A Pittsburgh Public School teacher in the classroom

Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers ace yearly report card

Six years ago, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) set out to improve the effectiveness of its teachers—and in turn—improve student test scores, graduation rates and overall achievement.

After the end of this school year, it looks like the district’s efforts are working. For the second year in a row, roughly 97 percent of Pittsburgh Public School teachers have demonstrated effective performance. Additionally, 49 percent achieved the prestigious “distinguished performance” rating—a number that increased by more than 20 percent since last year.

These results come from the 2014-15 Educator Effectiveness Reports, and according to superintendent Linda Lane, “mean that more teachers will be able to take advantage of formal and informal leadership opportunities, advance to higher levels of compensation, lead professional learning and experience recognition efforts led by the district.” More importantly, she adds, “they suggest that more district students are experiencing highly effective instruction, even while it may take some time before we see comparable gains in student achievement.”

This is the third year that teachers have received the effectiveness reports, which are implemented as part of Pennsylvania Act 82 of 2012. But the 2014-15 school year is the first in which non-teaching professionals such as guidance counselors, social workers and school nurses also received the evaluations.

The district’s goals for improvement, however, go beyond what state laws require. PPS’s broader plan, called Empowering Effective Teachers, establishes a teacher growth and evaluation system that puts multiple lenses on teacher effectiveness: observation of teacher practice, student learning and growth and student feedback.

Empowering Effective Teachers aims to increase the number of highly effective teachers, increase support of high-needs students and ensure all teachers and students work in learning environments that promote college-readiness. Ultimately, the program will help close the gap between students that are struggling in the classroom and those who are experiencing the power of great teaching.

Featured photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Public Schools