The Madison School Board voted unanimously Monday to request a waiver from state-mandated teacher effectiveness evaluations during the 2020-21 school year.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, 112 statements were collected from community members in support of the proposed waiver from the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System.
Julie Young, a parent and Madison teacher, spoke in favor of the waiver during Monday’s board meeting. She shared concerns associated with juggling multiple roles — one as a parent of young children and another as a teacher — amid the uniquely stressful environment produced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am worried that educator effectiveness is going to be what puts me over the edge and I know a lot of my co-workers with families or with other responsibilities have the same feeling,” she said.
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The evaluations, mandated by the state in 2011, are described on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website as “a performance-based continuous improvement system designed to improve the education of all students in the state of Wisconsin by supporting guided, individualized, self-determined professional growth and development of educators.”
Teachers are formally evaluated by their principals in all of the components of the Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson, which was selected as the rubric to guide the Educator Effectiveness process, every three years.
The Madison School District Professional Learning and Leadership Development Department in an Oct. 21 memo to the board said a waiver was not needed and requested the district move forward with the evaluations.
In the memo, sent to Superintendent Carlton Jenkins, Professional Learning and Leadership Development executive director Jorge Covarrubias wrote that principals will still be coaching, providing feedback and evaluating teachers even if a requested waiver is approved.
“Seeking a waiver does not mean these activities will be discontinued,” Covarrubias wrote. “We have two Educator Effectiveness strategists on staff to coach and support both teachers and principals through the evaluation process. ... We do not believe an EE waiver is needed.”
Prior to Monday’s vote, Jenkins recommended the board waive the evaluations. He said he had come to the conclusion that educator effectiveness doesn’t align with where the district is at the moment, amid a global health crisis and reckoning over racial injustice. He said a number of teachers and administrators approached him in recent weeks to express their concern with moving forward with the evaluations.
“We recognize this is a time of human decency, that we come together and do what’s in the best interest of everyone,” he said.
The waiver request moved through the board’s instruction work group earlier in the month. A formal vote from the School Board is required to submit a waiver request to DPI.
Board members Cris Carusi and Ananda Mirilli said they support the waiver but noted that the conversation about the impact of the evaluation on teachers is one that should be continued in future meetings.
“Between the speakers tonight, the 112 written registrations and all the email we received, it’s pretty clear that our staff are under an inordinate amount of stress right now,” Carusi said. “We can do something about the stress they’re experiencing by requesting the educational effectiveness waiver.”
9 Wisconsin races to watch on Election Night
9 Wisconsin races to watch on Election Night
Races to watch on Nov. 3

3rd Congressional District: Ron Kind (D) vs. Derrick Van Orden (R)

Ron Kind, who has represented Wisconsin in Congress since 1997, faces significant spending on behalf of his Republican challenger, Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy Seal. Kind didn't face an opponent in 2016 when Donald Trump won the district by 4.5 points.
Total spending:
Democrats: $1,156,534
Republicans: $1,417,465
8th Senate District: Alberta Darling (R) vs. Neal Plotkin (D)

Darling is a longtime fixture of the Wisconsin Republican Party and a prolific fundraiser, but eroding GOP support in her suburban district could give her more trouble this year than she's faced before.
Total spending:
Democrats: $240,631
Republicans: $327,862
10th Senate District: Patty Schachtner (D) vs. Rob Stafsholt (R)

Schachtner's 2018 special election victory in this northwest Wisconsin district signaled a coming "blue wave" of Democratic support ahead of Gov. Tony Evers' gubernatorial win later that year. But Schachtner could face stronger headwinds in a presidential election year.
Total spending:
Democrats: $183,456
Republicans: $478,616
30th Senate District: Jonathon Hansen (D) vs. Eric Wimberger (R)

A longtime Democratic senator won this Green Bay-area district by less than 3 points in 2016 and is retiring after this year. His nephew is running for the seat, which Republicans are hoping to flip.
Total spending:
Democrats: $430,736
Republicans: $234,711
32nd Senate District: Brad Pfaff (D) vs. Dan Kapanke (R)

Wisconsin's ousted Democratic Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection secretary faces the Republican who held this competitive seat encompassing La Crosse prior to being recalled in 2011. The district, which Democrats won by just 56 votes in 2016, could prove a bellwether for the presidential outcome this year.
Total spending:
Democrats: $411,332
Republicans: $102,129
14th Assembly District: Robyn Vining (D) vs. Bonnie Lee (R)

Republicans are hoping to reclaim a suburban Milwaukee seat that had previously been held by former Gov. Scott Walker, former Sen. Leah Vukmir and current Sen. Dale Kooyenga. Outside groups have spent more than $200,000 in the district, where the Democratic incumbent flipped the seat by a less than 1 point margin in 2018.
Total spending:
Democrats: $111,835
Republicans: $238,528
23rd Assembly District: Jim Ott (R) vs. Deb Andraca (D)

The Republican incumbent has been in the state Assembly since 2007 and won his last race by about 4 percentage points. His challenger has raised more than double Ott’s fundraising total this election cycle, and Democratic spending in the district is more than twice that of Republican spending. The district includes several suburban communities north of Milwaukee, from Whitefish Bay to Grafton.
Total spending:
Democrats: $136,201
Republicans: $42,807
24th Assembly District: Dan Knodl (R) vs. Emily Siegrist (D)

The Republican incumbent since 2009 once again faces a Democratic challenger he beat by more than 2,000 votes in 2018. This year, Democratic spending in the district, which is located in the Milwaukee suburbs and includes communities like Germantown, Mequon and River Hills, has been roughly three times that of Republican spending.
Total spending:
Democrats: $81,589
Republicans: $24,179
51st Assembly District: Todd Novak (R) vs. Kriss Marion (D)

The Democratic challenger has raised nearly twice that of the GOP incumbent, who has held the seat since 2015 and won his 2018 re-election bid by a little over 300 votes, or about 1 percentage point. Outside spending has the candidates about neck and neck in the money race. The district is located west of Madison and includes communities like Dodgeville, Mineral Point and Monroe.
Total spending:
Democrats: $121,539
Republicans: $124,214