Superintendent Hardy Murphy is asking the Evanston/Skokie District 65 school board to withdraw the district from a state pilot program for speeding up the timetable for implementing a new teacher evaluation system.
The system, which incorporates data and indicators of student growth for teacher evaluations, is not required for implementation by District 65 until the 2016-17 school year, according to Murphy, but the district was considering participation in a state “Race to the Top” program that would require implementation during the 2012-13 year.
Under the state’s Performance Evaluation Reform Act, if the district were to participate in the pilot that would advance the implementation date, it would receive a portion of the state’s $376 million allocation from the federal government.
As it turns out, the district’s share of the allocation would be a mere $53,699.
“The scope of work that must be implemented with a very aggressive schedule for the 2012-13 school year,” Murphy said, “is not practical for District 65.”
The superintendent’s recommendation to withdraw the district from participation in the pilot program is part of the consent agenda for tonight’s board meeting, which means it will be adopted without discussion unless a board member requests that it be removed from the consent agenda.