This school year, some of Louisiana’s educators will be evaluated under a new system. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jenna Chiasson says the old system lacked a comprehensive rubric or ongoing support, so they developed Louisiana’s Educator Advancement and Development System, or LEADS.
“And this really is a system that focuses more on growing and developing educators, [with] evaluation not just being this one-time event,” she explains.
Under LEADS, newer, less experienced teachers are observed less than established teachers. In fact, teachers with at least three years of experience who score highly on their first observation can opt out of remaining observations that school year.
“This doesn’t mean that great teachers will be any less supported, it means that we want great teachers to have an opportunity to really shine and be rewarded,” Chiasson adds.
Chiasson says LEADS is in line with the recently unveiled Let Teachers Teach initiative, which focuses on making classrooms less distracting for students and teachers, by putting evaluations in the hands of educators. She says LEADS not only reforms the outdated system with input from educators, “but [makes it] something that really honors what our educators are doing well, but then also helps to bring some focus on what could be improved.”
LEADS will start the second part of its pilot in the 2024-25 school year, then be used statewide in the 2025-26 school year.
Comments