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Commissioner John King issued this statement Thursday: "The new evaluation plan is great news for Buffalo teachers, administrators, parents, and most important, Buffalo students. It's a strong step toward helping teachers and principals improve their practice, which will in turn help students improve their performance and build a better future. Our goal is to make sure every student graduates from high school ready to succeed in college or careers. Buffalo's evaluation plan is a major step toward helping Buffalo students reach that goal."
Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Pamela Brown issued this statement: We are extremely pleased to have to come to agreement on all sides in this two-year approval that will allow students to benefit from sorely needed funding. Not only have we made the deadline for $33 million in funding, but through this approval, we stand to recover most of the funding dating back to July 1st of 2012.
In addition, we will be eligible to apply for School Improvement Grant funding for 9 additional schools for the 2013-14 school year. Another added benefit of the two-year agreement is that it will free the District and the Buffalo Teachers Federation from the distraction of reapplying for the upcoming school year, allowing us to concentrate our efforts on teaching and learning.
This is a big win for the students of Buffalo that clearly shows the dedication of all the adults involved—the Buffalo Teachers Federation, the Buffalo Council of School Administrators, the New York State Education Department, and District staff, and all community members who supported our efforts.
Regent Bob Bennett told WBEN earlier in the day there were some minor issues in the agreement that had to be worked out. "There was some language about the appeal process, and about the use of Buffalo Public Schools as opposed to district, I guess that's a legal issue," explains Bennett. He adds timing issues and which criteria go into which of the three categoriess, worth 60, 20 and 20 points.
Bennett says the adjustments were minor, but the staff is serious about the letter of the law. "They did their job, Buffalo did its job, and we move on from here," notes Bennett.
Today is the deadline for the districts statewide to have teacher evaluation plans approved.