NJSP School Board Approves New Evaluation Plan

North Judson-San Pierre Superintendent Lynn Johnson

The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week approved the new teacher evaluation plan for the current school year. Superintendent Lynn Johnson explained that they had been previously evaluating certified staff members “per negotiation,” which she explained separated the teachers into three categories: semi-permanent, tenured, and newly-hired.

This caused some employees to be evaluated every year while others would undergo evaluations every three years. Now, however, Johnson said all certified staff members are evaluated annually. While this does increase the paperwork and process that principals and other administrators are required to go through, Johnson said it’s worth it.

“But the feedback has been very valuable, and it really has helped really get the focus on student learning. So I can’t say that it has been bad; the process has been good, and now just making the process better so it works for everyone,” said Johnson.

Johnson explained that they have switched to the RISE evaluation model that had been developed by the state to evaluate teachers and principals. On top of that, the process also includes annual evaluations for the superintendent.

The current contract for teachers does not expire until Aug. 2013, which Johnson explained is rather fortunate, because that allows them to use the current school year as a “pilot year” for the new evaluation model. Right now, she explained, it’s a learning tool and they will be able to tweak various aspects of it to make it work more smoothly for the corporation.