LIHUE — Survey results released Monday said some state teachers are looking for a change.
The joint survey, conducted by the Hawaii State Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association, took in feedback on the Educator Effectiveness System and found some educators want the program revamped.
About 30 percent of teachers polled statewide responded. It found that one in five respondents indicated high levels of understanding the EES program while a comparable proportion indicated low levels of understanding of the EES.
One in five respondents indicated strong agreement that they have applied the EES information toward improving their professional practice, their instructional practice and toward improving student growth and learning.
“The joint survey reflected what we have been hearing from teachers,” said Wil Okabe, HSTA president. “That the EES is a work in progress, and teachers feel that more needs to be done so that the EES can help improve the practice of teaching. Our teachers clearly expressed the need for more time to implement the EES, more guidance, and more clarity of the expectations and process.”
A news release from the governor’s office said there were varying degrees in understanding the EES, but that it provided a good starting point in better identifying areas for improvement.
·An emerging theme identified in the survey was providing teachers more time to prepare for the various requirements within the components, more guidance and clarity, and providing examples of successful stories.
Kathryn Matayoshi, state schools superintendent, said the Department of Education is working with teachers, principals and other groups to review the survey results.
“The EES is intended to provide timely, actionable and professional feedback, and support to improve teacher practice and student outcomes,” she said.
The system has been controversial on Kauai, as some educators believe it places too much burden on teachers.
Kilauea School sixth-grade teacher Judy Waite said her first impression of the results and the state’s reaction means the state isn’t listening to teachers’ concerns.
“It seems that they are looking at the results through the filter of their desire and assumption that the EES works,” she said. “It doesn’t. We were lied to by the state, and were told that we would have an equal voice in changing or eliminating parts of the evaluation, and now we learn that we could get fired as early as next year for poor evaluations, on standards that we have not been trained in or learned. I feel that for the board to say that survey results show success of the EES is just one more bullying blow.”
Terry Low, Kauai High School teacher, agreed.
“The release of the findings of the joint survey provides nothing to change my views,” he said. “My fear is that the DOE will continue to try and roll out what Michael Kline has termed a train wreck, believing that it just needs tweaking. If that happens, I believe morale will be even lower next year than this year.”
