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APPR Plan
To all BTA members:
As you know, our school district is required by the state to assess its teachers with an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR Plan). On the local level, this plan was collectively bargained between the school district and the Bedford Teachers' Association. Because it was negotiated by the BTA, the APPR Plan is part of our contract with the school district.
As part of its reform agenda for strengthening teaching, the NYS Board of Regents has made a policy determination to make three major changes to the current APPR for teachers:
1) The proposed amendment to the APPR requires school districts to include student growth as a mandatory criteria in the evaluation of teachers. The proposed amendment includes student growth as one of multiple evaluation criteria to be used in the evaluation of teachers and defines student growth as a positive change in student achievement between at least two points in time as determined by the school district.
2) The proposed amendment requires school districts to rate all teachers utilizing the following uniform quality rating categories: Highly Effective, Effective, Developing and Ineffective.
3) The proposed amendment requires all school districts to provide timely and constructive feedback to the teacher; to include in its professional performance plan a description of how it will provide it.
On our behalf, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) - worked with the NYS Board of Regents to establish the following:
A) District implementation will be delayed until September 2011 (we have over a year to revise our plan). This will give the school district and the BTA time to collaborate on a plan specific for BCSD. B) These revisions shall also be collectively bargained between the Bedford Teachers' Association and the Bedford Central School District. C) To assist the BTA in defining student growth for our APPR plan, the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) will commission research on multiple measures with help from national experts. D) NYSUT will develop model language that the BTA can use when negotiating the revised APPR Plan with the school district.
There is a long standing district wide APPR committee in place and we shall give you periodic updates on its progress. Certainly if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Finally, there are still some seats available on this committee. If you are interested in joining, please contact me or your BTA Building VP as soon as possible.
