Friday, January 15, 2010

Education | Governor shares plan for school reform | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Governor shares plan for school reform | Seattle Times Newspaper




OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire has a long list of education reforms she'd like the Legislature to approve to set Washington up to compete for federal Race to the Top dollars, including a plan to put experienced teachers on probation after several years of poor evaluations.
The governor's K-12 education-policy adviser, Judy Hartmann, presented the plan on Thursday to a group of lawmakers and community leaders gathered to talk about the federal initiative that promises to distribute $4.3 billion to states that embrace school reform.
The governor's plan also includes:
• Extending the probationary period of teachers from two years to three
• Approving the new school-accountability plan from the State Board of Education