Tennessee education commissioner wants teacher evaluation streamlined

NASHVILLE — State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced today he will ask the State Board of Education to streamline the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

“We have said from the beginning that we will listen and respond to feedback from educators on this evaluation model, and that is exactly what we’re doing,” Huffman said in a news release.

The “adjustment made sense, and, if approved, our evaluation system will be stronger because of it,” he said.

Huffmann had come under pressure from teachers and some lawmakers to alter the new evaluation process.

According to the department, the change allows principals to conduct two of the required in-class observations in succession, allowing principals to conduct just one pre- and post-conference meeting for the combined observation.

In addition to streamlining the process, the move would allow greater scheduling flexibility both for principals and teachers.

Some school boards have objected to the new evaluation process, but the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents recently approved a resolution supporting the model.

The Education Department quoted the executive director of the superintendents’ association, Keith Brewer, saying school directors recognize the state’s use of the TEAM model “is an effective way to improve instruction among all teachers.”