Community Engagement Group Briefing

Greetings!

Our Community Engagement Group has been organized for participants to go more deeply into the Empowering Effective Teachers initiative. However, there are many constituencies who need to know what's happening and parents of students in the schools are certainly an important one. If you currently have a student in one of the public schools, you've probably already seen this. But for those who have not, please see this informational piece from Superintendent MaryEllen Elia to parents.

EET Parent Letter

Measures of Effective Teaching

Hillsborough County is one of a select number of sites nation wide that received an additional grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to use advanced video technology to begin measuring what makes effective teachers successful. While originally the BMGF planned on waiting till 2012 to release the final findings, there has been enough interest that they have released preliminary reports.

Please find links to these reports here ....Teacher Effectiveness Evidence Brief and MET Preliminary Findings Research Paper.

In summary preliminary findings that have emerged and are discussed in the report(s) are

The teachers who are successful in generating value-added gains on state tests also tend to help students understand math concepts or demonstrate reading comprehension through writing (classes with a strong focus on preparing for the state test were not the highest-performing on those tests)
Students perceptions can help identify effective teachers and point to specific aspects of teacher practice that need improvement.
Valid teacher feedback need not be limited to test scores alone.

Save the Date

As you may recall, the State United Way received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to assist with public engagement around effective teachers around the state. They've held a series of listening sessions and will be in the Tampa area in early February for a state summit around this work.

If you can, please reserve February 1, 2011 from 7:30am - 4:00pm for the United Way of Florida Empowering Effective Teachers State Summit.

Be on the lookout for an invitation with details and RSVP from Mary Gamble shortly.

Staying Connected

Here are recent articles and media hits around developments in the EET initiative:

Newsweek interview with Bill Gates and Randi Weingarten (President of the American Federation of Teachers) in which Hillsborough is mentioned. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/20/gates-and-weingarten-fixing-our-nation-s-schools.html

Students can help with teacher evaluations, Gates study says

St. Pete Times

"Kids know what they're talking about when it comes to rating their own teachers" Read the article ...

Gates foundation research finds test score growth is sign of a good teacher

The Washington Post

"While debate rages in the education world about how to measure effective teaching - or whether it is even possible to do so - research funded by a prominent advocate of data-driven analysis has found that growth in annual student test scores is a reliable sign of a good teacher." Read the article ...

Districts Try Out Revamped Teacher-Pay Systems

Education Week.

"A handful of districts, some with the approval of their local teachers' unions, are experimenting with alternatives to the fundamental components that

govern teachers' base-pay raises." Read the article ...

Next Meeting - Save the Date

The next Community Engagement Group is scheduled for Monday, February 14, 2011 at Noon. It will be at our offices: 2306 North Howard Avenue, Tampa 33607.

We look forward to seeing you then! Thanks for your participation and have a Happy Holiday!

Sincerely,

Bill Hoffman
Hillsborough Education Foundation