Opinions

Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook

Sept. 25-Oct.1, 2014

Posted

Maybe writer should move

To the Editor:
It seems that Stephen Corbin, an East Rockaway resident, is continuing his attack on the East Rockaway School District (“School district in need of change.”) in his letter in last week’s Herald.
If he remains so embarrassed by the East Rockaway School District, maybe he should consider relocating to a town where the school district is five times or so larger? I am sure he would find imperfections there also.

As a former teacher in the East Rockaway District, I am proud of the students that I’ve taught and worked with, and I’m looking forward to the two reunions I will be attending in October. My alumni and I are very proud of the education and activities East Rockaway afforded us.

Martin Severino, East Rockaway

Teacher evaluation system has flaws

To the Editor:
The article “How good are East Rockaway and Lynbrook teachers?” in the Sept. 11-17 issue was misleading to the public and insulting to our great teachers.
Yes, the data was the State Education Department’s latest compilation of teachers’ performance, but the information is from the 2012-2013 school year. We are now in the 2014-2015 school year.
We have excellent educators, and we do an outstanding job educating our students. Yes, we have “stringent standards” as Dr. Burak wrote, but the main reason why some of our teachers received a rating below effective is because of the system, not because of the standards. We always hold ourselves to high standards, and teachers do not have an issue with being evaluated. The issue is that the system has flaws.
It’s important that the public understands that the evaluation system is divided as follows: 60 percent, observations and professional responsibilities; 40 percent measures student growth (test scores). In fact, in nearly every case, those teachers who received overall ratings below effective were in fact effective in the 60 percent portion — measures that more accurately reflect what a teacher does on a daily basis. It was only the formulas for measuring student growth that led to the low rating.
The first few years of any system will have bugs, and to imply that these scores are in any way a fair indicator of anything is unjust. In fact, the State Legislature agrees: with the Governor’s approval, they recently passed a bill providing a two-year safety net for teachers, protecting teachers from the harmful effects of unreliable tests and unreliable formulas that were created to attempt to measure student growth.
It’s time to stop pointing the finger at our great educators. I’m proud of the job that our teachers are doing, and I’m sure that the public would agree.

Craig Kirchenberg
President, Lynbrook Teachers Association