Cancel Teacher Evaluations for the 2020-21 School Year

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Cancel Teacher Evaluations for the 2020-21 School Year

MNPS Board of Education

The 2020-2021 school year is one like we've never experienced. Some teachers have taught virtually with little or no training, some have alternated between virtual and in person instruction, and some have had students in quarantine or had to quarantine themselves. Certainly, no one has had a "normal" teaching experience this year. The TEAMs rubric which is used in teacher observations does not fit the current teaching conditions, Because of this, there is no way for teacher evaluations to be done fairly and equitably and we strongly believe that evaluations should be suspended for this year.

Sponsored by

Metropolitan Nashville Education Association

Nashville, TN

To: MNPS Board of Education
From: [Your Name]

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education is elected by the people of Davidson County to govern the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools; and T.C.A. 49-2-203 authorizes local boards of education to govern their respective districts;

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education acknowledges that in the 2020-2021 school year teachers face unprecedented challenges in their professional duties due to COVID-19;

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of teaching, requiring each educator to deal with unique situations and experiences in the performance of their duty, from virtual to in-person instruction, address the academic and emotional needs of students, and cope with health concerns caused by the pandemic;

WHEREAS, such variances of instruction and professional conditions makes it impossible to implement consistent and equitable evaluation of teachers in the 2020-2021 school year; and

WHEREAS, given on April 2, 2020, Governor Bill Lee signed Public Chapter 652 which suspended aspects of teacher evaluation and allowed the State Board of Education to promulgate necessary rules to address issues created by COVID-19 in the 2019-2020 school year. In doing so, the State established a precedent for suspending teacher evaluations as the pandemic situation warrants;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education hereby urges the State of Tennessee to suspend all state-required teacher evaluations for school year 2020-2021 as an important step in the fair treatment of educators, allowing them to focus instead on student safety, health protocols, remediation, and recouping lost instruction time from the prior school year. Furthermore, we urge that educators shall be allowed to determine whether or not their evaluation score be recorded or expunged from TN Compass.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that approval of this resolution in no way diminishes the importance of the Board’s vision, goals, or objectives related to the performance and professionalism of the educators of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, nor does it diminish the Board’s expectation for high academic standards, accountability measures, or student assessments to inform effective instruction.