Peer Assistance and Review

Peer Assistance and Review Programs

Assembly Bill 1X (Chapter 4, Statutes of 1999 and Education Code Section 44505) established the California Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Program for teachers. This program was developed to assist teachers whose bi-annual personnel reviews were not satisfactory. Assistance and support are provided by exemplary teachers and include subject matter knowledge, teaching strategies, or both.

Funds for the Peer Assistance and Review program were made flexible under Senate Bill 4 of the 2009–10 Third Extraordinary Session (SBX3 4). The 2013 Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) legislation repealed the flexibility provisions and instead, eliminated funding streams for many categorical programs, including the Peer Assistance and Review program.

California Resources

The California Department of Education provides these links as information only.

Greatness by Design (PDF)
The California Department of Education (CDE) and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) convened the California Educator Excellence Task Force, which published the report, Greatness by Design: Supporting Outstanding Teaching to Sustain a Golden State (GbD). The recommendations in this report call for the development of a coherent and stable system of professional learning, including a critical factor in improving educator capacity so that all students learn and thrive.

Poway Unified School District
Since 1986, the Poway Unified School District and the Poway Federation of Teachers have partnered on the development and implementation of a Professional Assistance Program designed to provide fair, timely and thoughtful evaluation and support of both beginning teachers and struggling experienced teachers.

San Juan Unified School District
Established in 2000, San Juan’s PAR program is a cooperative effort of the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) and the San Juan Teachers Association. This program, like Poway’s, is overseen by a joint union-management Governance Board. PAR in SJUSD strives to provide high quality teaching and learning for all students in the district, support for veteran teachers by teacher leaders, and maintain a collaborative partnership built upon trust and transparency between the District and Teacher’s Union.

National Resources

Center on Great Teachers and Leaders
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) is based at American Institutes for Research and funded through a cooperative agreement by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Formerly called the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, the GTL Center supports state education leaders in their efforts to grow, respect, and retain great teachers and leaders for all students.

The MET Project
The MET Project is a research partnership of academics, teachers, and education organizations committed to investigating better ways to identify and develop effective teaching.

• Building Trust in Observations: A Blueprint for Improving Systems To Support Great Teaching (PDF)
  A tool to create plans for continual improvement of an observation system, no matter where they are in their implementation. Included are action steps to improve observation rubrics, observer training, observer assessment, and monitoring. A planning process is described to assess current status, determine next steps, and plan for sustained improvement.

Additional Information

Creating a Comprehensive System for Evaluating and Supporting Effective Teaching (PDF)
This report outlines an integrated approach that connects these goals to a teaching-career continuum and a professional learning system that supports effectiveness for all teachers at every stage of their careers.

Peer Review: Getting Serious About Teacher Support and Evaluation
A study of two exemplary PAR programs in two California school districts: Poway Unified (San Diego County) and San Juan Unified (Sacramento County).

California's Beginning Teachers: The Bumpy Path to a Profession (PDF)
A study that addresses education policies that affect beginning teachers in California, such as induction, clear credentialing, evaluation, and tenure.