GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Charter school advocates are launching a campaign aimed at shutting weak schools down. (HuffPo)
• U.S. Ed Sec Arne Duncan joked that he’s more likely to strip than succeed Hillary Clinton. (Inside Politics)
• Duncan also sketched out a second-term agenda that leads with improving teacher prep. (Politics K-12)
• But if Duncan was vague about his plans for the next four years, he has his reasons. (Answer Sheet)
• A GothamSchools-moderated panel discussion on Thursday is about “Data For What?” (GS Calendar)
• Beach Channel’s post-Sandy reopening has been delayed from next week to Jan. 2. (GS Twitter)
• Eighth-graders on the high school hunt can consult a list of underexposed good schools. (Insideschools)
• Here’s a roundup of this morning’s panel discussion of several education heavyweights. (SchoolBook)

Inspired by a 2010 study that found that students’ feedback about their teachers helped predict how well the teachers’ students performed on state tests, New York City asked some schools last year to test out a student survey that could become part of new teacher evaluations.

But if the city and its teachers union agree on a new evaluation system this year, student surveys are unlikely to play a role, according to people on both sides of the negotiating table.

The Gates Foundation-funded Measures of Effective Teaching study found that student feedback and teacher observations combined were more closely correlated with teacher effectiveness than observations alone, or any number of other attributes of teachers.

The city participated in that study and adapted the survey used in it, called Tripod, for use last year in 10 of the 108 schools in the Teacher Effectiveness Pilot, meant to test possible components of overhauled teacher evaluations.

Under the state’s new evaluation law, 60 percent of teachers’ ratings must come from subjective measures such as principal observations and peer reviews. The State Education Department has said student surveys can play a role, too, if districts and their unions agree.

The head of the state’s teachers union says student feedback could be a useful element of evaluations. But city union officials say they are staunchly opposed to incorporating student feedback in teacher evaluations. (more…)

Negotiations between the city and teachers union over new teacher evaluations appear likely to come down to the wire yet again.

Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he would withdraw increased state aid from any district that does not negotiate a teacher evaluation system with its union by Jan. 17, 2013. As the deadline nears, state education officials have said repeatedly that they need weeks to review systems that are submitted for approval. Districts should submit plans by the first week of December, they have urged.

Most districts have responded to the urgency. About 85 percent of New York State’s 700 school districts have turned in at least the first draft of required teacher evaluation plans, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said today.

In New York City, where $300 million in state aid is at stake this year, city officials say they feel confident that they will reach a deal before Cuomo’s deadline, and union leaders say constructive discussions are back on track after a nearly monthlong hiatus following Hurricane Sandy. But both said there is significant ground yet to cover.

Comparing the introduction of new teacher evaluations to a 26.2-mile marathon, Chancellor Dennis Walcott said on Tuesday, “We’re at mile five, and our goal is to make this a long-distance run.” (more…)

• Thirty schools damaged by Hurricane Sandy have reported post-storm looting, the city says. (NY1)
• Parents say they’re worried about health issues from returning to P.S./M.S. 114 so soon. (Times, Post)
• Another court said the city must release emails on Cathie Black’s appointment. (Daily News, Post, WSJ)
• The parent council for District 7 in the South Bronx voted to move to district-wide school choice. (Post)
• Brooklyn’s Midwood High School was evacuated on Tuesday after a fire broke out inside. (Daily News)
• On a national ethics survey, fewer American high school students say that they cheat. (Daily News)
• Thomas Friedman: I’d like U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to be Secretary of State. (Times)
• Jeb Bush won bipartisan acclaim for boosting schools in Florida, but gains may be illusory. (Reuters)