It is a systems bill focused on improving the capacity of the system to create a high-quality workforce.
The bill is knowledge-based and identifies the levers which contribute to the development of teaching as a knowledge-based profession.
The bill seeks to professionalize teaching and teacher leadership.
The bill’s accountability aspects require educators to show an ability to perform to professional standards.
The educator workforce must be professionalized if Massachusetts is to respond effectively to a changing state and global economy.
The primary result will be workforce excellence in teaching and leadership for all of our schools.
More specifically, we can expect:
Colleges to improve and align their teacher preparation programs with the schools
Better retention of beginning educators for huge cost savings, higher levels of teacher and administrator expertise, and better continuity of instruction for students
Improved outcomes of supervision and evaluation through (1) better quality feedback and learning for all teachers; (2) intensive assistance for struggling teachers; (3) use of student performance results and (4) expedited dismissal of unsatisfactory teachers
Higher standards, more accountability and consistency in educator preparation programs
Incentives to teach in hard-to-staff schools, especially for math and science teachers
More time and training for leaders who evaluate teachers on growth-oriented supervision and instructional coaching
Career path options for instructional leadership by teachers.
House 451/ Senate 284 should be the top legislative priority because research shows that teacher and administrator expertise are the most significant variables in student achievement. Without this legislation, we are compromising the effectiveness of all other school improvement efforts. The Working Group for Educator Excellence seeks your endorsement of House 451/ Senate 284.
Design of House 451/ Senate 284
The bill requires districts to develop a comprehensive plan that integrates all of the personnel processes impacting educator quality: recruitment, induction, evaluation, professional development, and instructional leadership over a three year period.
Districts will have flexibility in how they develop and strengthen each personnel process into an integrated system. Districts may choose the sequence of their approach for how they will address each personnel process over the three-year implementation period.
A statewide educator quality panel, in partnership with the Department of Education, will support the development, approval, and implementation of all long-term comprehensive plans. Panelists will be selected by the Department of Education from names submitted by designated stakeholder groups.
All preparation programs will be accountable for providing knowledge-based instruction beginning the fourth year after enactment. Preparation programs must partner with school districts and teachers’ associations to create professional development schools that build a seamless path for continuous development of expertise throughout an educator’s career
Promote Grassroots Support
