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State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. announced that he has approved 533 school district teacher and principal Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) evaluation plans. To date, 682 school districts have submitted APPR plans for review.Ìý In addition to the 533 district plans approved, as of January 2, State Education Department (SED) staff has provided feedback on all submitted and resubmitted evaluation plans from school districts that do not yet have approved plans. The plans were submitted as required under the revised teacher and principal evaluation law passed last year. ÌýNine districts have not submitted APPR plans.Ìý

"The Board of Regents is committed to ensuring that all schools implement an effective teacher and school leader evaluation plan in time to meet the statutory deadline," Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said.Ìý "Governor Cuomo’s intervention has led the way to the progress we’ve made.Ìý Now January 17 is just two short weeks away.Ìý AÌýlot of pages have turned on the calendar since the Governor and Legislature enactedÌýthe deadline; no one should be surprised it’s nearly here.Ìý

"Educator evaluations are an integral part of the Regents Reform Agenda.Ìý They’re vital to help identify struggling teachers and principals and provide them with the professional development they need.Ìý And they help identify excellent teachers who can serve as mentors and role models. These plans are a critical tool to ensure all of our kids have a high quality teacher at the front of the classroom."Ìý

King said he’s proud of the overall response to the evaluation plan law.Ìý ÌýÌý

"Every day, we’re getting closer to full compliance," King said. "Hundreds of districts and local unions have worked hard to get the job done.Ìý There are still districts that have more work to do; they still have to resubmit their plans after addressing the issues we identified.Ìý But 98 percent of the school districts in the state have submitted plans for approval.Ìý That’s a remarkable response to an important but complicated issue.

"APPR plans focus on effective teaching.Ìý The plans will help principals and teachers improve their practice and help students graduate ready for college and careers.Ìý SED staff is ready and waiting to review any new or resubmitted plans we receive, but the deadline is approaching.Ìý The longer these remaining districts wait, the more difficult it will be to complete our review by the deadline.Ìý We’ll move as fast as we can, but we will not sacrifice the quality of the review."

King noted that under the enacted state budget, school districts must have an approved APPR plan in place by January 17, 2013 or they will lose their share of this fiscal year’s education aid increase. King said his staff is expediting its review of submitted APPR plans, but typically reviews take four to six weeks to complete.

Updated lists of approved APPR plans can be found at:Ìý. The website is updated on an on-going basis.

As of January 2, the following 9 districts have not submitted any plans for review: Fallsburg, Hamburg, Harrison, Montauk, New York City, Onteora, Pine Plains, Remsen, and Yonkers.