Vallay Varro, Executive Director of MinnCAN: The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now, released the following statement on the passage of the K-12 budget bill early this morning:
“I am very pleased that Minnesota will finally have the tools to understand the impact of teachers on their students’ achievement by creating a robust and trusted teacher evaluation system. Accurately measuring teacher effectiveness will drive better schooling for all our children and is a major step forward towards the kind of education reforms we need to move our public schools into the 21st century and close the achievement gaps that haunt us. The decision, however, not to tie public dollars to a quality rating system for early education was a disappointment that shows that our political leaders are shutting their eyes to their youngest constituents. What’s more, it is not lost upon me that we celebrate our step forward on teacher effectiveness in the midst of a shift in the schedule of funding for public schools that carries grave consequences for our students.”