NYC Parent Calls for an Agreement on Teacher Evaluations
In a recent op-ed published by the New York Daily News, the father of two Brooklyn public school students gives a first-hand account of just how important it is that the teachers' union and City officials come to an agreement on a new teacher evaluation deal. This Brownsville parent, who has twin daughters enrolled in different kindergarten classes, says that the difference in teacher quality he observes in their classrooms is unfair to his children:
They go to the same neighborhood elementary school and sit in classrooms right next to each other. It’s clear to me, however, that this year, they are not getting the same high-quality education.
One has a teacher who always seems to go the extra mile. She works hard to understand my daughter as a person and pushes her to learn and grow. My other daughter has a teacher who appears to do the bare minimum.
He writes that he has joined other concerned parents and StudentsFirstNY to urge the teachers' union and the Department of Education to reach an agreement on a new system for teacher evaluations by the January deadline so his daughters both have the same chance at succeeding in the future:
A new evaluation system will, I hope, help my one daughter’s outstanding teacher start to get the credit she deserves for her hard work. Maybe she can share her successful techniques with others so they can improve. It will also help my other daughter’s teacher understand that just getting by is not enough.
