A Message from NYSUT's President Regarding APPR

By Melinda Person, NYSUT President • April 15, 2024
This is it, Activists:
NYSUT has been fighting on this issue for years, and I'm very happy to say a solution is nearly here. Of course, I'm talking about APPR: the Annual Professional Performance Review — one of the worst relics of the failed "race to the top" federal education policy that has done nothing but burden educators and students and suck the joy out of teaching and learning. 

We're finally on the brink of changing this, but we need all your voices to show how important this truly is for educators, students and entire school communities. 

Read on... 

 An unnecessary drain on resources. The current APPR system was flawed from the start, and time has only proven how disruptive it is to proper educational practices. This approach to teacher evaluations is unnecessarily complicated and resource-intensive. It diverts time and effort from where they're needed most: actually teaching our students in ways that get them to love learning.
 Return to local control. The bill that has been introduced in the state Legislature, S.9054 (Mayer)/A.9849 (Benedetto), returns teacher evaluations to local control, which ensures our children's education is personalized, effective and nurturing.
 Why this matters so much. Fixing APPR is about returning professional dignity, respect and autonomy to our educators. It's about promoting a supportive environment where teachers can continue improving their skills. It's about removing the fear- and stress-inducing system of evaluations and replacing it with one that fosters growth and reignites the passion for teaching and learning. 
TAKE ACTION: Tell our lawmakers to fix APPR! Restore local control to teacher evaluations and bring back the joy of teaching and learning to our schools.
After years of trying the wrong approach, there is now an undeniable consensus among educators, administrators, parents, school boards and the State Education Department: We should strive to create educational environments where teachers and students can thrive, with fair, constructive evaluations tailored to their communities. This bill is our path to that future. Please join me in supporting it now. 

TAKE ACTION NOWIn solidarity,