Governor Gregoire recently released a policy brief titled “Next Steps for Education Reform: Promoting High-Quality Teaching Through Renewed Professional Growth Opportunities.” In the brief, she proposes creating university laboratory schools, changing the schedule of district audits, and creating an Office of Student Achievement. The bulk of the brief is centered around teacher and principal evaluation. She touches on many parts of the system, including levels of performance, evaluations cycles, instructional frameworks, and professional development.

Educator evaluation is also high on Superintendent Dorn’s legislative agenda. Here’s an excerpt from the press release sent out after his speech at the fall Washington State School Directors Association conference:

Dorn praised the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Pilot program, which was tasked by the Legislature to create a new, uniform evaluation system for teachers and principals. “I think the piloting they’re doing now is the best in the nation,” he said. “Plus there’s a lot of support for their work, both from teachers and administrators.”

The full press release is available here.