New teacher evaluation system rolls out statewide

• The Professional Growth and Effectiveness System will be implemented in the 2014-2015 school year
• Educators from around the state learned about the new system during the Let%27s TALK conference
• prior to the PGES system%2C the state had 174 different evaluation plans
• The new system includes peer observation and gives students a chance to evaluate their teachers

K entucky's public school teachers will be getting a new evaluation system this fall that will allow more in-depth observation and student feedback.

The Professional Growth and Effectiveness System will be a pilot program across the state in the 2014-2015 school year and change the way teachers are observed, allow for personal professional growth and give students a chance to give feedback on their teachers.

Educators from around the state learned more about the new system during the second annual Let's TALK (Teaching Advocates Leading Kentucky) conference Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville.

Keynote speaker Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, discussed the changes in the teaching profession and said she could tell Kentucky teachers are invested in the new evaluation system.

"Standards of practice are what we should establish," she said.

Eddie Campbell, the National Education Association's director for Kentucky, teaches middle and high school in Knox County. He said the state had 174 different evaluation plans.

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"This growth system sets up a system that's the same, whether you're in Pikeville or Paducah," Campbell said.

In a breakout session at the conference, Campbell said observers will have to write out a detailed evaluation of the teacher, instead of just checking items off of a list. Administrators also will have to be trained and pass a certification test before they do teacher observations.

The new system includes peer observation and students will take surveys, which will be based on age group.

Michelle Cason, who teaches at Winburn Middle School in Lexington, said, "I think that it is less punitive and has potential for real growth."

However, Cason said she could see a problem with keeping the standards of the system the same throughout the state.

Because the system allows for more specific feedback, Campbell said, it allows teachers to grow in certain areas and also know in which areas they are doing well.

Campbell said he likes the system because it gives him multiple measures on which to judge his teaching.

"The new system is more about growing the craft of an educator," he said. "The old system was just a blanket system."

Reporter Taylor Harrison can be reached at 582-4589. Follow her on Twitter at @Taylorharrison5.

ONLINE

See more photos from the conference at www.courier-journal.com/education.