Stafford Township is among a few districts that have been selected to participate in the Christie administration’s teacher evaluation pilot program.

The program is expected to kick into gear this coming school year.

Of the 70 districts that applied to participate in total, 10 districts were selected to receive a total of $1 million in the first round of grant funds for a teacher evaluation pilot, and 14 districts were selected to receive a total of $400,000 for the principal evaluation pilot, all pending final review procedures. 

Educators in these districts will work collaboratively with the Department of Education to develop new educator evaluation systems, state officials said.

“In New Jersey, we are incredibly fortunate to have one of the most talented teaching forces in the country, and we owe every educator the feedback and support they need to continually improve upon their practice,” said Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf.

Throughout the first year of the teacher evaluation pilot, educators in the 11 pilot districts will have helped the department develop and refine aspects of the new teacher evaluation system in preparation for the roll out to all districts in 2013-14.

Educators and administrators will have provided feedback on the impact the new evaluation system is having on their teaching practice, schools and districts.

Additional details on and FAQs about all evaluation reform work can be found at http://nj.gov/education/EE4NJ/.

The 10 districts identified in the first round to participate in Year Two of the teacher evaluation pilot program are:

*Lead district for a consortium. Others districts in the consortium are Audubon School District and Merchantville School District.

The 14 districts identified to participate in Year 1 of the principal evaluation pilot program are: