Hinsdale High School Teachers Association

“Expect Excellence” has always been the motto of District 86.  That expectation is why many teachers come to the district. It also explains the surprise experienced by many teachers last spring when they received their evaluation forms.  Most, if not all, teachers were rated as satisfactory.  A satisfactory rating is not bad, but given the acclaimed excellence of District 86, doesn’t it follow that there should be a good number of excellent teachers?  Given the amount of time and money expended in the search for superior teachers to hire, one would think the number of excellent teachers would be higher than other “satisfactory” districts.

The preface to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards begins by saying:

“Many accomplished teachers already work in the nation’s schools, but their knowledge and skills are often unacknowledged and underutilized. Delineating outstanding practice and recognizing those who achieve it are important first steps in shaping the kind of teaching profession the nation needs.”

If District 86 wants to maintain the level of teaching to which it has been accustomed for many years, then it must recognize those with outstanding instructional practice by rating them as “excellent.”

Illinois Compiled Statute 5/24A-5 states that:

“Each school district to which this Article applies shall establish a teacher evaluation plan which ensures that each teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least once in the course of every 2 school years”.

One of the components of such a plan must be “rating of the teacher’s performance as “excellent”, satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory”.  The evaluation plan of District 86 has been developed and refined over a number of years.  Teachers meet with their supervisor at the beginning of the year, at the end of first semester, and at the end of the year.  In addition, supervisors observe teachers in the classroom and work with teachers on their work plans.  Finally, teachers write a summative review of their professional year.

Administrators are trained to use all of this data to determine whether a teacher is unsatisfactory, satisfactory, or excellent.  They should be the first to recognize and honor the accomplishments of their teachers.  Our administrators could use teacher evaluation to improve instructional practice by recognizing excellent teachers and thereby creating role models for other teachers.  By choosing to designate everyone as only “satisfactory”, the bar has been set uncharacteristically low for a district such as ours.

District 86 should continue to expect excellence, but acknowledge and honor the accomplishments of deserving teachers with a rating of excellence.

Kathleen Gabric
Chairman of the Professional Excellence Committee for Hinsdale Central High School