(From The Record, December 9th, 2010)
By Leslie Brody
State Sen. Mike Johnston, a Democrat who was one of the key advocates behind a new tenure law in Colorado, told the New Jersey Senate education committee Thursday that it was critical to make tenure a “badge of honor” for quality teachers.
He said Colorado’s new law, passed this spring, requires that teachers have three years of effective evaluations before they earn tenure, called non-probationary status. If they have two years of poor evaluations, they lose that job protection and go back on probation. He said the state is now developing measures of effectiveness, and the new tenure system will be fully rolled out in 2013.
Johnston, a 33-year-old former teacher and principal, was one of the national voices brought to the panel on tenure to learn better ways to ensure the best teachers are rewarded, struggling ones are developed, and poor performers who don’t improve get removed.
A spokesman for Democrats for Education Reform said her advocacy group helped arrange and pay for Johnston’s trip to the hearing.