Over recent years, the standard to which teachers are held has been raised, and as a result a new evaluation system has been developed in hopes to ensure that instructors are meeting these expectations.

Race to the Top, implemented in 2012 by the United States federal government , was put into action to better the standard of school systems countrywide. The trickle-down effect has caused the Harford County Public School system to change the way they do things. Important matters, such as evaluating their staff, have been altered, and like most changes, they have been met with some confusion and concern.

“I know a lot of teachers are frustrated and overwhelmed, but it’s new,” said assistant principal Mark Truszkowski. “New anything is going to cause people to be anxious, teachers and administrators both.” Truszkowski explained how he was also evaluated under the new system and how he was anxious himself.
One major change was made to the way in which teachers are evaluated . The new system itself is called the Danielson Framework and it was first seen in a book written by Charlotte Danielson about how to improve as a teacher. The Danielson Framework lays out a very specific rubric for a teacher’s evaluation, whereas before, the criteria that needed to be met was less precise.
“Rubrics are always great,” said Truszkowski .“You know exactly what you have to do in order to receive the grade you want.” However, some teachers have concern that the new system is far too subjective.

“The Danielson Framework was never meant to be used for evaluation – as noted by Charlotte herself. The tedious extra work and new system (Student Learning Objectives, etc.) takes valuable time from meaningful work, planning, grading, and working with our students,” shared an anonymous NHHS teacher when asked about the new system.
But not everyone feels negatively about the new methods, including principal Mr. Ed Herbold.
“There’s so much of this that is arbitrary and subjective, but it is still better than what we had,” said Herbold. Regardless of the evaluation system used , Herbold said he has “a vested interest in how well you (students) do here. I personally have a vested interest in how well you do here … the better you’re educated, the better you do in life, it all has a direct effect on all of us. Not just me, all of us.”

Not every teacher in our building disagrees entirely with the changes.

“Personally, it doesn’t bother me as much. It is a subjective grading system so I know there will be some inconsistencies. I tend to worry about whether I am effective, which is all that I can control. It (the system) is more work, but it seems to provide a more structured discussion,” said an an anonymous teacher at NHHS.

The amount of changes may be what has teachers feeling anxious. In the last couple years, between Race to the Top, the Common Core Curriculum, and the Danielson Framework, a lot of new things have been thrown at staff members. “Part of the anxiety for teachers and administrators was everything was new at once …. it was like this perfect storm – all the new stuff all came at one time…” common core, a new curriculum, a new evaluation system, a new way to measure student growth. I think the combination of all of it was what created all of the anxiety,” said Truskzowski.

The recent discussion about this matter is in correlation with data published in an October issue of the Baltimore Sun that showed that 81% of teachers in Howard County and 75% of teachers in Anne Arundel County were rated as “highly effective”,whereas only 29% of Harford County teachers are rated “highly effective”. Many people were upset and disappointed with this data.

Frustrated teachers were upset about the data and Herbold suspects that the reason is because so many teachers tie their evaluation to their self-worth.
“I think being ‘effective’ is pretty darn good,” said Herbold. “I think every teacher here in this building wants to do it right. So much of our feeling of worth as a person is based on our occupations.”
“Teachers are perfectionists and they want students to learn,” said Truszkowski.
Is there ever going to be a perfect system? Well, Herbold says no.
“If I knew that (the perfect system) then I’d be writing the book,” says Truszkowski. “The Danielson Framework does however capture the attributes of effective teaching.”
Another teacher added that “There will never be a better system. It is too difficult to quantify the effects of teachers because in every case there are too many variables.”
When asked about the quality of the teachers at North Harford, the administration has no doubts about just how good they are. Truszkowski shared that he was very proud of North Harford’s staff members. “An administrator’s most important job is to hire teachers and provide them with good resources. I’m very pleased with our staff,” he said.
Herbold went on to say that there are great teachers on our staff and students know who they are, which is most important. “Like Orioles manager Buck Showalter, says,“I like our guys,” said Herbold.