SHERBURNE – As Sherburne-Earlville students are preparing to return to school, teachers are gearing up for classroom changes to meet new educational standards. Last year, Albany passed a law mandating annual performance reviews for teachers and principals, which takes effect this year. The new law is part of an effort to improve the education of New York’s youth by upping the ante for teachers through more rigorous evaluations. Even teachers with tenure will be subject to review.

To meet the new standards, Sherburne-Earlville administrators will be using a statewide template called Student Learning Objectives, Superintendent Gayle Hellert explained at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. The objectives consist of a number of tests for students designed to measure their progress. The results of the tests will refect upon teachers, motivating them to make sure students are learning and understanding the prescribed course material. “Teachers and administrators will be looking for any gaps in learning so that they can be addressed before students have to take the regents,” Hellert explained.

The annual professional performance reviews will also include a set number of mandated walk-in evaluations and observations of teachers and principals from independent trained evaluators selected by the school district. The presence of third party observers in classrooms may very well prove to be distracting for both teachers and students alike. At the end of this school year, teachers will have two choices to vote on in regards the specific number of walk in evaluations vs. observations, Hellert said.