NEW YORK—Stricter standards evaluating teachers, implemented two years ago, led to only 55 percent of eligible teachers being awarded tenure Friday.
The stricter guidelines impacted the percent of eligible teachers being approved—this year’s 55 percent is much lower than 97 percent in 2007.
“I'd like to congratulate the teachers who were granted tenure this year, and commend principals who are demanding higher standards,” said Schools’ Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott. Receiving tenure is no longer an automatic right, and our new approach ensures that teachers who are granted tenure have earned it.”
Tenure is the status granted to a teacher who finishes a probationary period, or first three years, of teaching. Tenure protects teachers, making it harder for them to be fired, among other benefits.
Principals under the newer standards have to provide “detailed evidence to support their tenure recommendations,” according to a Department of Education (DOE) press release. The three categories that principals must include are teacher practice, evidence of student learning, and contributions to the school community.
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