Long Beach Seeks Exemptions from New Evaluation Plan

Story and photos by Joley Welkowitz    

State testing and its impact on the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) - a state-mandated teacher, student and administrator evaluation plan - was the main subject of discussion at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting at Long Beach High School.   

Trustee Dr. Dennis Ryan asked Superintendent Dr. David Weiss if he would consider drafting a letter, along with other local superintendents, to the commissioner of the state Department of Education, asking to relax some terms of the three-day ELA/Math testing.  

“I think part of it is dealing with the madness of the state assessment and giving the state a message, but also sending a message to our teachers in the district, that we understand the pressure they are under,” Ryan said.  

This is the first school year the APPR program would be implemented, but Ryan and other trustees believe that, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, this year wouldn’t be an appropriate time to use the results of the ELA/Math test to judge both teachers and students.  

“I do think that given the circumstances Long Beach has been under, that we should take a lead in lobbying for our kids and our teachers,” Ryan said.  

Board President Roy Lester and Trustee Patrick Gallagher agreed with Ryan.  

“I think it is fair to recognize that our students have a disadvantage of some sort,” Gallagher said.  

Due to the nearly two weeks of school that Long Beach students missed in the wake of the hurricane, the district decided to make up for those days by eliminating multiple vacation days on the school calendar. The concern of the trustees and some parents is that students will not have the same amount of time in the classroom by April and May, when the ELA tests are issued, compared to other students in the state who were unaffected by Hurricane Sandy.   

Ari Pine, a parent, voiced his worry to the board. “My concern is whether or not the curriculum will be complete this year,” said Pine. “It makes me very nervous and wary to hear these issues that you are bringing up,” he continued.  

Superintendent Weiss reassured Pine that expectation for both students and teachers have not changed. “I do not think we are taking our eyes off of the standards or the outcomes, but I think we can relieve some things in the system that will allow us to really focus on the whole child and on academic results at the same time.”                                                             

APPR is an evaluation system for teachers, principals, psychologists and central office administrators that New York State was required to implement in order to continue receiving federal Race to the Top funds, which is money the U.S. Department of Education awards districts based on boosting student achievement on assessments. APPR is based on multiple measures of performance including student achievement and classroom observations.  

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in his State of the State address this past January that any district without an approved APPR plan by Jan. 17, 2013 would lose state aid. Districts will also be faced with additional costs for training, record keeping and grading of assessments.  

Andrew Coen contributed to this story.