The Virginia Board of Education (VBOE ) is interested in hearing recommendations from the education stakeholder groups regarding closing the achievement gap. VASSP received an invitation to meet and present information to the VBOE Board’s Accountability Committee on May 22, 2013. VASSP along with 10 other stakeholders that are members of the Virginia Education Coalition (VEC) met on May …
Tag: Accountability
Sep 25
“Triggers” to Success
As principals and school leadership teams focus on continuous improvement efforts, they must address the three major indicators of Achievement, Attendance, and Discipline. It is important to track each individual student in each of these areas. Intervention needs to occur at defined times. Intervention cannot be a choice; it must be a mandate. Schools cannot …
Sep 07
More Thoughts on Teacher Evaluation Frameworks
The August 28th Principal Insight blog entry provided viewpoints on revised teacher evaluation processes from school divisions in various parts of our country. Shortly after this blog was posted, an article appeared in Education Week that offers a position challenging the multi-step, time consuming processes associated with many of the revised evaluation programs. Mike Schmoker’s article, “The Next Education Fad – …
Aug 28
We Are Not Alone With Regard to New Evaluation Standards
When you consider the task that many Virginia administrators will face with the revised evaluation standards, it could make many of them consider other areas of employment…becoming an astronaut comes to mind. Outer space always seems to be a peaceful place. Alas, that is not realistic, but the reality of a new and intensive task …
Aug 21
When Value-Added Does Not Add Value
This blog post is listed on the NASSP blog “Principal Difference” which is created by Mel Riddle, a former Virginia high school principal and VASSP board member. It was written by Stuart Singer, author of The Algebra Miracle If there is wisdom in the belief that important lessons can be learned from the mistakes of …
Apr 30
The 40% Solution……Stay Tuned!
“No Board of Education meeting would be complete without some discussion of NCLB” commented the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Pat Wright at the State Board of Education’s annual retreat on April 25th. The State Board will also have to do more than discuss the response to a number of waiver requests. This week …
Feb 09
VASSP Position on HB 576
The opening of the General Assembly’s 2012 session brought legislation with new potential challenges for Virginia school administrators. Perhaps the most controversial piece of legislation was presented by Delegate Richard Bell, R-Staunton, HB 576. The bill, a continuation of Governor McDonnell’s performance based teacher incentive from the 2011 session, places new deadlines and accountabilities on …
Nov 29
Extend Your Thinking on Merit Pay
Governor McDonnell campaigned on the idea of merit pay for teachers and administrators. Whether you agree or disagree with his idea, I think you have to respect someone who actually implements something they campaigned on. Approximately 10% of the school divisions are piloting a merit /incentive pay plan during this school year using the revised teacher …
Nov 21
Changes ARE Coming with State Waivers and You DO NOT WANT Your School Involved
Educators have been asking for years for changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and to the way schools are identified as failing schools through the use of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). It appears those changes are forthcoming. Since Congress has lagged in its efforts to reauthorize NCLB, the President and Secretary of Education …