Hope Street Group Teachers Ask President Obama for Bold Changes in Teacher Evaluation

Teachers Push for Student Achievement Gains to be Major Component of Evaluations

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Teachers from Hope Street Group hand-delivered a set of recommendations to the President today that include making student achievement gains a major component of teacher evaluation systems.  The teachers attended President Obama’s policy address at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Virginia.

Leaders of Hope Street Group’s national teacher network – led by expert practitioners Doug Clark, Lisa Mills, Darcy Moody, Dina Rock and Sam Roe – applauded the President’s call for Congress to expand the Race to the Top program, including opening up the competition to school districts.  

“Hope Street Group fully supports the President’s proposal to expand Race to the Top to school districts – including rural districts – that want to lead the way in adopting bold reforms.  We encourage lawmakers to reach out to teachers in Race to the Top states for valuable insights that should be considered in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” said Monique Nadeau, President and CEO of Hope Street Group.  

Hope Street Group is partnering with several states - including four of the Race to the Top winners - to facilitate teacher participation in the development of better teacher evaluation systems. Race to the Top has been a critical lever for improving the nation’s schools and increasing our competitive edge in the global economy.

Hope Street Group’s education agenda is driven by the national teacher network’s recommendations found in “Policy 2.0:  Using Open Innovation to Reform Teacher Evaluation Systems.”  The teachers’ recommendations include the following:

    * Including objective measures of student achievement gains as a major component of teacher evaluations;

    * Ensuring that information from teacher evaluations is comparable across schools and districts, and is used to address equity in the distribution of teaching talent;

    * Ensuring that evaluators are instructional leaders who have sufficient expertise, training and capacity;

    * Differentiating levels of teaching efficacy to identify opportunities for professional growth and to drive rewards and consequences.

 

Report Calls for National Strategy on Primary Care to Cut Costs, Improve Patient Outcomes, Advance Economic Opp.

New framework for assessing health care policy options results in
 five strategic recommendations for reinventing primary care

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. … December 10, 2010 … A report released today by the Hope Street Group calls for a national strategy on primary care, the health care that patients receive on first contact with the medical system. The report calls on health care deliverers and stakeholders to adopt five strategic recommendations to reinvent this critical piece of the health care puzzle, fundamentally reorienting it toward prevention, wellness and active disease-management. 

Obey Proposal Leaves Reform-minded States at the Altar

July 1, 2010 - Just a year and a half ago, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided an unprecedented infusion of money into our education system in order to save jobs and advance changes through Race to the Top that are designed to improve schools and help our children succeed.  Race to the Top’s progress and promise are at risk because of an amendment in Congress that proposes to cut $800 million from previously dedicated funds for this law and similar reforms.
 

Hope Street Group Applauds Proposed Race to the Top Expansion

January 27, 2010

Hope Street Group applauds the President’s focus on education and the proposed expansion of Race to the Top’s reforms to all 50 states through the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Report Created with K-12 Teachers Recommends Reforming Teacher Evaluations

October 26, 2009

Teacher evaluations should include objective measures of student achievement; drive additional support for teachers; and be used to make hiring, retention and tenure decisions. These are some of the recommendations in “Policy 2.0: Using Open Innovation to Reform Teacher Evaluation Systems,” a report released today that outlines new criteria for teacher evaluations in the K-12 education sector. 

Hope Street Group Joins New Coalition to Track, Support ARRA-Funded Education Reform Efforts

April 16, 2009

The bipartisan public policy organization Hope Street Group announced today it was joining the newly-formed Coalition for Student Achievement in its efforts to track and support education reforms called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Coalition’s first action appears in the form of a letter sent today (.pdf) to Education Secretary Arne Duncan urging his department to provide "stronger, clearer direction to states and local education leaders about how to meet the assurances and demonstrate measurable outcomes."

Diverse, Bipartisan Health Care Reform Voices Announce Agreement on Key Principles

April 02, 2009

Hope Street Group, a bipartisan coalition of business, civic and policy leaders, today released its "Health Care Agenda for an Opportunity Economy," a core set of reform principles developed by its Bipartisan Working Group.  The group is tackling health care reform because of the significant role it plays in the economy, accounting for almost 25 percent of all economic opportunity drivers.  The working group, which includes long-time reformers and new voices, today sent a letter to President Obama encouraging that this package of recommendations be part of reform proposals.

Education Reform Gets Jumpstart in Economic Recovery Package

February 19, 2009

The bipartisan organization Hope Street Group today released an updated analysis (.pdf) of the reform proposals in the recovery package – many of which mirror the group’s 2008 policy recommendations, and which have the potential to help build an education system that can power a thriving economy.

Economic Recovery Must Address Education Reform

February 11, 2009

The bipartisan policy organization Hope Street Group today released an analysis (.pdf) highlighting the importance of the education reform measures in the House and Senate versions of the  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Economic Opportunity Group Highlights Stimulus Package Inclusion of Long-term Recovery Investments and Reforms

February 02, 2009

The bipartisan policy organization Hope Street Group said today that it was encouraged to see long-term as well as short-term economic issues and reform measures addressed in the House and Senate versions of the stimulus proposal.

Hope Street Group Announces New Investment in its National Education Reform Project

January 08, 2009

Hope Street Group’s innovative approach to coalition building around national education reform has earned the nonprofit a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Hope Street Group Releases an "American Dream Agenda for the Next President"

May 08, 2008

Today the non-profit Hope Street Group, dedicated to promoting economic opportunity for all Americans, released its bi-partisan blueprint for public policy reform, an "American Dream Agenda for the Next President," which tackles four of our most pressing domestic policy issues: health care, education, savings, and the competitiveness of small businesses.  These public policy recommendations are the result of the work of 40 business, civic, and political leaders from both sides of the aisle, who congregated April 13-14, 2008 at Hope Street Group's 2008 Opportunity Economics Colloquium.

Restoring Priniciples to the Housing Market

January 17, 2008

In a newly published policy paper, "Restoring Principles to the Housing Market: A Three-Part Strategy for Sub-prime Mortgage Reform," Hope Street Group, a policy exchange of professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders focusing on economic opportunity and prosperity, recommends a plan to assist Americans who have already lost their homes, protect homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, and prevent predatory lending practices without extensive federal bailouts or potentially eroding the returns of mortgage-backed securities.

Hope Street Group Recommends Universal Preschool

October 18, 2007

In its most recent policy paper, "Investing in America's Future: Harvesting the Returns of Quality Preschool," Hope Street Group (HSG), a policy exchange made up of business, political, and civic leaders focusing on economic opportunity and prosperity, recommends establishing a federal fund to expand preschool access to the entire nation's 3- and 4-year-old children. Currently, 2.8 million 3- and 4-year-olds are in programs that do not adequately prepare them for kindergarten, and an additional 3.2 million do not have access to preschool at all.