Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/812811
"PAR is the way for teachers to lead professional improvement," says Heins. "PAR programs continue to be a vibrant and effective way to help teachers enhance their skills." T H E G O VER N I N G P R O C E S S Programs are governed by a PAR panel consisting of teachers and administrators, usually with a one- teacher majority. e panel develops an action plan for teacher improvement and assessing participants' progress. Most gain new skills that improve class- room performance and confidence. In rare cases, an educator may leave their district or the profession. "Overall, it's an extremely fair process," says Wright. In some districts, PAR is purely supportive and confidential; in others, it is evaluative, which means it can be used as part of a teacher's evaluation. It all depends upon the collective bargaining agreement in place. In some districts, participants are referred solely by administrators; in others, teachers may self-refer, which is what Wright opted to do. Some PAR programs have expanded to include new teach- ers in need of mentoring. Years ago, Downey 's program was only support- ive, Wright says, but now it is evaluative, and it "has teeth." However, this is offset by additional responsi- bility put on administrators to supply resources and materials teachers need to improve, such as grade- level books, curriculum and technology. "We're putting this on a whole other level — holding principals accountable to help teachers," says Wright. "Having principals do what's necessary to help teach- ers wasn't always the case, so we bargained for it." When her chapter resurrected PAR last year, it sought help from San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento, which has had a thriving program since 1999 (see story, facing page). Downey teachers observed San Juan Teachers Association members in action , and borrowed components they thought would work best for them. Participants listen to a San Juan Unified School District presentation on a new teacher evaluation system that includes PAR. PAR IS THE WAY FOR TEACHERS TO BE RECOGNIZED AS THE TRUE LEADERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY'S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE PROFESSION." — CTA PRESIDENT ERIC HEINS 24 cta.org FEATURE