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Race To The Top

With the commitment of $250 million from the federal government, Maryland has been inducted into the Race to the Top (RTTT) education reform initiative, aimed at creating a "world-class system that prepares students for college and career success in the 21st Century."

It is important to understand the proposed allocations for RTTT funding. It is also important to understand how the funding will impact Worcester County Public Schools.

Below is the likely distribution:

• The Maryland State Department of Education will receive half, or $125 million, to be used to implement RTTT initiates, such as aligning the Pre-K to 12 curricula with the new Common Core State Standards.

• Of the remaining $125 million, approximately half, or $67.5 million, will be allocated to the school systems which have schools performing at the lowest 5-percent in the state. (Worcester County Public Schools, a top performer in the state, will not receive any of these funds.) The school systems receiving these funds will likely be two of the 24 school districts: Prince George's and Baltimore City.

• The balance, or $67.5 million, will be distributed among the other 22 Maryland school systems. Funds will be restricted, meaning that they can only be spent in areas approved by the Maryland State Department of Education.

• Of the $67.5 million to be distributed to Maryland school systems, Worcester County Public Schools will receive $1.1 million, or approximately $250,000 a year for the four-year distribution period. Note: The cost to implement RTTT in our school system is estimated to be $5.1 million.

To achieve a globally-competitive status inherent in the RTTT philosophy, Maryland has developed five key strategies:

1. Ensure that all students are fully prepared for college and career in the 21st Century;
2. Build a statewide technology infrastructure that links all data elements with analytic and instructional tools to promote student achievement;
3. Develop and support Great Teachers and Great Leaders;
4. Implement STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics); and
5. Turn around low-achieving schools.

Under strategy #3 (Develop and support Great Teachers and Great Leaders), Maryland school systems are now required to publish information on how they evaluate teachers and principals. The purpose, according to RTTT, is to identify possible inequities, such as having a high percentage of unqualified teachers teaching students who have the most challenges (low-income and minority students).

Data from Worcester County Public Schools shows that such inequities do not exist. For example, an impressive 98.1 percent of core-content courses (from Pre-K to 12) are taught by highly-qualified teachers, as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act. It is important to understand that at the high school level, a teacher may teach three courses where the teacher is highly qualified and one course - such as Drama - where the teacher is not, by definition, highly qualified. This affects the overall percentage.

To comply with RTTT, the following sections are designed to help the public better understand the evaluation processes for Worcester County Public School teachers and principals:

Teacher Evaluations (2010-2011 school year):

Teachers are evaluated annually on seven criteria: Organization and Management; Learning Objectives; Teacher Scholarship; Planning; Resources and Materials; Human Relationship; and Acceptance of Responsibilities. Based on classroom observations, teachers will either receive a "Satisfactory" or an "Unsatisfactory," accompanied by supporting statements, on their annual evaluation. Teacher evaluations are completed by Principals.

The observation schedule is as follows:

• Tenured teachers (those having successfully completed three years of satisfactory experience with the school system, and therefore, earning a recommendation for tenure) will be observed every year in a formal instructional classroom by two different observers. 

• Non-tenured teachers, or probationary teachers, will be observed six times each year by two different observers.

• Teachers being considered for a Class II Certificate, based on performance concerns, will be observed four times by two different observers.

• Teachers holding a Class II Certificate, as a result of unsatisfactory performances, will be observed six times by two different observers.

• Non-Classroom Teachers, such as guidance counselors, media specialists, or curriculum specialists, do not receive an observation; rather, their annual evaluations are based on the completion of job targets established at the outset of the school year, with mid- and end-of-year reviews by principals.

At the onset of the 2010-2011 school year, Worcester County Public Schools does not have any Class II teachers.

Based on 2011 annual evaluations of teachers, Worcester County Public School teachers received the following evaluation designations by school:

BIS:  Berlin Intermediate School

BES: Buckingham Elementary School

CCSS: Cedar Chapel Special School

 OCES: Ocean City Elementary School

PES:  Pocomoke Elementary School

SES: Showell Elementary School

SHES:  Snow Hill Elementary School

SDMS:  Stephen Decatur Middle School

PMS:  Pocomoke Middle School

SHMS:  Snow Hill Middle School

PHS: Pocomoke High School

SHHS: Snow Hill High School

SDHS:  Stephen Decatur High School

WTHS:  Worcester Technical High School

To view the policy on teacher evaluations, please refer to our Policy Manual (located under the School Board tab), within Section III, Policy D-2.  For quick access to Section III, click on the link and scroll to page 18:  III-D-2

Principal Evaluations (2010-2011 school year):

Principals are evaluated annually by the Superintendent of Schools based on four criteria: Technical Competency; Interpersonal Relations; Management of Position Assignment; and Job Targets. Principals will either receive a "Satisfactory" or an "Unsatisfactory," accompanied by supporting statements, on their annual evaluation. Prior to the start of the school year, each principal - in consultation with the Superintendent - sets job targets. At the mid- and at the end of the school year, the Superintendent conducts a performance review. When evaluating a principal, student achievement and student growth are considered.

Based on 2011 annual evaluations of principals, Worcester County Public School principals received the following evaluation designations:

To view the policy on administrative evaluations, please refer to our Policy Manual (located under the School Board tab), within Section III, Policy D-1.  For quick access to Section III, click on the link and scroll to page 11: III-D-1

The purpose of the annual evaluation process - for both teachers and principals - is to make sure that the needs of all students are being met.