Governor John E. Baldacci issued an Executive Order to put Maine in a better position to compete for a portion of the $4.3 billion in federal Race to the Top education funds.
The order directs the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education to establish a stakeholder group to review potential models for evaluating teacher and principal performance, a critical requirement of the federal competitive grant program.
The federal standard for Race to the Top requires that school districts be able to use student achievement as one of a multiple of elements in teacher and principal evaluations.
Maine needs to have a process for developing the models well underway by June 1 to meet the application deadline of the federal government.
