No need for changes to teacher evaluations: BCTF

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The BC Teachers’ Federation says there is no need to revamp the way educators are evaluated in this province.

BC Education Minister Peter Fassbender has not ruled out adopting an idea being considered in Alberta: evaluating teachers every five years to maintain their professional accreditation. But the teachers union says there are already processes in place to make sure our kids are taught well.

“There have been a number of recommendations that came out of a task force report in Alberta … but I think what everyone in British Columbia needs to know is that we have a strong evaluation system already in place,” BCTF President Jim Iker tells News1130.

“We have a process currently in our collective agreements which ensures that there is a fair process for how teachers are evaluated by principals, and it is a vigorous process.”

But how that is carried out can vary greatly from district to district.

“We have evaluation cycles in some districts. In some, it’s every three years; in some, it’s every five years. In some collective agreements, it states that a teacher is evaluated in their first two years of teaching, at a minimum. We have provisions in place, either in collective agreements or in policy where, instead of a formal evaluation system, teachers can go through peer support work or go through a professional growth plan. We have a lot of different models currently being used in British Columbia,” explains Iker.

When a problem is identified, teachers then go through a process involving mentoring and recommendations to address areas of concern.

Despite the patchwork of systems, Iker believes BC teacher evaluations are fair and work well.

“We strongly believe in professional development of teachers. Our members do a lot of professional development, a lot of upgrading in terms of courses and enhancing their degrees. I think, across Canada, we probably have the most teachers who have additional university credits and degrees. Our teachers take this very seriously.”

Iker says evaluation is an issue that comes up in collective bargaining, and the BCTF supports a fair process that focuses on areas to improve rather than on disciplining or firing teachers.