In a rare convergence of opinion, everyone agrees that today’s checklist approach to teacher evaluation is not working- for students, teachers or administrators. Reform advocates pushed for changes to both in the 1980’s, but they came to naught.

Will the results be different this time around? Will meaningful teacher evaluation and compensation be adopted on Chicago, in Illinois and across the nation? What can we learn from the various ”pilots” of the past decade in Chicago and elsewhere: the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), Charlotte Danielson’s Excellence in Teaching framework, peer evaluation, bonus pay to attract specialized teachers?

Are we trying to solve too many problems with one tool? Will we “get it right?”

Who is the Next Generation of Teachers?

Susan Moore Johnson, Jerome T Murphy Professor in Education and director of The Project on The Next Generation of Teachers at the Harvard Graduation School of Education, talks about a decade’s worth of wide-ranging research on “ Next Generation of Teachers” and its implications for teacher evaluation and compensation.

Response:
Karen Lewis, President of Chicago Teachers Union, shares the perspective of a new union leadership that is taking a community organizing approach to school improvement issues.

Peter Martinez, director of school leadership coaching, UIC Urban Education Leadership Program, and a veteran school reform advocate, speaks to the responsibilities and realities of teacher evaluation from the vantage point of reform-minded principals.