Most professions have mechanisms in place to ensure that their practitioners know and carry out the highest standards of practice. Teacher peer assistance and review programs (PAR) are just such a mechanism in public education: teachers observe, support and assess the quality of practice and professional growth of their peers. This issue brief provides a snapshot of an NEA Foundation-funded PAR program in Columbus, OH, where teachers have led the way in achieving higher standards of professional practice and corresponding results for students.
This video includes excerpts from a presentation of national research on PAR by Dr. Susan Moore Johnson, Harvard University’s Jerome T. Murphy Professor in Education. It also includes remarks from educators and union leaders who have undertaken this important work.
I encourage you to read the issue brief and to share it broadly. Questions or ideas? Please let me know.
Harriet Sanford
President & CEO
