SERINO CALLS FOR EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PROVIDE RELIEF FOR EDUCATORS

HYDE PARK, NY–With schools closed and state tests suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Sue Serino is urging the Governor to provide relief for educators by taking immediate action to cancel the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) for Teachers and Principals. 

Senator Serino said, “Our educators have stepped up in a big way to support not just their students, but families and our communities as well, during this trying time. They should be able to focus all of their energy on reaching our students, not worrying about whether they will satisfy APPR requirements. I am urging the state to take immediate action to relieve them of the looming burden this uncertainty is causing.”

In light of the ongoing crisis, earlier this month, the Regents Chancellor and the State Education Department Interim Commissioner requested that an executive order be signed to waive the APPR this year. However to date, no official determination has been made, leaving many New York educators in limbo. 

Thousands of teachers and principals statewide must undergo APPR, a performance review based largely on classroom observations and state test scores, two important measures that cannot be conducted during this time. The Department of Education has made it clear that prompt action on this matter is needed, as the reviews are necessary to inform tenure choices that are typically made as the school year wraps up following a 60-day notice period. 

Serino concluded saying, “Nothing about this year has been typical. To move forward with a typical review process as schools are working around the clock to adjust to the ever-evolving challenges presented by distance learning just wouldn’t be right. Instead, we should be doing all we can to empower our educators and support their efforts to innovate as they serve their students.”

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