On Tuesday the Bridgeport Board of Education’s Personnel Committee unanimously voted to recommend the approval of a revamped, more streamlined teacher evaluation system.

The evaluation system unveiled on Tuesday by the district’s Teacher Evaluation Committee isn’t actually “new,” as Bridgeport was among the ten districts to pilot the state’s teacher evaluation system back in 2012.

Like most districts statewide, Bridgeport opted to develop their own evaluation system based on the state’s guidelines. The district’s evaluation system, however, had to be revamped when the state decided in January to give districts added flexibility.

The biggest change to this year’s plan is the number of classroom observations. During the pilot, it was required that teachers be evaluated six times a year, including three informal and three formal evaluations. That number was downgraded to between one and four, depending on a teacher’s tenure status and their previous year’s evaluation.

Also, instead of using the term “proficient,” the new system in Bridgeport will designate teachers as “accomplished.”

If you’d like to take a look at the full plan, I’ve uploaded a copy of the overview:

Educator Support and Evaluation Plan 2014-15 by Megan Elizabeth DeSombre

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