Mount Vernon Schools

The Mount Vernon School District is one of five public school districts selected to participate in the Teacher Principal Evaluation Project (TPEP) Regional Implementation Grant for the 2011-12 school year. The five Districts will make up a consortium, led by Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD), collaborating on a state grant aimed at improving teacher and principal evaluation systems. These Districts will be part of a second phase of a multi-year state grant which began last year with the development of new evaluation criteria for both groups of professionals. These five Districts (Conway, Coupeville, Everett, Mt. Vernon, and South Whidbey) will collaborate in exploring three instructional frameworks which will serve as the foundation for a teacher evaluation system to be piloted the following year. Additionally, a revised evaluation system for principals will be developed and implemented following the same timeline. The work of these Districts, along with the work of the TPEP pilot sites begun last year, will inform the statewide implementation of revised teacher and principal evaluation systems in the 2013-14 school year. Whereas current evaluation systems place their heaviest emphasis on professional preparation and content knowledge, the new systems place maximum focus on student achievement and high expectations. “All five districts are thoroughly committed to a new evaluation process,” said Dr. Kathy Shoop, NWESD 189 Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. “They are to be commended for their commitment to change and their willingness to work collaboratively across district lines. This project will help build a new system benefiting students across the state.”