On Wednesday, August 29, Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno told Denver 9News education reporter Nelson Garcia that it’s an “abuse of power” for Denver Public Schools (DPS) to rate teachers in a way that can “promote a political agenda.” Click the image below to read the story and watch the video.
According to DPS’ newly-revised pilot evaluation framework for effective instruction, all district teachers will receive the highest rating for encouraging students to “challenge and question the dominant culture” and “take social action to change/ improve society or work for social justice.” Students are expected to “appear comfortable challenging the dominant culture in respectful ways.”
“What does this mean?” Benigno said on 9News regarding the evaluation criteria. “Does this mean that a teacher should take 4th graders out on a field trip to Occupy Denver?”
The 9News story including Pam’s comments also were featured in a September 3 Daily Caller column by Eric Owens.
On September 11, Pam appeared as a guest on the Mike Rosen Show to discuss the DPS teacher evaluations. You can listen to a replay of the hour, compliments of AM 850 KOA.
In a September 19 story titled “Denver Teacher Evaluations Promote Student Activism,” School Reform News writer Ashley Bateman reported Pam’s comment: “This is a green light for the liberal teachers in DPS to go ahead and promote their liberal views.”
