If principals can do it, why can't we?

Original article in Huff Post Los Angeles by Ama Nyamekye.

The toxic debate over educator evaluation increasingly pits labor against management so it was encouraging to see LAUSD and the Administrators Association of LA strike a deal this week for evaluating public school principals. Not only will principals finally receive more meaningful feedback on their performance but the union also agreed that student growth data -- the major sticking point in the ongoing fight over teacher evaluations -- could be one factor on which principals are rated.

The question for us is clear: If we can do this for our principals, why can't we do this for our teachers?

Amid the rancor of the current debate, we have forgotten the very purpose of evaluation, which is in itself a starting point. While some have regularly portrayed evaluation as a tool for firing bad teachers, evaluation is actually a starting point for keeping more teachers in our classrooms and making them better. 

To read the complete article, visit Huff Post Los Angeles.