often subjective and infrequent, and better teaching and learning did not result. The state had been working on the new evaluation system since 2011. It was launched statewide in the fall.
According to the release, LRHSD Superintendent of Schools Carol L. Birnbohm and a team of educators representing all of the district’s schools completed the DOE’s rigorous Request for Qualification for the evaluation instrument application.
In addition to teacher evaluations, tenure procedures have been changed.
According to the DOE, educators are eligible to earn tenure after four years, one year longer than it took under the previous law. In addition, for teachers, principals, assistant principals and vice principals, TEACHNJ links the earning and keeping of tenure to the results of the employee’s annual combined evaluation.
“We were gratified to be notified that Lenape’s evaluation tool was placed on the state’s list of Approved Teaching Practice Evaluation Instruments, which reinforces our commitment to our ‘home grown’ model,” Birnbohm said in the release.
Additional schools in the area have made the change, including Cherry Hill and Moorestown.
The change will be positive financially for the district. LRHSD will stand to see $70,000 in cost savings per year by implementing its own evaluation instead of contracting with a third party, officials said.
LRHSD has been implementing the Research for Better Teaching Inc. model for the past 16 years as the professional development model.
RBT has been used to aid and develop educators, promote collegiality, develop leadership skills for strong school and district culture and build in-house professional development in all LRHSD schools to ensure skillful teaching, according to the release.
The release also states that when the DOE in 2012 announced its plans to require school districts to implement state-mandated evaluation instruments, the district organized the District Evaluation Advisory Committee to analyze its RBT-based teacher evaluation instrument to ensure alignment with the requirements.
Birnbohm credits the members of the DEAC, who worked together for nearly a year, for spearheading the district’s successful RFQ application, the release said.
“This truly was a district-wide effort that engaged administrators and teaching staff representing the Education Association. It was representative of the teamwork that defines the Lenape District and reinforces our focus on professional excellence and the success and well-being of every student,” Birnbohm said in the release.
LRHSD Director of Curriculum and Instruction Heather Xenakis, who chaired the DEAC and coordinated the RFQ application process, is unequivocally dedicated to the district’s continued success using the RBT pedagogical model, which reinforces a common language between teachers and administrators, which is critical to improve instruction, officials said.
“Having high expectations for professional growth is the backbone for success in the classroom,” Birnbohm said.
“We realize many benefits using our own model,” Xenakis said. “Teachers have a comfort level with RBT terminology and ideology because it has been part of our professional development for 16 years. District teachers serve as RBT in-district trainers and lead all professional development coursework. And last, but not least, the district realizes huge savings each year.”
